The compressor and gunk is, in my view, a way for the manufacturers to try to convince themselves and the consumer that they have provided a solution to punctures and flat tyres - justifying, if you like, the removal of the spare (a proper solution).
Yes, I know, spare wheels are heavy and removing them saves weight and cost, but what if the tyre is shredded? Or the wheel damaged so that it is not safe to drive on? Or you don’t have a mobile signal?
Or - and this is the really frightening one - you are on one of the new ‘smart’ motorways that don’t have a permanent hard shoulder?
The absence of a spare wheel is one of the really lamentable compromises associated with my new XC60 (no spare wheel well in a hybrid). The last time I had a flat tyre, the wheel was damaged too and there was no way a compressor and gunk would have done anything other than make a horrid mess. I’m considering buying a jack, wheel brace, and spare wheel to put in the boot for long trips. Not perfect, but better than sitting like a bump on a log on lane one of the M25, waiting for passing traffic to magic the car into scrap.
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