Touring All-Season
Introduction
We planned a perfect summer vacation for the last week of June heading into the July 4th holiday, to visit the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where family and friends awaited our arrival. The flight, car rental, and AirBnB were all lined up and ready to go, or so we thought. The flight ended up being delayed twice in the span of an hour, so we thought, why not cancel and turn it into a road trip?
Our 2009 Mazda 5, what we consider a true minivan, recently had four new 205/50R17 Nokian eNTYRE tires mounted. It was ready for the 1,600+ mile road trip. As the eNTYREs are considered a low rolling resistance (LRR), we took notes on miles-per-gallon (MPG) as well as handling, comfort, and road noise.
Our route took us from the San Francisco Bay Area connecting from flat I-505, to straight I-5 in Northern California, to the twisty and hilly sections by Mt. Shasta National? Park and Grants Pass in Oregon. Temps on the first day of the drive were forecast to be extreme - over 100℉. The drive and those conditions, with two adults and two kids plus 150+ lbs. of luggage, would prove a strenuous test of both vehicle and and its tires.
I'm glad to report both car and tires made the entire trip without a hitch, except a blown fuse for the 12V power outlet, when we charged both a smartphone and a portable DVD player at the same time. We actually saw outside air temps of an astonishing 109℉ driving near Redding, CA! After the trip, we looked up the record temp for Redding and it actually hit 113℉! The asphalt itself must have been a blistering 120℉ or higher.
Performance and Handling
The Mazda 5 has a similar suspension as its sportier sibling, the Mazda 3. Car and Driver has voted the 3 to its vaunted 10Best list numerous times. While the Mazda 5 carries a bit more weight, we still gave it a go in the twisties. With a late start due to the delayed flight, we had to make it to Portland before midnight. We took long sweepers on I-5 at 70 mph confidently, with little noise coming from the eNTYREs.
Road Noise
The Nokian eNTYREs are thus far, a quiet tire. Granted, they have less than 5K miles driven on them, so we'll keep our ears open as we rack up more miles. They are at least as quiet as the pricier Goodyear Assurance Triple-tred tires they replaced.
The 205/50R17 V-speed rated Nokian eNTYRE (same size as for most first generation Mazda3s) mounted on the Mazda5.
Fuel Economy
This trip was a pretty harsh test for fuel economy. We had the A/C running for essentially the whole trip, with a full load of passengers passengers and luggage. Plus, with the speed limit at 70 mph for most of I-5, we kept a high average speed in order to arrive at a reasonable time. Even so, we managed a respectable 27 mpg, some of which was certainly attributable to the low rolling resistance of the eNTYREs.
Conclusion
There are many tires available on the market, and most of them would do a fine job. We were happy with the performance, comfort, and noise of the Nokian eNTYREs during this long summer road trip. They may be the most inexpensive low rolling resistance (LRR) tire widely available in the U.S. market.
The Mazda, waiting in line to board the Bainbridge Island ferry in Seattle.
