In my quest to search out an electrical automobile that may really change my 230,000-mile fuel truck as an journey rig, I have been stymied by one persistent challenge. It is not vary; I can get into the backcountry with my Blazer EV. It is not functionality. I’ve bought all-wheel drive and eight inches of clearance to play with. It is not even charging.

It is that the Blazer, like virtually each EV SUV, doesn’t include a spare tire.

Earlier this week, on the launch of the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5, I had Editor-in-Chief Patrick George ask whether or not the off-road-oriented XRT mannequin would buck this pattern. No cube. Hyundai confirmed that it, too, would supply solely a can of tire sealant and a conveyable air compressor. If that may’t repair it, name roadside help.

These of you who’ve by no means gone removed from pavement could not perceive why a self-service repair is important. We have a tendency to consider off-roading as primarily a enterprise of functionality above all. But like virtually everybody else heading into the backcountry, I am not doing critical rock-crawling or mud-slinging.

I am not bounding over boulders or trudging via swamps. I am simply heading deep into forests or deserts, off-pavement, over beaten-down fireplace roads and unmaintained forest roads. Right here, it is not about functionality, however sturdiness. 

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These roads have bumps, divots and obstructions, however nothing that will kill my automobile. It is robust sufficient to deal with these roads.

However they’ll bloodbath a tire. 

Photograph by: Scout Motors

Off-road merchandise have chunky tires for a cause. It is good to see that Scout will supply these 35s, and a spare, too. 

Why This Is A Downside

It is not arduous to get a puncture if you’re off-pavement. That is why each manufacturing unit truck with off-road ambitions tends to supply a spare tire, often full-size. My Tahoe has one. So does each full- and mid-size American truck. A Jeep Wrangler mounts it prominently.

However even far much less bold rigs often supply them. You will get a mini spare on a Subaru Outback or Crosstrek. The Mazda CX-50 presents one too. Automakers, it appears, perceive that if you wish to go to a rural trailhead, you could want a extra sturdy resolution than a tiny can of sealant, an affordable compressor and a prayer.  

Your EV most likely comes with a sealant package, like this.

Photograph by: Continental

Now, automakers know tire sealant (often known as fix-a-flat) will not be a catch-all resolution. The product is designed to patch holes within the tire by filling them with a gooey substance that units, sealing off the leak. But even when it might probably patch a leak quickly, its corrosive nature means the entire tire must get replaced shortly thereafter. That is robust, contemplating a tire that may be patched with fix-a-flat can most likely be patched completely at a tire store, if solely you had a spare to get you there. If there’s injury to the sidewall—as there usually is on rocky back-road blowouts—you are out of luck. It is time to name in your second line of protection: Roadside help.   

Most automakers embrace just a few years of roadside help protection together with your new automobile. Many insurance coverage corporations supply it, too. And even with these, I nonetheless suggest having AAA. That is truthfully a greater resolution for most individuals. Many drivers as we speak have by no means touched something on their automobile, even opting to go away windshield-wiper set up to the professionals.

Of the entire EV drivers I’ve ever met, I might belief possibly 10% of them with jacking up a 5,000-lb automobile. But this outsourcing of duty has not solely eroded our particular person skillsets, it additionally has one evident challenge. Most is not going to cowl you if you’re off the pavement. And getting a tow additionally requires cell service (or a satellite-capable iPhone and a AAA plan).  

GM contains roadside help for five years or 60,000 miles on all automobiles, however EVs get 8 years or 100,000 miles of protection.

Photograph by: GMC

So if we need to change the gas-burning Subarus of the world, not to mention the Wranglers and Tahoes, we will want a spare tire. That is very true for EVs, which have a tendency to wear down their tires as much as twice as quick as fuel automobiles do. A worn tire is without doubt one of the key danger elements for an sudden failure.

Fortunately, automakers acknowledge this for vans. The Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Hummer EV, GMC Sierra EV, Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T and Rivian R1S all supply both compact or full-size spares. You’ll be able to even get one to your Tesla Cybertruck, however you will have to surrender plenty of your mattress area.

Why Spares Are Going Away

We all know why they’re essential. So why are automakers ditching them?

First, there’s an industry-wide motion away from them, no matter powertrain. Shopper Experiences says that since 2020, roughly 50% of vehicles examined have include compact spare tires, whereas simply 10% include full-size spares. The group rightly notes one of many the reason why that is occurring: Spare tires are additional weight. Weight hurts gas economic system. And automakers have strict gas economic system targets to satisfy.

