I am currently using a pair of the 165/65-14 Federal SS-657 tires. When I lost a Dunlop Enasave to a sidewall issue last summer, I bought a pair of these. At the time, simpletire.com offered the best price, too. I got them in 2-3 days with free-shipping. I gave my local mechanic a $20 bill to mount & balance them for me.
I kept the extra Dunlop in my garage as a back up spare. If I lost another Dunlop, I would still have a pair left. I typically use 6 tires for all of my front wheel drive vehicles. I've been doing that for decades, and I probably won't change. Thus, I tend to buy pairs of tires rather than sets. The newer pairs are used during the winter months, & older pairs are used during the summer months. One pair overlaps for a time. My Federal tires are currently that pair. I would never do this with an AWD vehicle (all four tires should match), but I make it work for others.
I occasionally check the price of Federal tires, and I start with Walmart. I've seen them listed over $100, & I've seen them as low $41. Today they are $50 from another supplier through Walmart. When Walmart has them in supply they are cheaper. Walmart must be moving these tires, because their status changes quite often.
The exact same Federal tire is $43.34 with free shipping @ simpletire.com today. If you are buying on line, it pays to look around some. If you are relying on Walmart to balance/mount your tires, that needs to be a consideration, too.
At this point, I have no complaints with the factory size Federal tires. I wouldn't stick my neck out for this tire until I've had it longer, however. I currently have about 10,000 miles on mine. They spent the winter on the back (did very well), & I have them up front now. Thus, they have been match up with Nokian snow tires up front this past winter and the factory Dunlop on the back this summer.
Steve getting 75,000 miles out of a set of 175/65-14 Falken Sincera SN250 for $50 each is a much better endorsement. Then again, I don't see those tires at that low price any more.
I think a person will always have options. If you know you are going to keep your Mirage for a long time, jumping on a good deal may be worth it. If I knew I was going to get 40,000+ miles out a pair of Federal SS-657 tires, I would probably pick up another pair when they are cheap. If they don't last all that long, I may explore something else?
I don't mind 165/65-14 tires. I prefer a skinny, high profile tire over a wider, low profile tire. There have been some good threads on this. Eggman has organized some great information on 165/65-14 tires! If you don't like having to make a decision on tires, the few choices of 165/65-14 tires will help in that area.
In the 165/65-14 tire size, I haven't ruled out the following tires yet -
Federal SS-657
Vredestein Quatrac 5
Dunlop or Nokian snow tires.
I would not endorse any of these tires, but I haven't ruled them out yet either. Since I prefer skinny tires on a small economy car, I am always interested in what others have to say about these tires in particular.
If my short list shrinks, I will join the 175/65-14 tire group for sure. I'm still experimenting, before I jump ship!