Vehicles using 175/65R15 tires:
- Volkswagen Beetle
- Scion iQ
- Toyota Prius C
- Nissan Cube
- Nissan Note
- Mini Cooper
- Mini Clubman
- Honda Insight
- Honda Fit
- Honda City
1. Bridgestone Weatherpeak - Best All-Weather tire
First up, let’s talk about the Bridgestone Weatherpeak, which is the best 175/65R15 all-weather tire on the market today. Officially, the Bridgestone Weatherpeak is categorized as an all-weather tire; if that’s an unfamiliar term for you, all-weather tires are designed for performance that’s close to all-season tires, but with an emphasis on improved traction in winter conditions, for the kind of snow, slush, and ice where all-season tires just aren’t capable of dependably getting the job done. The Bridgestone Weatherpeak’s tread is dense with a network of sipes, the hair-thin slits in the tread that slice through snow and slush for an edge in traction. Bridgestone’s sipes are a full-depth 3D design that keeps delivering enhanced traction, even as the tread depth gets shallower, along with “snow vices” that retain snow to develop snow-to-snow friction. The Bridgestone Weatherpeak is stamped with the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service, and testing indicates that braking distances are as much as 30 feet shorter than the competition in winter weather. Taking all that into account, we gave the Bridgestone Weatherpeak a SimpleScore of 9.7 for traction. The Bridgestone Weatherpeak gets a SimpleScore of 9.5 for handling, thanks to a tread compound and features that are designed for top-notch road manners, steering response, and cornering ability. The Weatherpeak is covered by Bridgestone with a 70,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty, a best-in-class warranty that’s enough to inspire a SimpleScore of 9.8 for longevity. The average SimpleScore for the Bridgestone Weatherpeak is a very strong 9.7.
2. Toyo Extensa A/S II - Best All-Season tire
The Toyo Extensa A/S II is a tire that punches far above its weight class, making it the best 175/65R15 all-season tire on the market. The Extensa A/S II is designed with a silica-rich tread compound for improved traction in wet weather along with long wear. It’s then molded into an all-season tread pattern and a system of circumferential grooves, lateral and angled grooves, and 3D sipes that are designed for enhanced traction year-round. With all that in mind, we give the Toyo Extensa A/S II a SimpleScore of 8.7 for traction. Durability is another definite plus with this tire; along with its long-wearing tread compound, it features robust internal construction that’s made up of a polyester casing, two steel belts, and a spiral-wound nylon cap layer. The symmetric tread of the Extensa A/S II is designed to make it easy to cross-rotate tires for long, even wear, and Toyo offers a phenomenal 75,000 mile warranty. As a result, we give the Extensa A/S II a SimpleScore of 9.6 for longevity. Cornering, steering response, and roadability with the Extensa A/S II are all pretty admirable as well; that symmetric tread pattern and shoulder design mean more rubber in contact with the road, for a SimpleScore of a solid 8.4 for handling. The overall average SimpleScore for the Toyo Extensa A/S II is 9.0.
3. Goodyear WinterCommand Ultra - Best Winter tire
When the snow starts to accumulate several inches thick on the roads, many times a dedicated winter tire is the only thing for it because an all-season tire is just not going to be up to the task. Let’s take a minute to talk about the Goodyear WinterCommand Ultra, a studless winter tire that’s designed for the most extreme winter weather you might run into. The WinterCommand Ultra is designed around Goodyear's CryoGrip tread compound, engineered to stay flexible in subfreezing weather and conform to the road for excellent winter traction. The WinterCommand Ultra is then molded into a directional V-shaped tread pattern that delivers winter performance with active block cuts, 3D sipes, and hydro-dynamic grooves, all working as a system to channel away water and slush from the tire’s contact patch and chew through standing snow and slush. That’s all we need for an outstanding SimpleScore of 9.9 for traction. Those tread elements also mean that the Goodyear Winter Command Ultra is capable of the same kind of control, cornering, steering response, and braking performance you’d expect with a premium all-season tire, for a SimpleScore of 9.9 in handling. While the Goodyear WinterCommand Ultra is durable and marks up a longevity score of 8.5, you always need to remember that it’s a winter tire and not suitable for year-round driving. The softer, stickier tread compound of winter tires isn’t designed for warmer weather and wears quickly when temperatures are above 45 degrees F. That’s why tire manufacturers advise switching back to all-season tires for warmer weather. As you’d expect, the Goodyear Winter Command Ultra is Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rated for severe winter service.
4. Sumitomo HTR Enhance LX2 - Great All-Season tire
Next up is the Sumitomo HTR Enhance LX2, an all-season tire that’s designed for all-season traction and performance paired up with the kind of long wear, ride comfort, and low noise you expect from a Grand Touring tire. Sumitomo designed the HTR Enhance LX2 with outside shoulder blocks that are tuned for better cornering stability and low noise, “bending sipes” in the center rib that aid in wet-weather traction as well as steering response, and chamfered lateral and circumferential grooves for dependable traction in wet or snowy conditions. Internally, the HTR Enhance LX2 incorporates two steel belts and a nylon cap ply with a reinforced bead apex that delivers good rigidity for cornering and handling response. The HTR Enhance LX2 is covered by an up to a 90,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty, depending on the tire’s size and speed rating. SimpleScore ratings for the HTR Enhance LX2 are an 8.9 average, with 8.7 for traction, 9.5 for longevity, and 8.7 for handling.
5. Westlake RP18 - Good All-Season tire
Let’s close things out with the Westlake RP18, a great value in an all-season tire that regularly beats expectations and punches far above its weight class when it comes to performance and overall bang for the buck. Wear properties with the Westlake RP18 are excellent, and Westlake covers the RP18 with a 45,000 mile warranty. The SimpleTire team took notes and gave this tire a SimpleScore of 8.2 for longevity. It’s also incumbent on us to mention the dependable year-round traction of the RP18, with its dense network of sipes and an all-season tread pattern that’s designed around circumferential grooves and angled/lateral grooves. With that all taken into account, we give the RP18 a SimpleScore of 8.1 for traction. Steering response, cornering, braking, and road manners are all direct and accurate, thanks to that tread design, along with a notched shoulder that helps with cornering dynamics and a contact patch that’s optimized to reduce tread squirm and deformation during hard cornering or maneuvers. SimpleScore for handling: 8.3. The Westlake RP18 gets an overall SimpleScore average of 8.6.
Buy 175/65R15 tires online
Whether you drive a Volkswagen Beetle, Honda Fit, or something else, SimpleTire has a set of the best 175/65R15 tires that meets your needs, and at a great price.
