In my quest to find an electric vehicle that can truly replace my 230,000-mile gas truck as an adventure rig, I've been stymied by one persistent issue. It's not range; I can get into the backcountry with my Blazer EV. It's not capability. I've got all-wheel drive and eight inches of clearance to play with. It's not even charging.
It's that the Blazer, like almost every EV SUV, does not come with a spare tire.
Earlier this week, at the launch of the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5, I had Editor-in-Chief Patrick George ask whether the off-road-oriented XRT model would buck this trend. No dice. Hyundai confirmed that it, too, would offer only a can of tire sealant and a portable air compressor. If that can't fix it, call roadside assistance.
Those of you who have never gone far from pavement may not understand why a self-service fix is vital. We tend to think about off-roading as primarily a business of capability above all. Yet like almost everyone else heading into the backcountry, I'm not doing serious rock-crawling or mud-slinging.
I'm not bounding over boulders or trudging through swamps. I'm just heading deep into forests or deserts, off-pavement, over beaten-down fire roads and unmaintained forest roads. Here, it's not about capability, but durability.
Gallery: Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT (2024)
These roads have bumps, divots and obstructions, but nothing that would kill my car. It's tough enough to handle these roads.
But they will massacre a tire.
Why This Is A Problem
It's not hard to get a puncture when you're off-pavement. That's why every factory truck with off-road ambitions tends to offer a spare tire, usually full-size. My Tahoe has one. So does every full- and mid-size American truck. A Jeep Wrangler mounts it prominently.
But even far less ambitious rigs usually offer them. You can get a mini spare on a Subaru Outback or Crosstrek. The Mazda CX-50 offers one too. Automakers, it seems, understand that if you want to go to a rural trailhead, you may need a more robust solution than a tiny can of sealant, a cheap compressor and a prayer.
Now, automakers know tire sealant (also known as fix-a-flat) is not a catch-all solution. The product is designed to patch holes in the tire by filling them with a gooey substance that sets, sealing off the leak. Yet even if it can patch a leak temporarily, its corrosive nature means the whole tire will have to be replaced shortly thereafter. That's tough, considering a tire that can be patched with fix-a-flat can probably be patched permanently at a tire shop, if only you had a spare to get you there. If there's damage to the sidewall—as there often is on rocky back-road blowouts—you're out of luck. It's time to call in your second line of defense: Roadside assistance.
Most automakers include a few years of roadside assistance coverage with your new vehicle. Many insurance companies offer it, too. And even with those, I still recommend having AAA. This is honestly a better solution for most people. Many drivers today have never touched anything on their car, even opting to leave windshield-wiper installation to the professionals.
Of all of the EV drivers I have ever met, I would trust maybe 10% of them with jacking up a 5,000-lb vehicle. Yet this outsourcing of responsibility has not only eroded our individual skillsets, it also has one glaring issue. Most will not cover you if you are off the pavement. And getting a tow also requires cell service (or a satellite-capable iPhone and a AAA plan).
So if we want to replace the gas-burning Subarus of the world, let alone the Wranglers and Tahoes, we're going to need a spare tire. That's especially true for EVs, which tend to wear out their tires up to twice as fast as gas vehicles do. A worn tire is one of the key risk factors for an unexpected failure.
Luckily, automakers recognize this for trucks. The Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Hummer EV, GMC Sierra EV, Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T and Rivian R1S all offer either compact or full-size spares. You can even get one for your Tesla Cybertruck, but you'll have to give up a lot of your bed space.
Why Spares Are Going Away
We know why they're important. So why are automakers ditching them?
First, there's an industry-wide movement away from them, regardless of powertrain. Consumer Reports says that since 2020, roughly 50% of cars tested have come with compact spare tires, while just 10% come with full-size spares. The organization rightly notes one of the reasons why this is happening: Spare tires are extra weight. Weight hurts fuel economy. And automakers have strict fuel economy targets to meet.
That also applies to EVs, where reducing weight can help companies advertise higher ranges. But there's more to the story here. EVs are also ditching spares due to space constraints, says Robby DeGraff, manager of product and consumer insights at research firm AutoPacific.
"I think the biggest reason we’re seeing more EVs lean away from spare tires is simply packaging," DeGraff told me via email. "With many of these skateboard-type platforms that EVs use [...] the below-floor cubby for spare tires (whether full size or donut) seems to be sacrificed in the name of more space for that battery pack to fit."
A spokesperson for General Motors echoed the note about using the space for batteries and motors, but noted added an interesting point. "Tire technology and roadside assistance are strong enough today that it allows us to prioritize everyday things our drivers want," Shad Balch, director of communications for Chevrolet, said via email.
He's right. Tire technology has improved remarkably over the last couple of decades. A large proportion of the overall increase in supercar acceleration, for instance, can be directly attributed to better tires providing more grip. Traction has long been the limit there. Off-road, the newest generation of products seem to be far more robust.
Anecdotally, I have seen far fewer cars on the side of the road with tire issues over the last five years than, say, 10 years ago. But reliable data on how much durability has improved is not available, with the majority of it coming from companies that want to sell you new tires.
Where That Leaves Us
Maybe I'm an old man yelling at a cloud. I feel that way a lot, for someone who is 27. Most people won't ever take their EV off the pavement, and those that do probably won't experience tire failure. If they do, they can probably limp out on three tires, even if it kills their wheel in the process.
More likely, those like me who do this often will buy products more catered to our needs, once they come down in price. The Blazer EV was never marketed as an off-road adventure rig, and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT's "EV Subaru Crosstrek" vibe is still a generation-one attempt.
Or maybe we just live in a world where tire failure is not a realistic issue for anyone who doesn't rock crawl, or spend most of every day on unmaintained roads. I'd like to believe that. Yet the cynic in me sees companies cutting costs, trading elegant, self-reliant solutions for roadside assistance subscriptions that leave you waiting alone for hours, or stuck altogether.
The EV trucks give me both hope and an explanation. On a truck platform, there is easy room for a spare. For a compact SUV like the Ioniq 5, it's harder. There's nowhere else to put one. You could do a rear-mounted spare, but those require cumbersome swing-out rear doors, and often result in low-speed impacts crushing your tailgate rather than your bumper. In the long term, I'd like to think automakers will make frunks big enough for a space saver, selling it as an accessory for those who want to venture off-pavement. Third-party companies already offer such solutions, though they usually hog your whole cargo area.
Rivian, I figured, was our best hope here. The company already offers spare tires in its large R1T and R1S. Its smaller R2 and R3 SUVs are on the way, and clearly aimed at outdoorsy types who want a reasonably sized rig. I asked whether they'd have spares.
"More to come on R2 and R3 as they get closer to production," Senior Manager of Product Communications Tanya Miller told me in a note. She added a sly ;) to the end. I choose to believe that means the spare tire will live on.
Here's hoping.
Contact the author: Mack.hogan@insideevs.com.
