Best tires for the Mitsubishi Lancer
Top picks across four categories for the Mitsubishi Lancer, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 205/60R16. Every recommendation is selected from our 22,000-tire catalog by ranking on UTQG treadwear, mileage warranty, cabin-noise rating, and season class; no commission-weighted reordering.
Daily driver
Best all-season touring
Long warranty, low noise, balanced ride. The one-tire compromise that works for 80% of owners.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Mitsubishi Lancer owners.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
UTQG 820 with a 85,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Mitsubishi Lancer owners.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
UTQG 640 with a 60,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Mitsubishi Lancer owners.
Michelin
Defender 2
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Mitsubishi Lancer owners.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
820 UTQG with a 85,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Continental
TrueContact tour
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Cooper
CS5 ultra touring
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Lowest cabin noise
Best quiet
Tread patterns engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning. Pick this if you commute long highway distances daily.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Michelin
Defender 2
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cooper
CS5 ultra touring
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cold-weather grip
Best winter
Dedicated winter or all-weather compounds that stay pliable below 7 °C. Necessary for >5 snow days a year.
Bridgestone
Blizzak WS90
Dedicated winter tire compound; stays pliable below 7 °C where summer/all-season rubber hardens. Recommended for Mitsubishi Lancer drivers in cold or snowy regions.
Michelin
X-Ice snow
Dedicated winter tire compound; stays pliable below 7 °C where summer/all-season rubber hardens. Recommended for Mitsubishi Lancer drivers in cold or snowy regions.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack | Best budget Goodyear Assurance MaxLife | Best winter Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 800 | 820 | - |
| Mileage warranty | 80,000 mi | 85,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 68 dB | 70 dB | 71 dB |
| Season class | all-season | all-season | winter |
| Type | touring | touring | passenger |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the mitsubishi lancer use?
Recommendations on this page are anchored to the latest model-year's OEM size. Confirm yours against the driver-door placard before purchase.
| Year | OEM size | |
|---|---|---|
| 1988–1991 | 185/60R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1994 | 175/70R13 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1996–2000 | 175/70R13 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2001 | 185/65R14 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2002–2003 | 195/60R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2004–2006 | 205/50R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2007 | 195/60R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2008–2014 | 215/45R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2015–2016 | 205/60R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2017 | 215/45R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the mitsubishi lancer
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 205/60R16; and filtered our catalog of 22,000+ tires to those offered in that exact size. From there, four parallel rankings:
- Best all-season ranks on a weighted score: tire type matches passenger car segment, season is "all-season", premium brand bonus (Michelin / Continental / Bridgestone / Pirelli / Goodyear / Nokian).
- Best budget ranks on cost-per-warranty-mile; the lower the better. Premium brands get no bonus here.
- Best quiet ranks on the EU tire-label dB rating; lower is quieter.
- Best winter filters to tires marked 3PMSF severe-snow rated or all-weather class, with a small premium-brand bonus because winter-compound R&D is capital-intensive.
For sedans and compacts, the all-season touring tire below is the best default; long warranty, low cabin noise, reasonable cost per mile. Switch to the quiet pick if highway droning is a deal-breaker; switch to the winter pick if you see significant snow each year. Use the side-by-side comparison above to weigh the trade-offs against your specific driving; highway-heavy, winter-state, performance-oriented, or budget-constrained.
