Best Affordable tires for Gen 2 prius with better MPG and snow traction ?

Low rolling resistance, good snow traction and cheap, is a tall order. If you get separate snow tires, the quest gets easier.

 

Yeah, you are asking a lot. LOL What do you have on right now? I have not found any all season tire that get good mpg (most likely LRR tire) to have decent snow traction. Might be doable for first year or two, but would not trust any non-snow LRR on snow with less than 6/32 inch tread left. I don't have any experience with any of three you listed, but look for sale, sometimes you can get very nice expensive brand tires for cheap. For dedicated snow tire with very good fuel economy, Michelin Xice 3 have proven to deliver for me. I just ordered a set online from Discount TIre Direct for less than $60/tire after discounts and multiple rebates.

Oh, BTW. Welcome to PriusChat!

 

Expect really bad traction no matter what in snow and ice... That's a problem with Prius... As for saving $20 a tire buying cheaps ones... You'll pay three times that much for all the money you lose barely getting 40mpg. Maybe try http://SimpleTire.com Last year on Black Friday I was able to buy near very best high MPG tires as (4) bridgestone ecopia ep422 for $68 each and free shipping and I found a local shop to put 'em on for only $20 each. Best part is that because I didn't buy the tires and installation at same time, I've only had to replace the two worst tires and the other two are still waiting for almost a year now for the the tread to finally wear out. Saved a ton of money and didn't scrimp on tire quality doing it this way. Also boosting tire pressure up to mid-fourties PSI is a big help in boosting MPG too!

 

What’s that saying? You can have 2 of these options but not all 3?

 

Those actually got some good comments regarding snow traction of this tire, but maybe it's from buyers, trying to convince themselves as much as anything? The tread doesn't have the fine siping of a snow tire, and I don't think it'd be the softer rubber formulation of a snow tire.

If you resign yourself to separate snows the options for a cheap and LRR all-season open up up a lot. You can also run the tread down lower, knowing they don't have to get your through winter.

 

Run dedicated snows and be done with it. Start piecing together a second set of wheels, have the snows mounted to them and then you get the most out of your all season LLR tires by swapping them right ahead of the first snow flake. You will most likely take a mileage penalty with snow tires of which gets compounded by the colder Michigan weather. As has been said, it's difficult to serve these three masters at the same time.

 

Michigan is deep-freeze in winter. Snow tires are extra hassle, but worth it in the long run. Your regular tire tread lasts longer, and your regular rims will be in better shape. Having them off the car through winter you can wash/wax them thoroughly too.

This is what we used on third gen for rims. The third gen tire is a bit wider/bigger, but maybe the rim is the same spec:

snow tire: Michelin X-Ice2 195/65R15
Corolla steel rim, part no: 42611-02471 (2003-2008 corolla or matrix, CE, LS, S)
steel rim lug nuts, part no: 90942-01007 (plain, open-ended, galvanized)

 

Check the TEST RESULTS on TireRack for the General Altimax RT43.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=227

I don't remember which tire fits the Prius. I have both the T and the H rated ones, I think, on two different Toyotas. Great tire regardless of the speed rating.

Great tire. Great test results. Great price. Snow, ice, rain. All tops according to TR and several other ratings sites.

I started a thread about it a year or so ago.