Rear-mounted spare tyres were once common on SUVs, what happened to them?
Eric · May 5, 2023 03:25 PM
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Cast your mind back 30 years ago when SUVs like the Mitsubishi Pajero, Nissan Terrano, Perodua Kembara, and Isuzu Trooper were everywhere, they had one thing in common – a very recognizable rear-mounted spare tyre. Even the first two generations of the Honda CR-V offered a rear-mounted spare tyre, which was discontinued upon the release of the third-generation model.
Fast forward to modern-day SUVs and you would notice that the rear-mounted spare wheel, a feature that once defined an SUV, is becoming far less popular. What happened to the rear-mounted spare tyre that was once everywhere?
One possible reason why the rear-mounted spare tyre had to be relocated is because SUV tyres have increased in size tremendously over the past couple of years. Even a Proton X70 can be had with massive 19-inch alloy wheels, which can get rather heavy.
The second-gen CR-V was the last model to offer a rear-mounted spare tyre
Mounted such a heavy spare tyre on the rear of an SUV can have adverse effected on the SUV’s handling, as effects of inertia can be amplified when driving through a turn or changing lanes.
At the same time, a large-sized rear-mounted spare tyre is too heavy to be removed and fitted to a tailgate. Depending on SUV, their spare tyre is mounted underneath the vehicle (Toyota Fortuner), or underneath the boot floor (most unibody SUVs like the Honda CR-V, Proton X70).
Moreover, customers these days prefer an upward-opening tailgate as opposed to a side-opening tailgate. A side-opening tailgate that either opens to the left or right side is difficult, as on the left side, they are blocked by the door; if they enter from right, the spare wheel is blocking . Either way, the owner still needs to drive SUV out to open the tailgate fully.
With all said and done, it’s not necessarily the end of rear-mounted spare tyres. Even in 2023, you can still find a handful of modern-day SUVs with a rear-mounted spare tyre, including the Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco, Land Rover Defender, and Suzuki Jimny.
For the last few models, they are iconic models with a long heritge and the rear-mounted spare wheel is part of their design identity. On-road driving performance for these SUVs is secondary to keeping the iconic look.
Started from the IT industry but somehow managed to find his way into the automotive industry. If he’s not gaming, he’s constantly tinkering with his daily/weekend car.
