I would say get a steel rim with matching tire size. You just want the car to have equal rolling diameter right? You won't really use the spare for a long time anyways.

 

A temporary spare is supposed to only be used long enough to get you to a tire shop so with any luck it'll only be seen maybe an hour its entire life. And it's not only cost savings. A full size spare takes up a lot of space and weight that could be better used for other things. A full size wheel and tire for the 2009 Corolla weighs 41 pounds and occupies over 2 cubic feet.

But to answer your question, I doubt there's enough room under the trunk for a full sized spare. If I think about it I'll check tonight. Full sized spares are getting rare these days and some cars don't include spares at all.

 

Why have a spare at all in the first 3 years of ownership? The warranty comes with complimentary road-side assistance that'll tow your car to the nearest dealer anyways, no charge. Weight savings ftw!:lol:

 

AFAIK, Corollas have never had full size spares so I doubt the 2009 model is any different. Conversely, for 2007, Camry doesn't have full size spare any more in the US.

Why have a full size spare? Compact spares are narrower and limit speed to about 50 MPH. The narrow tire is also horrible for handling it you get into a situation where you might need it.

Roadside assistance FTL if you are in the boonies and have to wait 2-3 hours for a tow truck to tow you 70 miles to the closest dealer and then have to drive 70 miles back.

 

I believe the Gen 8 had a full size spare option, at least in Canada. It was on the LE model and bundled with ABS for about Cdn$900.

 

I guess you guys have had better luck with Murphy than I have--every time I had a flat (except once) it was either in inclement weather (rain/sleet, heck, even snow) or in the middle of nowhere (or BOTH!)--exactly the type of circumstances that I'd not like to trust my car to anything other than a full sized tire.

Re: cost savings, have you seen any luxury sedan with a temporary spare lately? Like I said, I never even saw a temporary spare until I moved to North America--granted, that was quite a while back and I haven't checked any new cars back on the other side of the pond, but with the prices Europeans pay for some of those cars, I can't imagine they are getting temp spares.

teriyaki, I didn't realize roadside assistance came free for the first three years--maybe I'll cancel AAA/CAA when I get finally get my XRS then!

 

Yeah I think we have lol. All my flats have been discovered at home so I just drive to the near CT to get it repaired. Never used a spare tyre at all even with all the nails we've got in the tyres.