I’m So Glad My 2023 Ford Bronco Sport Came With a Spare Tire Because Fix-a-Flat Or a Tire Mobility Kit Would Not Have Saved Me In This Tire Damage Situation

We’re big fans of spare tires here at Torque News, so it’s no surprise that a post related to a spare tire saving the day caught our attention. In this case, the vehicle was a popular model made by Ford, the Bronco Sport. Let’s look at what M.A. said about the situation and then examine some comments by fellow Bronco Sport owners.

I’m so glad our Broncos come with spares, not just fix a flat in a can like some of the other vehicles that wouldn’t have saved me… doughnut got me to the tire shop!

If you examine the image that M.A. authorized us to repost, you can see that the sidewall has a gaping hole in it. The hole in M.A.’s tire is so large, it looks as if you could put your thumb into it. Tire mobility kits can help to seal a puncture, but they do not repair sidewall damage. The tire also deflated very rapidly. As you can see from the second image, there is little hope that the sidewall wasn’t also destroyed by driving on the tire while it was deflated to drive to a safe area. This tire was a goner seconds after it suffered the damage.

Ford Bronco Sport Spare Tires
Like almost all popular models sold in America, the Ford Bronco Sport has trims available with spare tires for 2025. Two in particular. The spares are full-size, so they do not have any speed or distance restrictions. Prior to 2025, all Ford Bronco Sport trims came with a spare, either full-sized or compact-temporary style. Ford made the decision heading into the Bronco Sport’s first refresh that many of its customers don’t need a spare, or would not complain about having a spare tire. You can read more about the spare tire change in the Bronco Sport in our focus story, Ford Bronco Sport Loses Standard Spare Tire, But Gains Another Reason to Choose Badlands Trim.

What Do Fellow Bronco Sport Owners Say About Spare Tires?
Here are some selected comments that fellow Ford Bronco Sport owners offered after seeing M.A.’s post.
-J.D. - “Lucky you got an older model (Bronco Sport). About half of the 2025 (Bronco Sports) have no spare whatsoever.”
-B.R. - “Yeah, my 25 (Bronco Sport) has stupid fix a flat bs. It’s my commuter vehicle, so I’ll be finding a full-size spare for it.
-B.J. - “Worried about this with our stock continentals.”
-B.F. - “Yeah, I like having a spare tire, but the truth is, in 50 years of driving and 12 vehicles, I think I’ve only used a spare three times. My Lexus UX doesn’t have a spare; it comes with run-flat tires.”

M.G. had the most impressive comment. M.G. offered an image of a damaged rim and said, “Mine too, I hit a rock in the middle of the road on a rainy night.”

M.G.’s post made us think of another recent Ford Bronco Sport story, in which we highlighted a vehicle with damage to rims. You can read bout that at I Cannot Believe My Pirelli Tires Were Not Damaged, But Two of My Wheels Fell Apart Due to This Hard Impact While Driving My Ford Bronco Sport Badlands On the Highway.

All Top-Selling Vehicles Come With Spare Tires - Except One
A common misconception is that vehicles no longer have spares. While true for the Tesla Model Y, which does not offer a standard spare in any of its vehicles - even Cybertruck - every other top-selling vehicle in 2025 has a spare standard, or offers a spare in a trim. The 2026 Honda Passport actually has an option for two spare tires, one compact and one full-sized, which you can combine to have dual spares.

Conclusion - Spare Tires Are a Handy Safety Feature
Our take on M.A.’s comment and images is that spare tires still serve a very useful function. This is particularly true of sport utility vehicles. After all, it’s a public nuisance to tow without having a spare tire, and it’s pretty hard to call an SUV a “utility” vehicle if it needs to be towed after tire damage occurs.

What do you think? Is a spare a handy item to have in a sport utility vehicle? Please share your thoughts in a comment under our story. 
 

John Goreham is a long-standing member of the New England Motor Press Association and an expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on LinkedIn and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ grammar and punctuation software when proofreading and he also uses image generation tools.