pearlwhite

A quickie post about the Avid Ascends: one commenter noted how much his gas mileage dropped on a Prius, though praised the quiet and comfort. Another said: "Really quiet and comfortable tire. Preforms well under hard braking and cornering. Its street nature is evident in any sort of offroading. These tires are not made for anything resembling mud! Otherwise they've been great so far." I realized I forgot to ask about offroading. I do take my Outback offroad occasionally and may want to do more of that as she ages and I'm not so concerned about body condition. Driving in the mud is a lot of fun in this car and I don't want to compromise that with the wrong tire. So one more thing to consider and inquire about..... An addition later on after doing more research: Pirelli P7Cinturato All Season Plus is a new tire in my size that gets great reviews and ranks #1 in its class on tirerack.com. It's a luxury touring tire with apparently great handling characteristics in all conditions (except offroad, I imagine, or mud). Any thoughts on using a touring tire on an Outback LLBean model? Advantage to me could be that it may take a lot of wear off me, as I've always found it physically tiring to drive my car. The effort to control the car and wheel are great, and I'm not a wimpy person, but I don't have the long, strong arms of a guy. Could encourage me to take those road trips I've been avoiding. Thanks and happy thanksgiving to all!

Thanks for your continued input. I'm researching away and will post my conclusions soon. Any experience with the Yokohama Avid Ascend? I understand it is a harder ride but grippy and responsive. Also greener technology and manufacturing. The Nokian WRG2 seems like a great tire but there's little snow and slush where I live. The Nokian eNTYRE is another possible choice. More thoughts?

Thanks much for all your comments. The last one in particular is very useful, comparing the specific Michelins to the specific Bridgestones, because those started out as the two top contenders. I can get the Bridgestones on sale immediately, which has an advantage in that I'm already noticing handling difficulties, mostly on turns, even in dry conditions. (I was advised not to drive in cold, wet weather!) I read the Bridgestone reviews and was a little concerned by some of them, but an actual experience comparing these tires on this vehicle is most useful. I will revisit the Bridgestone reviews and consider getting my tires soon. With a 30 day return policy, if I don't like them right away, I can exchange for the Michelin's when they go on sale. One reason I was leaning away from the Bridgestone tires is that I have Bridgestones now (Potenza, I think), and they only lasted 35,000 miles! But I noticed no problems until now, when they went downhill immediately. Traction is still good on the straight aways, with no slipping. If anyone else has experience with the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus, especially toward the end of its rated life, please chime in!

I am replacing tires (second time) for my 2003 Outback that only has about 75+K miles. Any recommendations on best combination of handling/wear/price? I can get Michelin Primacy MXV4 at Costco at a discount if I wait another 6 weeks. I've been reading reviews all over the place and no tire seems to be unquestionably superior to all reviewers. I do mostly city driving with some highway and want good handling and traction, but I live in the South so snow and ice are only occasional conditions. Wet weather is big, though, as we have torrential rains.