[TheARUN]

I've been long facinated with this facet of SUV's.

Some of them have their spare wheel displayed on the tail gate in all glory

Some have them tucked beneath, out of view

Most worrying is the former breed is getting extinct. Almost all SUV's that are being introduced now have their spare wheels tucked out of sight

The greatest psuedo SUV fad still is putting your spare wheel up on your Hatchback or TempoTraveller

[asr245]

Man! That Santro looks stuuuuupid! What the hell was he thinking?

I think the 2 most wanted SUVs in India are the Toyota Fortuner & Mahindra Scorpio, and they don't show off their spare wheels. I am not a fan of wheels on rear door.

[NetfreakBombay]

Putting spare on tail gate increases chances of rattles. This is because wheel puts additional weight and stress on door hinges. Stress might loose to hinges getting loose and that causes rattles.

To compensate, tail gate and hinges have to be sturdier. That increases overall weight of vehicle.

[anoopash]

I feel in case of off road where SUV are best suited , having a spare behind is much easier to access than underneath

[Aroy]

I always liked the spare wheel on the tail gate. If the wheel is inside it should be like that in a car, where it is safe from dirt and dust. Instead most of the SUV have the wheel mounted on the underside where it gets dirty, apart from being a pain to mount and unmount.

I really liked the idea of the Land Rover where one spare is mounted on the bonnet!

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Putting spare on tail gate increases chances of rattles. This is because wheel puts additional weight and stress on door hinges. Stress might loose to hinges getting loose and that causes rattles.

To compensate, tail gate and hinges have to be sturdier. That increases overall weight of vehicle.

If you notice the tailgate of many older SUV/Jeeps had a massive hinge on a frame separate from the tail door, more like a hinge on a Gate than on a door. That would not add much to the weight, but produce a long lasting rattle free mount for the spare tyre, as well as spare the door hinges.

[soumobakshi]

An SUV attitude is properly displayed with a rear mounted Spare Wheel. Which looks more SUV'ish Safari or Scorpio ?

[aniketi]

Originally Posted by TheARUN

I've been long facinated with this facet of SUV's.

Some of them have their spare wheel displayed on the tail gate in all glory

Some have them tucked beneath, out of view

Most worrying is the former breed is getting extinct. Almost all SUV's that are being introduced now have their spare wheels tucked out of sight

The greatest psuedo SUV fad still is putting your spare wheel up on your Hatchback or TempoTraveller

Still laughing at Santro pic

Real SUV feel you can get with or without spare wheel showing. But i prefer the show off

Safari looks killer with spare wheel on back. I guess Endy also has on the back door. New Safari with wheel cover looks very neat & attractive. I saw one new safari with small steel ladder as well on back. It also looked good but i guess rear visibility will get hampered. Spare wheels on back door do hamper little visibility as well.

I remember the old Mahindra jeeps with spare tire in front. Those also looks very cool.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Putting spare on tail gate increases chances of rattles. This is because wheel puts additional weight and stress on door hinges. Stress might loose to hinges getting loose and that causes rattles.

To compensate, tail gate and hinges have to be sturdier. That increases overall weight of vehicle.

On my 8 year old Bolero there are no rattles. Whatever MM has done in terms of engineering the tailgate on the Bolero GLX's are quite sturdy. Strategically placed rubber stoppers go a long way in eliminating the rattles.

But I agree about the weight.

The rear wheel on my Bolero has claimed two morons till now.

One a Maruti Van and another a TATA 407. The Maruti Van rammed the rear of my parked stationary Bolero. The whole passenger side had crumpled. No injuries.

The TATA 407 ran into my rear while I was waiting for the signal to turn green. He let go of the clutch. Front of the 407 boxed in.

In the both the incidents I lost my spare wheel cover. Compensated by both the drivers.

Real SUV or not. Heck I don't even know what an SUV is. The rear mounted wheel on the tailgate is easier to mount and take off and works as a safety rear crash guard too.

[chaunfa]

I like the spare on the tailgate, plus I agree with Spitfire that it works well as crash guard. Specially on Boleros.

[kaviprem]

The current trend seems like the entry level SUV's wont have spare wheel mounted on the tail gate and if you really need one, pay around 60L to 1 Crore to get it !

Example - Fortuner > Prado > LC
I think, LR series are also like this.
I cant think of anything else real quick !

Who knows Tata may come up with the X2 platform based SUV that has the spare wheel mounted on the tail gate may be priced more than ARIA.

Something like Existing/Refreshed Safari > ARIA > Safari X2

Prem.

[shankar.balan]

the rear mounted spare wheel (s) were originally meant to save space. if you read the stories about the jeep this is what you will find.

now it seems to have become like a "badge" for an SUV.

while the tailgate mounted spares were very nice and macho and all that in my old MM540's, Gypsies and Bolero etc, I now find I prefer the way my Scorpio wheel goes underneath the vehicle.

Also in our dear homeland there is always the issue of some halfwit nicking the spare if it is not secured with additional locks and so on - ultimately for a determined rogue, the lock only acts as a deterrent on account of time. So from the interests of security also, I prefer the underside mounted spare nowadays.

[pgsagar]

My vote is a resounding yesss! What good is an SUV without that macho-looking spare out back? Scorpio looks great from front, but come to the back and it looks bare and even van-like from rear.

Yes, high-end SUVs still have it while entry level SUVs do not. As for the tail-gate rattle, I am sure manufacturers factor that in while designing and they beef up hinges to prevent rattle.

And what is that thing on Sumo's spare?

[ghodlur]

Yes the rear tyre on the SUV looks meanish and defintely add an arrogance to the SUV character. However I would not love to see the bare tyre but covered with some kind of cover. I have voted yes.

Honestly the Santro guy needs to check in some rehab, what was he thinking when he went for the mod.

[kaushik_s]

The Rear door mounted Wheel looks better and I miss that in my Scorpio. Would've loved to have a rear door mounted wheel.
But saying that the bottom mounted wheel is much easier to remove or put back. You don't need two person or actually don't need any force at all. Very convenient. But I won't risk putting an alloy there as it would be in constant touch with mud and muck.

[swiftnfurious]

My vote is YES !! O Boy, How I love to see the macho looks of a vehicle with spare tyre at the back !!

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Putting spare on tail gate increases chances of rattles. This is because wheel puts additional weight and stress on door hinges. Stress might loose to hinges getting loose and that causes rattles.

To compensate, tail gate and hinges have to be sturdier. That increases overall weight of vehicle.

I agree, manufacturers avoid the spare tyre on the tail gate to avoid rattling and also the door from getting damaged. But I think we should look at how Mercedes did this on the M Class. The tyre is not mounted on the tail gate, but another frame [or whatever you call it]. To open the hatch, first you will have to open the spare wheel mount and then the hatch !!

I just realized that M Class no more has the spare wheel on the tail gate and its the old M Class that I am talking about! Can anyone let me know the name of the old model - not able to get many of the pics, but the below ones will give you a hint of what I am talking.