Tire pump ?

On a related note...

The company "Modern Spare" will supposedly have a compact spare tire kit coming out for the BZ4X soon. Based on the price of similar vehicle's kits, I'm guessing it'll be around $500.

'Run flat' tire options appear fairly limited for the stock 18" size...Continental and Pirelli, each about ~$1,000 for four.

This will be the first vehicle I've ever owned without a spare. I wonder which option (spare or run flats) might offer the better value and peace of mind for folks who don't like to risk being stranded...

I hear run flats don't have the best tread wear/service life and tend to ride a bit harsh; though a spare would have downsides as well—having no tray for it means it'll be 'loose' in the back, which seems less than safe in the case of a bad collision, as well as the loss of some cargo space.

B.Wilkins_85 said:

This will be the first vehicle I've ever owned without a spare. I wonder which option (spare or run flats) might offer the better value and peace of mind for folks who don't like to risk being stranded...

Click to expand...

I've driven multiple cars without a spare for years now (a Sienna and a Mini Cooper). Both were spec'd with runflats. When I asked the same questions you did of my mechanic, he asked when the last time I had a flat was. With a nod to @Vern748, I realized that the only flat I've had in about 20 years was nail puncture that caused a slow leak and gave me time to get to the tire shop to repair it. Modern tires are way better constructed than they once were, but many of our perceptions are based on long ago. So I opted to keep a tire repair kit and can of foam in the cars instead of buying more expensive, worse performing, heavier runflats for either vehicle and have never had an issue (knock-on-wood; n = 1, or perhaps 2). And note that options for bZ4x may be especially limited, but they are quite limited for all vehicles compares to standard tires.

So I would weigh your perception of the risk of a flat and its impact on you, against the added expense and performance loss from getting runflats and hauling around a spare you hope to never (and might not ever) use.

It's also interesting to me that Toyota chose to spec a tire repair kit and compressor rather than runflats as it did with the 2015 Sienna (not sure what it does nowadays). I would speculate that it was a combination of improved efficiency, recognition that flat tire events where a driver really benefits from having a spare are relatively infrequent, and drivers realizing that too and not being worried about having a spare. When I was researching EVs, I noticed that KIA is taking the same approach with its EVs.

And of course, people who are smarter than me with better information have also written about this. Here's one example: Some Newer Cars Are Missing a Spare Tire - Consumer Reports And another: Spare Tires in New Cars: What You Need to Know | Edmunds