The excitement of having a shiny new press car delivered never wears off. Yet, while almost every one comes with glistening paintwork and a fresh new-car aroma, it’s not uncommon to see badly kerbed wheels, despite the car having racked up only a few hundred miles.
It’s easy to blame this on the negligence of fellow journalists, but it also speaks volumes about the downsides of having a car that sits on larger rims. It wasn’t all that long ago when the average wheel size was 14 to 16 inches. Nowadays, it’s easy to find electric cars and SUVs available with 23-inch rims.
This can make tight manoeuvres rather perilous; the 21-inch rims of one of our test cars made weaving through a drive-thru Starbucks the other day feel a bit like playing a larger (and potentially much more expensive) wire loop game. But a susceptibility to kerbing isn’t the only problem plaguing large wheels – a firmer ride and a reduction in efficiency are more idiosyncratic irks. Not everyone wants their car to look like it could star in a rap video, so why do makers rarely give you the option of choosing something smaller?
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