"has anyone mentioned that mounting the spare on the outside of the rear door completely defaces the nice looking booty of our beloved VXes?"

No but I was waiting.

IMHO, the spare actually continues the body line 'in a quite aestetically pleasing manner.'

(sorry for the paraphrase - can't remember where it came from)

"Nothing was worse than the original rubber mat I bought to line my cargo space."

I know what you mean. I had to 'cook' my rubber floor mats in the sun for a week before I could put them in the car.