I've always driven cars with rack and pinion steering while wheels went from something like a typical 185-65x15 to 245-40x18. So, wheels are larger and the profile is much smaller (more rim and less rubber between the car and the road).
Higher power warrants bigger brakes and bigger brakes warrants larger rims but for the average car rims have grown way oversized. Many cars have the space to take rims that are 2-3 inches smaller than what comes as standard.
My anecdotal and average empirical results is that cars with wide rims and little rubber mostly seem to reduce comfort, increase noise, and make the steering very susceptible to unevenness, slopes and grooves of roads and layers of snow and ice and thus requiring constant steering response from the driver. I've had both kinds and the difference is huge, and exaggerated by bad road conditions that we find on our roads. On my older vehicles with a higher and narrower tyre profile I barely have to steer at all but just keep my hand relaxed on the wheel while the car ploughs pretty much through whatever in a direct line. Of course, I keep the wheel geometry of all my cars well-aligned so they shouldn't wander around.