Best Tires for the Mazda 2 1.5 sport

Downright dangerous in wet , no grip , no handling , plasticky feel, noisy like nothing else . I am talking here about the humble little , light and fairly underpowered Mazda 2 . Those Goodrich RP 28 tires are not capable of even handling that load. In the light rain, the car is sliding like it was icy conditions. Front end is under steering even when driving reasonably slow (significantly slower than normal driving) and if you manage to catch up the front end before it hits the curb or a tree , then the rear end will step out as well. It shouldn’t be really legal to sell this rubbish under the safety act. . If there was an option of 0 points I wouldn’t hesitate to click that option. This is by far the worst tire I’ve ever experienced in 44 years of driving. In my own defence, it wasn’t my car.

Updating the review... Tested both on wet highways at temperatures of 7-8°C, everything was fine, good grip and good braking... But the best part is here, because I reached the mountains where the temperatures were 2-3°C and it was raining... Tight curves, hairpin bends, uphill and downhill, violent braking and the tires were simply fantastic, deliberately forcing the maneuvers, the tires simply held. Without even the slightest hint of loss of grip, I was afraid to push the car further on those roads and those conditions!! The lateral grip and aquaplaning management are even better than the winter Continentals I had before. Tested on snow and ice, the same roads, even frozen slush areas, never a single hint of uncertainty, you accelerated and steered and the tire was simply excellent, as if I were driving on dry surfaces. Nokian has truly created an excellent product, in the face of those who criticize all-season tires for not being good in winter... I recommend them wholeheartedly!! Phenomenal tire!! To recap: on dry surfaces, excellent stability at high speeds, safe and relaxed steering, on wet surfaces, plenty of stability and grip, decisive and very powerful braking, on snow and ice even better than the winter tire I had before, the car handles excellently.

Just had them fitted. I previously used Toyo R55a summer tires and Continental WC TS 870 winter tires. Obviously, it's too early to talk about performance, but the car feels more stable and the steering is more responsive, which I prefer to light and twitchy steering. The car is slightly noisier, but that's normal. The initial tread depth is 8.3mm and the rubber is very soft! I can't wait to test them in wet or snowy conditions.

I have tried Toyo , Hankook , Nokian tires and now Michelin Primacy 5 . Comfort ride low noise stiff sidewalls excellent grip in dry and wet conditions low rolling resistance high fuel efficiency very good aquaplanning resistance just satisfactory braking very good steering stability safety

These came on a Mazda2 I purchased second hand. The level of dry grip compared to other tires I've had on small cars was astounding. Roundabouts that would have tires squealing and under-steering at 60km/hr these sailed through at 80km/hr in full control. In the wet have full confidence in them, they seem resistent to aqua-planing and seem to have excellent grip after first rains following summer when roads can be particulatly slippery. Road noise is also excellent, only on coarse chip are they noisy, however it is an eco-car they're on. A real surprise, they are holding upto gravel roads quite well. I believe they are discontinued in the Australian market which is a shame as I'd buy again without hesitation.

Third review after about 3000km, tested today on both fresh and compact snow, even on ice. Climbs, descents, tight curves, nothing complicated, the tire simply makes you drive as if you were on dry. Even on ice, uphill and downhill the car never had any difficulty, except on one climb where I had to deactivate the traction control, after which I immediately went up. On wet, already at 9-10 degrees the tire is excellent, but with temperatures of 4-5 degrees and sleet with wet asphalt, the car goes even better, even driving aggressively, the tire simply keeps you glued to the asphalt, incredible

I'm back to mention my experience in wet condition. I feel secured with superb grip and brakes. Aquaplaning isn't exist until 80 km/h as well. I'm very satisfied.

After 600km, the car on dry maintains an excellent driving feeling and excellent grip, very precise and direct steering despite being thermal. But on wet... These tires are something spectacular, never tried tires like this before on any car tested. On smooth and very wet asphalt, with temperatures of 9-10°c, the car enters the curve at high speeds without ever losing grip, never feeling the tire at the limit. Tried to brake from 80kmh to 0, not even the ABS came in, the car is simply stuck to the ground despite the very cold, slippery and wet surface. I don't know how else to describe these tires, they are perfect.

Compared with Hankook ventus prime 4 that have been replaced i'm very satisfied...excellent grip and braking in dry roads. ....comfortable rolling as well

Running the XL version of the T/A's but that doesn't change the fact that the compound used in these tires is garbage. road too hot? driving on mushy crap, cold? nice and stiff but hardly any grip, wet and cold? good luck, you'll need it.

the tires are a good grip range in the wet and dry, certainly better then XM2's i was on but the unpredictability of the compound you never know what the hell it's going to do, some days i can drift on these by pushing it hard round a corner, other days it does nothing but roll to an uncomfortable level. The side walls are softer then my bicycle tires, although the irony is you need to run low tires pressures to even get good contact patch or handling so you lose out on the "comfort" not that it was even there to begin with because its so damn soft all it does is cause crap handling. 1000kg car? yea na, handles like a boat with these.. it holds the power but that's about all it does. for the price its a ripoff, $800 for these useless rubber bands. might work better on a heavier car around 1400kg but at that point you would want a superior tire to prevent poor handling since you would need to modulate your tire pressures away form square to staggered. I did replace my rear shocks and handling improved but that just says the tires are so bad that it needs soft suspension to even function adequately, not what id expect from a tire this overpriced.

final verdict for me, id rather go with the lower grip astronomically better handling MX2, i mean they suck in the wet and don't always hold the power even though its only 83kw, but hell at least when i get in the car and set the PSI correctly it handles how it should with no random changes with temperature or moisture. hell if you are wondering how good the XM2's are, they aren't but they were built well, well enough that the Pilot Sport 5's are based off them.