NHTSA-reported issues for mitsubishi lancer
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (8) · TPMS (3) · Sidewall (1) · Tread / Belt (1) · Valve (1)
Reported across: 2002 – 2011 (7 years)
What owners described
Sidewall failure is the most common description, in 18% of these reports. Percentages are shares of the 11 reports covering every model year of the Mitsubishi Lancer that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sidewall failure | 18% | 15% | 1.2× |
| Pressure-monitoring (TPMS) fault | 18% | 2% | 7.6× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 9% | 9% | 1.0× |
| Premature or uneven wear | 9% | 1% | 7.0× |
Mileage at failure
6 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 11,500 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 4,300 and 19,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Mitsubishi Lancer. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
THE BRAKES WORE OUT PREMATURELY. THE PART WAS REPLACED THREE TIMES, BUT THE PROBLEM CONTINUED EXISTS. *AK THE VEHICLE LEFT BLACK OIL SPOTS ON THE GARAGE GROUND NEAR ALL FOUR TIRES THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD IT WAS FROM EXCESS FACTORY OVER COATING. THE BRAKES SQUEALED CONTINUOUSLY, THE FRONT BRAKE PADS WORE OUT PREMATURELY AND A NAIL WAS IN THE SIDEWALL OF THE REAR TIRE AND COULDN'T BE REPAIRED BECAUSE TO THE FRONT AND REAR STRUTS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED DUE TO LEAKAGE, HOWEVER THE CONSUMER WAS GETTING DIFFERENT OPINIONS REGARDING THE STRUTS. THE CONSUMER FELT THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE CALIPERS AND OR BRAKE DESIGN WHICH CAUSED THE BRAKES TO PREMATURELY WEAR OUT. *SCC THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THE TIRES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MITSUBISHI LANCER. IN RAINY WEATHER CONDITIONS, THE CONTACT NOTICED WATER ENTERING THE VEHICLE THROUGH THE DRIVER SIDE CABIN. ALSO, THE TIRES HAVE PREMATURE TREAD WEAR. HE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND A TECHNICIAN REPLACED ALL FOUR TIRES AND PERFORMED A WHEEL ALIGNMENT. SEVERAL MONTHS LATER, THE TIRE TREAD DISPLAYED ABNORMAL WEAR AGAIN. HE TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THEY WOULD HAVE TO REALIGN THE TIRES AND REPLACE ALL FOUR AGAIN. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED BECAUSE THE DEALER CANNOT IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7,500 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 19,000.
THE CAR PULLS TO THE LEFT VERY STRONGLY, AND HAVE HAD THE CAR AT THE DEALERSHIP 3-4 TIMES TO HAVE THEM TRY AND FIX IT WITH NO AVAIL. THEY ALIGNED IT AND ROTATED THE TIRES, BUT THIS FIXED NOTHING. I STRESSED MY CONCERN WITH THIS THAT THE TIRES WOULD WEAR OUT FAST SINCE IT ISN'T ALIGNED RIGHT, AND NOW, AT 4300 MILES, ALL FOUR TIRES ARE WORN OUT BAD, FEATHERED ON THE OUTSIDE, AND INSIDE IS ALMOST DOWN TO 2/32NDS, AND THE DEALERSHIP I BOUGHT THE CAR FROM REFUSES TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I FILED A CLAIM WITH MITUSBISHI THEMSELVES, AND AFTER REVIEWING THE CASE, SAID THE CAR IS FINE, AND ALL FOUR TIRES HAVE EVEN WEAR AND THEY CLOSED THE CASE, EVEN THOUGH ALL THE TIRES ARE WORN OUT DIFFERENT, SOME WORSE THAN OTHERS, AND THE CAR STILL PULLS TO THE LEFT.
MY HUSBAND AND I BOTH PURCHASED 2008 MITSUBISHI LANCER GTS. TWO VEHICLES WITHIN 3 WEEKS OF EACH OTHER IN OCTOBER. CHAD'S CARE HAS 13,000 MILES MINE 15,000 MILES. BOTH CARS NEED NEW TIRES. THE FRONT TIRES ARE DOWN TO THE THREAD ON BOTH CARS. THE BACK TIRES ON MINE ARE PASSES WEAR LINES. CHAD'S TIRES IN THE BACK ARE A LITTLE BIT BETTER. OF COURSE WHEN CALLING THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP WHICH IS 45-60 MINUTES AWAY FROM MY HOUSE THEY INFORMED ME THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO FOR ME. SURPRISE ! WHAT DO I DO NOW AND WHERE ELSE CAN I TURN? PLEASE HELP! EMAIL US IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS.
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Mitsubishi Lancer →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Mitsubishi Lancer?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Mitsubishi Lancer?
Does the Mitsubishi Lancer need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Mitsubishi Lancer?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-09-02.