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I am looking for a replacement for my Mitsubishi Grandis(2000) and have settled on either a Grandis or Stream(Corolla SW possible option, I don't need 7 seats). Newer Grandis are a bit too expensive, my budget is up to $8000

There are many good Streams available in the $7-8000 range, but! They appear to be very noisy. I have tested a few and found road noise to be a real issue. Would different tyres fix/improve this?

Advice?

Different tyres may help but highly likely not as much as you may be expecting.

Kiwi roads are notorious for their course chip which does transmit road noise through into the cabin with some vehicles being definitely worse than others in this respect.

It has been an on-going issue for NZ motorists for many years even with cars purchased new in NZ.

It may pay to check the tyre brand on the Streams you have seen for sale as it is unlikely they will all have the same brand fitted. A test drive with different tyres may help you decide whether road noise can be improved.

A NZ new Toyota Corolla is a very good choice as is a used import Toyota Ipsum.