That additionally applies to EVs, the place decreasing weight may also help corporations promote larger ranges. However there’s extra to the story right here. EVs are additionally ditching spares attributable to area constraints, says Robby DeGraff, supervisor of product and shopper insights at analysis agency AutoPacific. 

“Skateboard” type platforms utilized in most EVs fill the ground with batteries, leaving little room for a spare tire under the cargo space. Proven: The Tesla Mannequin X’s battery setup. 

“I feel the largest cause we’re seeing extra EVs lean away from spare tires is solely packaging,” DeGraff advised me through e-mail. “With many of those skateboard-type platforms that EVs use […] the below-floor cubby for spare tires (whether or not full measurement or donut) appears to be sacrificed within the identify of more room for that battery pack to suit.”

A spokesperson for Basic Motors echoed the notice about utilizing the area for batteries and motors, however famous added an attention-grabbing level. “Tire expertise and roadside help are sturdy sufficient as we speak that it permits us to prioritize on a regular basis issues our drivers need,” Shad Balch, director of communications for Chevrolet, stated through e-mail. 

Photograph by: Ford

Pickup patrons have lengthy insisted on spare tires, and EV vans present. That is a superb signal that automakers are listening to what patrons want them most, and spare tire availability on EVs could enhance as extra rugged fashions launch.

He is proper. Tire expertise has improved remarkably during the last couple of many years. A big proportion of the general enhance in supercar acceleration, for example, might be instantly attributed to raised tires offering extra grip. Traction has lengthy been the restrict there. Off-road, the latest era of merchandise appear to be much more sturdy.

Anecdotally, I’ve seen far fewer vehicles on the aspect of the street with tire points during the last 5 years than, say, 10 years in the past. However dependable knowledge on how a lot sturdiness has improved will not be accessible, with nearly all of it coming from corporations that need to promote you new tires. 

The place That Leaves Us

Possibly I am an previous man yelling at a cloud. I really feel that method so much, for somebody who’s 27. Most individuals will not ever take their EV off the pavement, and people who do most likely will not expertise tire failure. In the event that they do, they will most likely limp out on three tires, even when it kills their wheel within the course of.

Extra possible, these like me who do that usually will purchase merchandise extra catered to our wants, as soon as they arrive down in value. The Blazer EV was by no means marketed as an off-road journey rig, and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT’s “EV Subaru Crosstrek” vibe remains to be a generation-one try.  

Photograph by: InsideEVs

The XRT ought to nonetheless have loads of functionality to get you to mountaineering trails and camp websites, thanks partially to chunkier tires. Simply by no means enterprise into the wilderness and not using a plan to handle predictable emergencies, like tire failure.

Or possibly we simply stay in a world the place tire failure will not be a sensible challenge for anybody who does not rock crawl, or spend most of each day on unmaintained roads. I would prefer to consider that. But the cynic in me sees corporations chopping prices, buying and selling elegant, self-reliant options for roadside help subscriptions that depart you ready alone for hours, or caught altogether. 

The EV vans give me each hope and a proof. On a truck platform, there may be simple room for a spare. For a compact SUV just like the Ioniq 5, it is tougher. There’s nowhere else to place one. You could possibly do a rear-mounted spare, however these require cumbersome swing-out rear doorways, and infrequently end in low-speed impacts crushing your tailgate fairly than your bumper. In the long run, I would prefer to suppose automakers will make frunks sufficiently big for an area saver, promoting it as an adjunct for many who need to enterprise off-pavement. Third-party corporations already supply such options, although they often hog your complete cargo space.

Rivian, I figured, was our greatest hope right here. The corporate already presents spare tires in its massive R1T and R1S. Its smaller R2 and R3 SUVs are on the best way, and clearly aimed toward outdoorsy sorts who desire a fairly sized rig. I requested whether or not they’d have spares. 

Photograph by: InsideEVs

Rivian has not confirmed a spare tire for the R2 and R3, and the frunk and under-floor storage areas don’t seem massive sufficient or formed to help one. However that may change, and I am hopeful.

“Extra to return on R2 and R3 as they get nearer to manufacturing,” Senior Supervisor of Product Communications Tanya Miller advised me in a notice. She added a sly 😉  to the tip. I select to consider meaning the spare tire will stay on.

Here is hoping.

Contact the creator: Mack.hogan@insideevs.com.