Considering A4 Avant

[thunderbirds]

In the process of choosing my next new car to replace my Mk3 Superb 1.4 TSi 150 PS and looking at on-line info the A4 Avant 2.0 TFSI 150 PS (think they call it the 35) is currently top of my wish list. Not been to view one yet simply because I am currently unable to drive following eye surgery but in reality the 3 closest dealers are actually quite a distance away.

One unanswered question arisen and because I have no faith in sales people I have not even bothered to ring any of the dealers. That is why I have come on here, its better to ask real owners who have real experience.

So to the question. I see in the specs tyre glue is standard but in the options list there is no mention anywhere of a spare (temporary or full size) being available. That is not an issue, always buy from a 3rd party anyway (better and cheaper) but what is important is where would one fit. Is there a well under the boot floor and if so what size.

Basically if there is no where to securely fit a spare out of the way without affecting boot space the car is off the list and its back to the search process.

[Steve Q]

Welcome to the forum Paul, you'll find the members on here are a friendly and helpful bunch 🙂

yes I believe you can get a space saver spare wheel of which I believe the size is T125/70/R19 and the tyre is usually Hankook. The a4 space saver is the same as fitted to the a5. 

i suspect that in the spare wheel well there will be a foam tray with the tyre inflation kit. It should be a case of removing the foam tray and fitting the wheel. 

If you look on eBay you'll find various a4 b9 space saver spare wheels for sale at various prices. 

cheers

Steve

[thunderbirds]

16 hours ago, Steve Q said:

yes I believe you can get a space saver spare wheel of which I believe the size is T125/70/R19 and the tyre is usually Hankook.

Thanks for your reply but I seem to have confused matters with my use of the term "temporary".

Here is why.

Both my wife and I currently own Skodas, me a Superb and the wife a Fabia. Both came as standard with a glue kit with the option for £100 of a "spacesaver" or "temporary" spare wheel. I hate spacesavers with a passion, no use whatsoever if you need to fit one part way through a long holiday drive with a fully loaded car and no space to store the punctured wheel. So in both cars we specified the "temporary" spare which is a proper steel wheel with a proper tyre fitted (but not the same size as the alloys on the car). You are still limited to 50 mph but at least the tyre can carry a full load for an unrestricted distance and the full size alloy will fit into the wheel well without affecting the luggage.

So I suppose I should have asked can a full size spare fit into the boot without affect luggage capacity.

Before the Superb I had a Mk3 Leon and when I bought it there was no option for a factory spare and the price from the dealer was stupid, he wanted £200 for the spacesaver wheel, £230 for a spacesaver tyre and £60 for a tool kit/hold down bolt etc, told him to forget it. I went on MyTyres and bought their cheapest steel wheel with a 205 55 16 tyre fitted (£75 delivered) and bought a jack from Halfords. It all fitted into the spare wheel well but lifted the boot floor a couple of inches which was perfectly acceptable. Considering the boot of the A4 Avant is bigger than the Leon this compromise would be acceptable again if the wheel well is big enough to get a suitable "real" tyre into. I have calculated the diameter of the T125/70/R19 as approx 658mm which is actually 1mm less than the diameter of the 225 50 17 fitted to the A4 Avant but it may be close. Anyone tried it?

Thanks again.

[Steve Q]

Apologies Paul, I got the wrong end of the stick. In that case I'd say no a full size spare won't fit. It's very unlikely to find a car that will fit a full sized spare in tthe wheel well 

Cheers

Steve

[thunderbirds]

8 hours ago, Steve Q said:

Apologies Paul, I got the wrong end of the stick. In that case I'd say no a full size spare won't fit.

Thanks, looks like the A4 is off the wish list.

But I am a bit surprised why you say

8 hours ago, Steve Q said:

It's very unlikely to find a car that will fit a full sized spare in tthe wheel well

when all of our cars we have bought in the last 10 years have been able to accommodate a full sized spare (with a bit of thinking in 3 cases) with little or no loss of boot space.

2010 Kia Ceed SW. Came as standard with a spacesaver. Bought a full sized wheel and tyre (205/55 16) which fitted into the well and by leaving the totally pointless 2" thick plastic tray at home there was no loss of space.

2013 Seat Leon. Full sized wheel and tyre (205/55 16 again) fitted into well but lifted the boot floor a couple of inches.

2015 Nissan Note. No option for a factory spare but under the floor was a space partly filled with a plastic tray that accommodated the glue/tool kit etc and left space for other bits. I noted that there was a plastic cap in the centre of the tray and under the cap was a bolt. When removed the tray lifted out a space more than big enough for a full sized spare existed and the thread that was used to hold the plastic tray in became a thread to hold the spare in. The boot floor was not affected and the capacity remained unchanged.

2017 Skoda Superb. Full sized wheel fits with no issues.

2018 Skoda Fabia. Full sized wheel fits with no issues.

So basically there are plenty of cars out there that allow storage of a full sized spare and that is what i will continue to buy.

Before we bought the Superb one of the cars we looked at was the Mazda 6 estate. A space saver kit was a hefty £450 option but still robbed boot space and lifted the floor. But if you needed to fit the space saver and already had a full boot and 5 persons in the car where would the punctured full sized wheel go. I asked the salesman who told me to put it on a passengers lap. We laughed at his suggestion as we left the showroom and went next door to buy the Superb.

If I cannot have a full sized wheels safely stowed in the car it will not be considered.

Thanks again.