That ******* spare wheel

Luckily I have only ever had to change a flat on my car twice in my 14 years of driving. Both times it was in the dead of winter. The one in particular was completely miserable it was one of those days where it was about 5 degrees and windy so the wind chill was far into the negatives. On top of that my gloves got soaking wet when I slipped a little while bending over the curb and my hands went directly into a puddle of freshly plowed wet slush. So I had to remove my gloves and the tire iron actually got frozen stuck to my hand.

 

The wheel well in 2001-2003 Prius actually does acommodate a full sized spare tire in terms of diameter. The extral width would make the trunk floor panel bulge a small but noticeable amount.

I think when Prius moved to 15" wheels they kept stamping the same size dent for spare tire. Which seems kinda odd.

Tiny spares not only have much less traction and road capability, they are not wise on the drive axle due to different rotation speeds.

One may suppose that LS spare carrying saves a bit of fuel, but it is actually about an 8 lb difference. Seems clear to me at least that LS spares are manufacturing cost cutters, plain and simple.

There are several good reasons to carry a proper spare tire in Prius, or any car. Earlier posts have told you how to do it.