Daily driving
Touring & eco
With economy-tier power and daily driving, your tyres have an easy life. Spend on wet braking and longevity, not outright grip.
The Suzuki Swift 1.2 Hybrid (2024) is a front-wheel drive hybrid car with 61 kW and a kerb weight of 950 kg. That’s 64 kW per tonne, in the economy tier. City cars, small hatches, workhorse utes and big 4x4s. The tyres have an easy life.
64kW/t
Likely under the P-plate limit. Under 130 kW/t on kerb weight. Legal eligibility uses tare mass, and engine modifications or a banned listing can still rule a car out. Check eligibility →
GL Plus 16in
185/55 R16 83VBest in this size →
Factory sizes. Wheels get changed: your tyre placard, in the driver’s door jamb, is the authority on size, load index and speed rating.
For a mild, wet climate. Cold and snowy climates are further down.
Daily driving
With economy-tier power and daily driving, your tyres have an easy life. Spend on wet braking and longevity, not outright grip.
Spirited road driving
Economy-tier power and spirited road driving is grand-touring territory: strong wet grip and comfort without paying for grip you'll never use.
Road + occasional track days
Economy-tier power starts to overwhelm touring rubber, especially in the wet. UHP tyres add the braking and steering you need and still last.
Also consider: optional track set, extreme 200TW.
Estimates from power and weight. The tyre placard on the driver’s door jamb is the legal minimum.
Touring & eco: character
Cold winters, little snow
Your tyre: All-season / all-weather
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 · Continental AllSeasonContact 2 · Michelin CrossClimate 2
If you'd rather run summer tyres: Touring & eco
Continental EcoContact 7 · Michelin Energy XM2+ · Hankook Kinergy Eco 2
Snow and ice
Summer set: Touring & eco
Continental EcoContact 7 · Michelin Energy XM2+ · Hankook Kinergy Eco 2
Winter set: Winter
Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 · Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 · Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
If you want one set: All-season / all-weather
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 · Continental AllSeasonContact 2 · Michelin CrossClimate 2
Front-wheel drive
Your front tyres do the steering, braking and driving, so they wear faster. Rotate front to rear every 10,000 km to keep wear even.
Hybrid
Rolling resistance shows up directly in fuel use on a hybrid. Check the tyre's efficiency grade on its label; the gap between the best and worst can be several percent.
Buying only two?
Put the new pair on the rear axle, even on a front-driver. Grippy rears keep the car stable when braking or cornering in the wet; worn rears are what cause spins.
From the factory: 185/55 R16 83V (GL Plus 16in). Wheels get changed, so check your car's tyre placard, in the driver's door jamb, before buying.
64 kW per tonne (86 hp per tonne), from 61 kW and a 950 kg kerb weight. That puts it in ratio's Economy tier.
For everyday driving, touring & eco tyres. Good options include the Continental EcoContact 7, Michelin Energy XM2+, Bridgestone Ecopia EP300. Always match or exceed the load index and speed rating on the car's tyre placard.
Likely, on power-to-weight: at 64 kW per tonne on kerb weight it is under the 130 kW/t limit for P-platers in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Legal eligibility uses tare mass, and engine modifications can still make a car off-limits.
Cars in the Economy tier typically run T or H-rated tyres. The legal minimum is whatever your placard, on the driver's door jamb, specifies.