Yes your right.I much prefer to have a spare wheel

I think as you say Volvos reason for new Volvos to not have a spare is down to a rubber shortage or something.Then they can save a bit of cash as well by not providing a spare!

Regards

Clearly, as many manufacturers are pushing customers to have both a set of summer tyres and a set of winter tyres, there is no shortage of rubber. It is all down to profit margins and what manufacturers can get away with..

Where to begin...
Firstly I must say I've just had a Vauxhall Insignia as a courtesy car for 2 days, and it was an absolute joy to get back in the XC60.
Got a puncture in o/s rear tyre on Wed night. Didn't know I had a puncture as handling not affected at all until near my destination, then got a bit loose at rear end.
Parked up, luckily in a secure private car park, and found rear tyre completely flat and very hot, as I'd obviously driven it like that for some distance.
Phoned RAC and decided it was too late to do anything at 6.30pm as there was NO SPARE, and tyre depots closing. So left car overnight as was able to get a lift home from partner.
RAC eventually turned up at midday Thursday. Did a temp fix on the flat tyre to enable me to get to local Kwik Fit. Surprise surprise, KF didn't have a 235/60 x 18 Pirelli in stock and as it's a 2 month old car I didn't want one mismatched tyre.
Told by KF that none available within 60 mile radius so would have to order from supplier, and expect it to arrive by 1pm Friday.
Just got car back today with a brand new matching P Zero Rosso, and eveything now fine.
However bottom line is I've been without my car for best part of 2 days, and fortunately I was able to leave the car somewhere secure overnight and get a courtesy car.
All for the lack of some sort of spare, be it space saver or full size. It is a totally Bl**dy ridiculous situation and I don't know how manufacturers can justify this inconvenience let alone potential safety aspects of getting a puncture in the middle of nowhere with no backup.

I Have just taken delivery of a new XC60 which came with the inflator kit.
I enquired about a temp spare wheel option and was told that one could be obtained, however the dealership was unable to confirm price.
Does anyone happen to know how much temp spare, wheel brace, jack etc will be to purchase as an after sale option ?

It is wrong to call them Space saver spare wheels, in my humble Opinion.

For most manufacturers, they are "COST SAVING spare wheels"

I think having the spare wheel attached to the back door, such as a lot of 4x4 vehicles including older model LR discoverys and most LR defenders can be a time saving measure for motorists. What happens if you have boxes and luggage in the boot, it may take you ten minutes to unload the boot before you can access the spare wheel.

Those vehicles which have the spare wheel mounted under the cargo compartment are also a problem. The nuts and bolts and fixings can sieze up if the spare wheel is ignored and neglected until it is needed.

Sorry, I do not know, but go in to the spare parts section, and ask them to look up the part numbers of the wheel and the jack and everything you would need and give you their best discount on that list. You may need to think about getting the tyre itself from a tyre suppliers.

THEN ask the sales manager could he kindly give you a discount on supplying those parts.

Would there be any mileage (pun intended) in those forum members who feel strongly about this writing to Volvo to express their dissatisfaction? The story about shortage of rubber carries no weight as has already been pointed out.

I don't know if there is a precedent for forum members presenting a united front to Volvo? We are the customers so there is a slight chance they might listen; or am I being too naive?

I was looking at BMW 5 series cars when I was looking for my V50. I was put off the 5 series as all of them I saw had tyre weld.

I do NOT want that on my car. Dark country lane, no mobile reception and a blow out. No luck with a can of rubber goo, you'll just be savaged by the sheep and horses etc.

How long have you been having these dreams? ;)

Quite a long time ago now, IIRC I used Tyreweld on a puncture as a test, and to save time and effort on my part.

My tyre supplier said it took them a lot of effort cleaning off all the goo when I asked them to do a proper repair.

The manufacturers, most of them, must find it costs less to supply the puncture repair kits.

It has been a slippery slope, and we customers have allowed them to get away with it.
first they fitted steel wheels as a spare, when all the other four were alloy, then they fitted Money saving wheels, then they supplied Goo.
I wonder how many customers do like I do and buy a full size wheel and a new tyre? The manufacturers sell spare parts and make more % profit than on the complete vehicle I believe.

Space saving wheels also save the manufacturer space in their parts warehouse.