Free shipping
Best price guarantee
SimpleCrew exclusive savings
0% financing options
Free tire replacement coverage
24/7 roadside assistance
Easy returns
Mercury Cougar Tires
The Cougar originated way back in 1967 as a more upscale, pricier counterpart to the Ford Mustang. Cougars took a lot of different forms over the years, as it went from being a performance car to a personal luxury coupe more along the lines of the Ford Thunderbird. The eighth (and last) generation of the Cougar was available with a Ford 2.0L Zetec 4-cyl or 2.5L 170 hp Ford Duratec V6 and a choice of manual or automatic transmissions. This last iteration of the Cougar had the distinction of being the first front-wheel-drive model of the car and was also downsized from being a personal luxury coupe to being a 3-door sport compact coupe. The Cougar was discontinued in 2002 and was offered in Base, S, LS, and XR-7 trim levels.
Here at SimpleTire, our team has gone through the catalog and rounded the best Mercury Cougar tires, including all-season, UHP all-season, and winter tire choices. We then ranked them in Best/Great/Good order and used our SimpleScore system to assign a numerical value for the categories of handling, longevity, and traction for each one. Ready? Let’s go in for a closer look:
1. Cooper Pro Control: Best All-Season tire
We’re kicking off this list with the Cooper ProControl, a versatile premium all-season tire that’s a great choice for a whole range of sedans, minivans, and crossovers, including the Mercury Cougar. Internal construction details of the Cooper ProControl include high turn-up at the sidewall, a durable, long-wearing rubber compound, polyester casing with an angled steel belt package, and a nylon reinforcement cap for excellent stability at highway speed. Cooper covers the ProControl with a best-in-class 70,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty, which gives it an outstanding SimpleScore rating of 9.8 in the longevity department. Cooper engineered the ProControl with a profile and footprint that evenly distributes and manages vehicle weight and the forces of braking and cornering, for a SimpleScore of 8.6 for handling. What that means for your driving experience is cornering and handling performance that’s predictable, confident, and precise. The wet-weather grip is the result of a combination of circumferential grooves and lateral grooves that channel water away to fight hydroplaning, and its innovative sipes are designed so they will expand and widen to continue delivering extra traction as the tire wears down. The tire’s center ribs are designed with a higher density of sipes to help boost grip in low-friction snow and slush – we give the Cooper ProControl a SimpleScore of 8.6 for traction.
2. Toyo Proxes Sport A/S: Best All-Season tire
Here at the SimpleTire team, Toyo tires have been making a good impression on us for some time, and the Proxes Sport A/S is no exception. The Proxes A/S Sport is designed to deliver all-season, year-round performance along with accurate, responsive steering, short braking distances, and great cornering ability. A system of multi-wave sipes, angled grooves, and circumferential grooves work together for enhanced grip on wet, dry, or snowy pavement for a SimpleScore of 8.9. Handling is another area where this tire adds value, thanks to a contact patch that’s optimized to put the most rubber in contact with the road, a specialized rib design, and a silica-rich rubber compound for a score of 9.1. The Toyo Proxes Sport A/S is covered by a 40,000 mile warranty, enough to register a SimpleScore of 8.3 for longevity.
3. Bridgestone Blizzak WS90: Best Winter tire
Now we get to the Bridgestone Blizzak WS90, our pick for the best winter tire for the Mercury Cougar. The Blizzak WS90 is a studless tire that has the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service and is designed as an update from the Blizzak WS90. Its winter rubber compound incorporates multicell technology and tiny bite particles for better friction on snow, slush, and ice, yet it stays pliable for dependable grip on sub-freezing days. When you need traction and control, the Blizzak WS90’s winter tread pattern features a solid center rib with large tread blocks and a pattern of circumferential and angled grooves and sipes that multiply surface area and grip to chew through snow and slush. We give this tire an outstanding SimpleScore of 9.6 for traction. Its contact patch is optimized to put more rubber on the road, and tread block stiffness is enhanced for sharp steering response, braking, and cornering for a SimpleScore of 8.7 in the handling department. That enhanced footprint is also designed for improved wear properties even though the Blizzak WS90 doesn’t have a treadwear warranty (most winter tires don’t), we give a SimpleScore of 8.6 for longevity.
While these are the best Mercury Cougar tires on the market, there are plenty of other tires to consider:
4. Yokohama Avid Ascend LX: Great All-Season tire
Here at SimpleTire, just about everything from Yokohama has been making a good impression on us for a long time and the Yokohama Avid Ascend LX is no exception. The Avid Ascend LX is designed for dependable year-round grip with a network of circumferential grooves, lateral grooves, angled grooves, and wavy 3D sipes, bringing home a SimpleScore of 8.6 for traction. Treadwear properties are excellent with the Avid Ascend LX; it features Yokohama’s L-2 polymer blend tread compound for wear resistance and a wider, flatter footprint for more even treadwear and distribution of vehicle weight. Regardless of the brand, it’s hard to complain about an 85,000 mile warranty – we give the Yokohama Avid Ascend LX a 9.7 for longevity. All those tread features (along with large, reinforced shoulder blocks and a solid center rib) work together for steering response that’s precise and direct, predictable cornering, and great braking – we give the Avid Ascend LX a SimpleScore of 8.7 for traction.
5. Falken Ziex ZE960 A/S: Great UHP All-Season tire
Let’s close out this little roundup with the Falken Ziex ZE960 A/S. The Ziex ZE960 A/S isn’t technically a UHP tire, but it does deliver performance that rivals UHP tires, in a premium all-season tire package. The Ziex ZE960 A/S incorporated Falken's innovative Flask Siping, circumferential, angled, and cross-hatch grooves for enhanced hydroplaning resistance, pulling in a SimpleScore of 8.6 for traction. Cornering, braking, and steering response are all accurate and immediate, with a tread face that’s optimized for rigidity and robust internal construction, and we gave this tire a SimpleScore of 8.6 for handling.
Order Mercury Cougar Tires Online
Buying tires online can be a stressful process, but it really doesn't need to be. SimpleTire offers a simple approach to finding the tires that are best for you and your Mercury Cougar Select your Mercury Cougar below, then tell us a few more things such as year and trim level to determine your tire size. From there, we'll show you tires that fit your vehicle and are the best match based on performance characteristics, but you can also look for the best value tires, tires that are on sale or part of a promo, have the longest tread life, and much more
.