About the same proportion as old cars with flat spare tyres.
adrian
It appears that the majority of cars these days are supplied with a punture repair kit instead of a spare wheel and jack. Speaking direct to Skoda UK
they commented that this was a measure taken to reduce the overall wvehicle weight and therefore contribute toward lower emissions. They also pointed
out that most buyers specify the "optional" spare wheel when buying a new car (which is still supplied with the repair kit by default).
Firstly, I'd not want to be faffing around trying to mend a puncture, which would invariably occur when it's raining, cold and dark only to
find it doesn't work and I'm stranded. Far more reliable to change the wheel and be on your way.
Secondly, what's the point in achieving a headline CO2 figure that in reality the vehicle is not going to achieve...?
The other thing to consider is that once injected the tyre cant be repaired, so instead of a £20 repair, its a whole new tyre.
I would expect that offset against the fuel savings would mean youd have to luckout at not having a puncture for about 30 years before the fuel
savings paid back.
I completely take MPG figures with a pince of salt since I bought my Volvo Drive, alegedly 50mpg urban, 62 combined and 75 extra urban.
So far since Dec09 ive averaged 45mpg, and at best driving very conservatively (ie gentle acel and 65mph on m/way etc) ive managed a whoping 55mpg.
I'd say more like some rather than the majority.
About the same proportion as old cars with flat spare tyres.
adrian
And what would happen if you got a blowout or similar where it couldnt be repaired by the kit?, frubar.
[Edited on 27/10/10 by locost750mc]
I'm all for weight reduction, but they are doing it in all the wrong places...
I recon they should use thiner glass and rip out the pointless stuff (i.e. sound proofing, eletric adjustable everything, air con and so on) 
it all a load of b0llocks
its just another way for them to make more money
no spare wheel = more cash for them
They can be repaired but it is a horrible job so most refuse to.
Also, the kit did not work when the puncture was in the sidewall of my car.
I had a fiat punto sporting w reg and it came with a spare, my mate had an 03 which had apuncture repair kit in polystyrene wheel shape case,in the
bootfloor........i told him to go to scrapyard and get a spair....he did £5 job done.
just a con and I've had several punctures that the sidewall was holed from hitting curbs and a can can't fix that...
stupid space savers are dangerous too, trying to get home in snow and ice with one of those...no thanks 
old cars are the best, forget this modern cheap rubbish
No matter what manufacturers do, save money, save weight, saves this saves that, the general public will always find a reason to fault what they do. Run flats, now there is a good idea, all we get is people hating them. Space savers, extra boot space, oh no we hate them there dangerous. If we all hate all the things so much just go buy a bloody push bike. This country is nothing but moan moan moan.
quote:
Originally posted by AndyW
This country is nothing but moan moan moan.
quote:
old cars are the best, forget this modern cheap rubbish
quote:
Originally posted by loggyboy
The other thing to consider is that once injected the tyre cant be repaired, so instead of a £20 repair, its a whole new tyre.
I would expect that offset against the fuel savings would mean youd have to luckout at not having a puncture for about 30 years before the fuel savings paid back.
I completely take MPG figures with a pince of salt since I bought my Volvo Drive, alegedly 50mpg urban, 62 combined and 75 extra urban.
So far since Dec09 ive averaged 45mpg, and at best driving very conservatively (ie gentle acel and 65mph on m/way etc) ive managed a whoping 55mpg.
Tyres can be repaired when that stuff is in them. But as said most places tell you you cant as you have to clean the tyre out etc. Mucky job.
As for the stuff its expensive to replace. For eg the VW stuff is 40 quid a bottle and BMW stuff for the mini is 60 quid IIRC.
quote:
Originally posted by Danozeman
Tyres can be repaired when that stuff is in them. But as said most places tell you you cant as you have to clean the tyre out etc. Mucky job.
As for the stuff its expensive to replace. For eg the VW stuff is 40 quid a bottle and BMW stuff for the mini is 60 quid IIRC.
I can confirm that the cost of one of those compressor + goo thingies is faaaar less than the weight of a spare.
I personally don't carry a spare in my car at all (got a tube of tyreweld) - reason? I don't fancy myself sitting 12" from lorries
flying past at 50mph and a car balancing on a dodgy jack on my other side at night on a motorway. I've got AA recovery to help out in major
cases, tyreweld will sort the small punctures.
Plus taking it out of its well means you have a rather nifty nook for putting stuff into that's out of the way.
Incidentally, a bicycle Tubeless tyre repair kit (a couple of quid) will sort out most punctures due to nails/screws etc. in about 10 minutes very
effectively - the kit that has a little reamer, and some epoxy type stuff that plugs the hole, not a patch obviously! 
Pavs
so, how many of you carry a spare wheel on your kit cars?
My 09 panda came with a space saver and Jack, but to be honest, I'd me inclined to call for help than get out on the motorway (Or most other
roads after dark) and put it on. My 205 was 20 years old and still had most of the plastic wrapper still on it.
I do think it's a way for manufacturers to save money, that can of stuff has to be cheaper than a spare and there are probably other hidden
savings aswell.
I'm intrested though in the answer to the above qestion.
quote:
Originally posted by bitsilly
They can be repaired but it is a horrible job so most refuse to.
Also, the kit did not work when the puncture was in the sidewall of my car.
quote:
Originally posted by nick205
That's very interesting! That's the other car I've been looking at and tempted by the "potential" economy.
Is it a V50?
How many miles have you done so far?
Diesels seem to need a good few 1,000 miles under their belt to reach their best.
must say, its a damn nice looking car IMHO.
working for the biggest car manufacturer in UK i feel quite confident in saying its got nowt at all to do with fuel economy, weight, drag coefficient,
smell or art deco - - pure money, nowt else.
every part of every car is designed, built, tested with money top of the list.
example - how many cars have you seen as prototypes and thought... wow - that looks cool! i'll buy one of those tomorrow.
then when it gets to production does it have the same spec? - how often engineers have said - na - cant be made cheap enuff to mass produce - bin
that.. ahh now thats a cheaper bit.. we'll have that instead
bad for the customer but good for the manufacturers profit margins - which is what the head office wants to hear.. thats the way the world works now
There is another potential problem. I phoned my breakdown provider (comes with insurance policy on the wifes car) and they explained that they will
only fit the spare tyre.
"But my car was not supplied with a spare tyre"
Reply "Then we will not be able to help you"
So, if no spare, don't rely on th ebreakdown people helping you out. They probably won't, worth a phonecall to check.
I bought my Seat Leon new from a dealer in 2007. Came with bling 18" alloys.
First big trip away was a job in Cardiff. Loaded the car up with all the tools / gear and set off.
Got there, did the job, handed the project over to the client on a Friday afternoon. Loaded the car up and went to set off. "Bing" flat
tyre alarm goes off. Shoite.
Unpacked the car, found the space saver spare. Tried to use the poxy little wrench they supplied to get the nuts off. Couldn't manage it. So
called the AA. He came out with a decent breaker bar and helped me change the wheel.
Then the fun started. First off, the space saver said "no more than 50 miles at no more than 50mph". No way I was driving 400 odd miles
home at 50mph. So I decided to put the spare back in the car. But it wouldn't fit, anywhere.
So I had to leave my suitcase behind at the site, and take the wheel to a local tyre place. Except there was no-where open in Cardiff at 5pm on a
Friday night.
So I went back to site, swapped the wheel for my suitcase and stayed in a hotel. Managed to get the puncture fixed the next morning and get home a
day late!
I now carry a tin of tyre weld and a compressor as well as the useless spacesaver.