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I will be changing all four tyres on my Mazda3 (2005 build, TS2 1.6 petrol) very soon, which are the most common 205/55 R16 V size. The ride on my car has always been on the firm side, though not hard by any means, but the ride quality, on mine at least, seems to be affected quite a bit by the tyres themselves as well as the tyre size, age and how worn the suspension is.
The OEM tyres were (in my view) God-awful Bridgestone ER30s - fine for about a year or so, then started to get very hard, which was great for longevity (they lasted 6 years/40k miles or so and only down to 4mm tread on the fronts and 5mm on the rears, if I recall [this was alomst 6 years ago now]), but not for comfort or (especially) wet handling.
The ride went very firm, noise from the tyres was very significant, especially on top-dressed surfaces (a horrible droning noise that sounded like I was driving on four flat tyres), and I almost lost control on two roundabouts in wet conditions (the back stepped out big time) at relatively slow speeds.
At the time, the above promoted me to change tyres to the very good Dunlop SP Sport Fastresponse, which were, and are, far more quiet, giving a smoother ride for around 5 years before beginning to firm up a bit, but still grip the road surprisingly well today and have about the same tread left as the ER30s at the same age, though they've done only 25k miles. Still, not bad at all, and have given just as good mpg as the much harder Bridgestones.
Now my Dunlops are nearly 6 years old, and the OEM rims are corroding a bit/possibly are damaged a bit so that air does leak (slowly) out of the tyres (they needed 3 goes at getting them fitted last time for this reason - with more sealant used than usual), I've decided to replace the OEM alloys at the same time, AND to go for 15in rims with higher profile (still very common) 195/65 R15 H tyres (which I've had confirmed is allowable [they are on the essentially identical TS model] and won't affect my insurance premium). The added bonus is that both the tyres (about £10 a corner) and rims (£85 - £90 each instead of £150 for the 16in OEMs, only £105 for other compatible Mazda 16in alloys).
Needless to say that if I go for the 15in rims and tyres, it won't make much difference to the handling characteristics of the car in normal dry/wet conditions (not unless I drive it illegally/danagerously), the ride will be smoother (I drove a TS model with those smaller wheels/tyres on and it was much better, despite it being an 54 reg) and I'll have enough money saved from the cheaper alloys to spend on really high quality tyres.
I'm going to try out the Michelin CrossClimate+ 195/65 R15 H (or V depending on price), given they seem to get very good reviews on non-performance FWD cars, and apparently give a good combination of low wear, improved comfort and decent handling in all weathers over the entire life of the tyre. I also suspect that as the tech improves, so does all the performance indicators for all tyres, so a reduction in that for all-season tyres of today is actually at least comparable (if not better) to that of summer tyres from 3-5 years ago (that's what I'm hoping at least).
Many reports on the Tyre Reviews website give a mixed bag for many 'summer tyres' - sometimes giving good results, others less so for the same tyre and size combo. It doesn't help that the EU ratings aren't that useful, especially the 'noise' ratings, as that relates solely to external noise, and not in-cabin noise. User reviews can be, if you pick the right ones (ones for longer usage, not the first 2k miles or less, and which suit your car [FWD or RWD, performance/not & tyre size] and riving style), they are often more useful than reading the magazines' tests.
I'll post a review of mine (and after longer periods of use across their life) and on Tyre Reviews (as I've done with my current and previous sets) once I get them.
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