My previous cars have not been very flash or specialist but now that I have an Octavia vRS I am concerned about damage to the wheels, alloy rims and even the tyres. Since the low profile tyres mean that more of the alloy rims are shown and are nearer to the ground, it is more likely that they could be damaged when parking or traveling near to a kerb :(.

Can you offer any suggestions on how best to drive and maneuver the vehicle in situations like this as a precaution to damaging the wheels?

Are there any other instances (locations, roads, surfaces, speed bumps etc.) where I should be extra careful with the distance and manner in which I drive so as to prevent wheel damage?

The main thing is when parking parallel into a bay.

I always try to reverse in, and park 6" from the kerb.

Other than that mate, not a lot you can really do!

Assuming your car has electric mirrors, angle one right down when parking to allow a clearer view of where the rear wheel is.

Other than that, just park carefully.

Don't let your mates drive it. I let one of my trusted friends drive my brand new RS on Saturday and he hit a traffic calming kerb. It was only the years of valued friendship that stopped me from tearing some vital organ out of his body there and then. Luckily there was only a small chip out of the alloy. He bought me a Guinness to make up for it, but I'm still mad about it.

Put a bit of wax on the alloys to reduce the amount of damage brake dust does to them and make sure you wash it off nice and regularly.

Keep an eye out for potholes and slow down for those square "speed cushions". These can cause damage to the side walls of the tyres. If you have to mount a kerb, do so at a very slow speed and as square on as possible to reduce the chance of rim damage.

I've kissed kerbs in my old Octy (had 17" vRS wheels) a few times but was lucky not to scuff the alloys.

That's great advice guys, thank you. I am being more cautious than usual with my distances and angles of attack until I am more confident about the dimensions of the car.

Never let the missus drive your car is the best advice I can give.

Brand new 17's fitted, lent to missus as was away for the weekend. Made sure said, 'do not kill the alloys please' sundays inspection revealed 3 of 4 with 6-8 inch scrapes. Not impressed. All I got was a 'wasn't me'.