Nokian does offer a 225/65 R17.
Discount Tire

Ebay

 

Thank you. Not sure why it's not on the manufacturers website. I'll reach out this installer.

UPDATE: I wasn't searching for the SUV line which has additional options for the Outback. Rookie mistake.

 

I had the Hakka 8s 2 winters ago. Prior to those I had General altimax arctic, (non-studded). The stopping and turning grip with studded 8s was night and day. When I get snow tires this year, I'm going to spend the extra dollar and get studs again. The Hakka 9s this time. You won't regret it.

 

Studs aren't legal in many states.

 

I've heard similar comments from friends in the Pacific NW where the studs made a huge difference in the hilly areas. They are now legal here so it's not an option. Thankfully, in most cases the area is flat and well plowed.

 

Questions on these tires: How are they in general dry summer driving, and what sort of mileage life expectancy do they have?

 

If you are asking how a winter or studded winter tire will handle year around use, check this out.
tested/Winter Tire Test - Performance Test

Most people don't recommend it, but do as you please with your tires.

 

The soft compounds used for severe service winter tires like these will wear very quickly in summer temps. Normally when our winter tires get to the point that they aren't going to be usefull for another season we'll run them through the following summer to spare some wear on the summer tires. The remaining tread on the winters doesn't last long at all once spring/summer temperatures arrive. Grip is pretty poor too.

 

Pretty much as I expected, but it is always good to get a confirmation! Haven't bothered with getting winter tires for 30 years now since I moved to Indiana, but this winter and next I expect to be going up into the mountains of the NE and maybe some in the Rockies ( will be doing some things with the US ski team), so winter tires will finally be necessary to be on the safe side of things for once, and the Nokians seem to be the best available.

 

and the Nokians seem to be the best available.

I've used various versions of the Hakkas starting with the 10, 1, and then the Q, and they worked well. However, I don't know if they are as good as their price would have you believe. The Hakka faithful will likely chime in, but Nokian admitted to rigging their tests.
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/finnish-tire-manufacturer-nokian-admits-to-manipulating-tests-in-the-past-105042.html

I'm not saying that I wouldn't happily run a new set of Hakkas, but there are other tires that work well too. I've most recently used Altimax Arctics on a Focus and a WRX, and Dunlop 3D Winter Sports on a VW Jetta Sportwagen. The bang for the buck on the Arctics is pretty good. I've been looking for a set of snow tires/wheels for our 15 OB, and I see that General has a new version of the Altimax Arctic.

 

OK. Will look at the Altimax as well.

 

We've had experience with a couple of other highly rated winter tires. We ran Bridgestone Blizzaks on our WRX all winter and they were excellent in snow and ice here in the Rockies. Actually, great fun and turned the WRX into a "snowmobile" compared to the summer performance tires that came on the WRX. We actually looked forward to "bad" weather so we could go out and play a little on the backroads. Of course, the Blizzaks didn't have the warm, dry handling of the stock WRX tires, but those stock performance summers are very poor, if not a hazard, in very cold temps and on snow and ice.

We also ran Michelin XICE XI3 on a Crosstrek and they were very good, plus they were quiet and handled well on cold dry days. They were also good on warmer days and in the wet.

Ran Hankook winter icept evos on WRX prior to using the Blizzaks. They are more of a compromise and advertised as a "performance winter" tire. Handling was a little better on cold, dry winter days than the above two, but not as good when there was snow or ice on the ground. Better than summer or all season, but not close to XI3 or Blizzaks


More than a couple of very good options out there.

 

Up here in central Vermont, I ran a set of Nokians and was less than impressed with them. Found them noisy and high wear rate due to the "green" compounds and soft rubber those guys are so proud of. I havenow installed a new set of Hankook Optima 727 for this coming winter, but will say that the summer-pavement ride is amazingly quiet and firm in the rain.

There are two types of Optimos out there, the 727 and "another one," which number I cannot remember (might be 721) but which is dramatically inferior in performance in the Vermont winter, according to the locals. I am running an 03 Legacy with size P225/65 R16 I think it is, but because this is a load 97-T tire the bigger dealers either will not sell it to you or will not install it for you, the claim being it is not at "100-H" so you have lost a few pounds of load-carrying capability. I remain unimpressed with this argument. In any event if you get a tire specially for Winter then you can (if the options provide for it) go to a slightly narrower tread width (and likely higher sidewall to maintain the same aspect ratio, correct me please if this is wrong info) as a narrower tire does better in cutting through snow. But all said, the local Vermont procedure is to go with the 727 and your winter problems are solved. And you can run it all-season with good wear performance and good handling.
Cheers!

PS I run that Altimax Arctic tire on my big BMW 740, works like a charm! Really great snow tire.