Yes, if you can get fairly intricate 16" wheels refurbed for £50 each (especially if that includes tyre remove refit) thet end result is miles better, and good powder coating last years.

I haven't used them, but if you can get your wheels to these people their prices are unbeatable, wish they were closer to me...www.citypowdercoaters.co.uk/

You're welcome, be interesting to hear your thoughts of the place and the work if they sound ok on the phone.

An update.

I was overly optimistic about having 6 months left on my existing tyres - or rather I was a bit misled by my indy who was aked to do rebalancing, tracking, moved tyres front to back etc. (More on this on a thread I started in the 'general section' about trust). And did the MoT.

Last week I noticed a slow puncture (turned out to be a rim-seal leak) and took the car into ATS. Whilst there was plenty of tread on the tyres, they were in a dreadful condition - cracks between treads and in sidewalls, weak areas (push in with a finger) etc. Not surprising, apparently a code on the tyres showed they were made in 2004. I had just done a nearly 1200 mile trip to France at speeds up to 130 km/h

Thinking of HJ's advice, I asked for a quote for a set of Cross-Climates. £450. 'Budgets' about £250. I don't mind spending money on the car, but I do have to weigh up and take into account its age and expected remaining life.

(I'm not sure about the rules here for recommendations etc. so Mods please delete this if inappropriate.)

I had seen the Asda tyres website (yes, I was surprised too). They use a central ordering site with local fitters. My 'local' was a place I know, with an excellent reputation over many years, but 'no frills'. I spoke to him and he told me he could beat Asda prices.

And so it turned out. £164 (incl. VAT) for four 225/45/17 tyres, valves, balanced, etc. Not a brand I'd heard of (and I don't suppose they'll be trying to take over the F1 franchise) but they're XL rated and (interestingly - I hadn't seen this for years) 'M+S'. A test drive of a few hundred miles out of interest showed a good level of ride comfort and noise. I'm a fairly gentle driver and I can't report on 'pushing to the level of grip' and other such journalistic cliches. I can say that on that day we had heavy rain and some flash flooding on country roads and I had no problems.

So, in summary, I think my dissatisfaction with the 17" wheels was probably because of the old, hardened and perishing tyres. I suspect that I'll sell/give to a good home the 16s. That's another 'project' I don't have to pursue. (I did quite fancy powder-coated light grey/dark silver wheels though ...)