Nokian WRg2 tires are All-Weather tires that do well on snow/ice. They are LRR and are likely to match all of the newly advertised LRR tires without sacrificing traction, handling or tire strength (as several of the others do - get the H-rated version and don't consider ANY "Run Flat" tires - higher rolling resistance).

I went through a set of Nokian WRs on my 2004 Prius and was pleased with them. My WRg2s are about half way through their life and are doing quite well and have less road noise.

JeffD

 

I find the Nokian WRG2 impose about 10% mileage reduction, compared to our well broken-in Bridgestone Insignia SE200_02's. It's a bit debatable, because the WRG2's are on in the worst weather of the year, but it's quite noticeable on the first tank before/after the switch. That said they're not bad, I think the hit is worse in stop-and-go than on the highway.

For me their strong suit is the "mixed bag" conditions, ie: on the west coast we get the very occasional dump of snow (some years near none), a fair number of treacherously icy mornings, but mostly just wet, and occasionally dry as a bone and sunny, right through winter. I think a pure "snow" tire would wear faster under these conditions, the WRG2 is a good compromise.

 

Mendel,

You can't really tell much from a short experiment as there are so many variables. I have data (attached) on 4 tires now on my 2004 Prius at almost 173,000 miles. The original Goodyear Integrities, Michelin "Energy Saving" MXV4+, Nokian WR, and now Nokian WRg2. Note that all 3 replacement tires achieved better MPG than the poorly performing Goodyear Integrity tires (especially in cold weather) with the Nokians doing better than the Michelins in all weather conditions.

If you look at the new performance MPG of tires vs the MPG performance of worn tires you do see a significant difference. Most of this is due to the smaller diameter of the worn tires, which causes your odometer (and speedometer) to overstate distance traveled. There is a smaller effect due to lower energy losses in the thinner tire tread as well. You also have to account for each tire starting out at a different diameter (check the tire's "Revolutions per Mile" rating).

JeffD