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Mike--I went through the same process as you are going through, though mine was for a 97 R wagon with 17-inch rims. There are a dozen or so 205/215-45-17 tires out there to select from, but only TWO are all-season radials I discovered--Goodyear Eagles (very spendy) and Toyo's new Proxes line (moderate price). The other dozen were all high performance summer. My first choice was Michelin's Hydroedge--terrific gripping on wet pavement and incredibly quiet. Plus Costco had them on sale at $60 below usual retail. Unfortunately, Michelin didn't make it in a 45 specification. If I had wanted to change to a 16-inch rim, which will work on an R wagon, I could have gone with the 205-50-16 Hydroedge which came with an 80,000 mile warranty, but then I was looking at another four hundred or so for a set of 16-inch rims. Toyo apparently just came out with the 45 series Proxes, and after buying a set last fall before the rainy season and putting them on the R, I was very pleased. It is almost impossible to find a high performance, decent mileage rated, all-season radial in a 45-17 configuration I discovered (none come with a warranty), and the only one I found was the Toyo Proxes. They have a treadware rating of 30 or 35 (30,000 miles if you don't race or squirrel around on them), the highest I was able to find. I queried people on the BrickBoard and those that responded had nothing but praise for the Proxes.
I live in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, where it is continually wet, and I wanted a tire that was good on wet pavement, quiet, and the occasional snowy road east through the Gorge into Washington and Idaho, and the Proxes were it. It was rated quite a bit above the more expensive Goodyear Eagle in stopping on wet pavement, handling and quiet. Can't remember the speed rating--V sticks in my mind, around 165 mph)--but it was quiet high, right up there with the high performance summer crowd. At the moment I'm here in Norway and the R is in storage in Idaho, or I would check for you.
As to price--I was always a Les Schwab fan until it came to getting my first set of Proxes. Those people wanted $160 each and had them on sale at one time for $132, but I missed the sale by a day, and would they honor it? No way in h-ll. So I phoned around to various tire dealers, and quickly discovered I could buy them locally for about $110 each, not including mounting and balancing. I checked Tirerack.com and I can't remember whether the 45-17 Proxes were available to them or not. At any rate, they wanted another ten per tire to ship, which was another forty bucks onto the local phone-around price of around $110. It pays to shop around and bargain. Don't be afraid to come up with your own price, what you would pay for four mounted, balanced and siped with new stems. You'll be surprised to find that some tire dealers will accept your price. AmericaTires did mine, fast enough that it made me wonder whether I should have quoted a lower figure.
My only recommendation at this time is for the 45 series Toyo Proxes. I don't know if the 93 850 sedan came with 215's or not. My 97 R sportwagon came with 205's. The wider the tire the more rolling friction (less mileage) and the more tendency to hydroplane at high speeds. I don't see the advantage of a 215 over a 205 except for more summer-time racing traction, but will let it stand. Your only other decision regarding whatever tire you go with, is whether you want to pay the additional ten or fifteen dollars per tire to have it siped, i.e. extra little razor slashes in the tread. They (dealers and the like) say it really enhances traction and does not decrease tread wear, but I find it strange if that is true why the tires don't come siped from the dealer in the first place. Also, you will have to decide whether that $60 for tire insurance is really worth it. I didn't opt for it, even though the dealer dropped it from $60 down to $45 when he saw me swallow. Maybe I'm just a cautious driver. I've never damaged a tire yet hitting a curb, rock or whatever that necessitated replacing it. Hope this helps. Dick
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