[Privatedoc]

been driving mine on 14" winters for a few days now....ride quality is VASTLY superior to the 16" alloys , probably due to the much higher profile tyres. economy slightly worse but negligible.

Made my mind up.....save a fortune and don't buy trendy alloys in the future!

ps ride is pretty good on the 16" just that much smoother and quieter on the higher profiles.

 

[barryG]

Always the way, hence why Ive just got some 14" alloys for my Citigo. I went for the 16s on my old Fiat 500, they completely ruined it in every way!

 

[move up!]

Agree completely.
The marketing people need to sell us new cars, accesories, wheels, etc. so they've 'sold us the line' over the years that we 'need' large diameter rims and low profile tyres. That would all be okay if we wanted to drive fast on (smooth) racetracks all day, and didn't live in Britain, and didn't have rough asphalt, potholes, raised drain covers, uneven camber, sunken sections of roadway, etc. In reality, higher profile tyres act as a form ofair suspension (an expensive option on some premium cars)

 

[luckyjimmy]

I was out for the first time this morning on my 14" winter wheels/tyres and was thinking too that the ride quality was much better (and less noisy). The car rolls a tad more in the corners but that's the only downside of the smaller wheels as far as I can see.

If I remember correctly, most early reviewers of the car liked it best on 15" wheels.

 

[Privatedoc]

shame you can't have a high up on steel 14" that would be a great model.

 

[bazves]

shame you can't have a high up on steel 14" that would be a great model.

Well you could as a dealer fit I'd assume?

Happy with the way my Mii runs on 15". I have a second set of 15" but I've not decided what to do with them yet

 

[Upmeister]

There is also a cosmetic angle to this as well - over the years wheels have got bigger and tyre profiles lower, with the result that we have got used to the look of bigger wheels.
The 15" wheels fitted to the High up! are, IMHO, a good compromise. The car looks good on them and they don't firm-up the ride too much - nor are the tyres too expensive to replace.
As a result I have invested in a set of 15" steel wheels and winter tyres - so that I run the same size all year round.
It's a bit early for winter tyres 'darn sarf' but I'll post a picture or two when I've put them on for the season.

 

[Astron Boy]

I agree, the 15s are the perfect size visually.
The 14s are on the verge of too small.
But atleast it looks better than the likes of a Spark with its chunky body work. The wheels never look right.

I'm so used to larger wheels however (ie, firmer ride) that I forget forget how wallowy having a taller tyre wall is in factory guise.
I've always preferred tighter handling over a cushy ride.

 

[AlanG]

A couple of winters ago when the potholes were at their worst, my brother in law had a Jaguar X type with ultra low profiles. Those wheels drove him nuts because every time he drove over a pothole, it resulted in deflation. He vowed never to have low profiles ever again.Edited by: AlanG

 

[Zigster]

One of the key reasons we bought a Volvo XC60 (as the family car) rather than an Audi Q5 was that to get an Q5 with a decent spec you have to get one with sports suspension and massive alloys (20" on the one we specced). And that ruins the ride.

Big alloys and sports suspension are fine in a sports car, but I need a little more comfort for day to day life particularly with the state of the roads in the UK. The (similarly high-spec) XC60 came with 18" alloys (or 17" as a no cost option) with nice wallowly suspension which suits the type of car. It also means you're much less likely to hear that horrible scrape when you've misjudged how close the kerb is on reverse parking.

VAG seems particularly bad in the UK for the sports suspension/big alloys approach.

We ummed and aahed about the Seat Mii Sport as it has 15" alloys and "sports suspension" which we thought might worsen the ride. It's definitely firmer than the 14" but not unpleasantly so. I've got some 14" steel wheels with winter tyres which will get put on the car sometime in November - be interesting to see what difference they make to the ride.