Spring's coming: The latest on all-season and summer tires

Chances are, if you invested in snow tires before this winter started, you've gotten your money's worth. And given the extreme weather so many of you have experienced this season, those winter treads may yet see another good bit of active duty before the Easter Bunny hops along. Still, even if the view out your kitchen window presents a vista reminiscent of the fictional ice planet Hoth at the moment, you ought to start planning what you'll do when it's time  swap out your winter tires for rubber that's better-suited to the warm weather. If this changeover happens to coincide with the need to go new-tire shopping, you're in luck: we've studied the latest reviews to see which all-season and warm-weather tires experts and consumers recommend most.

Standard all-season tires will get the job done for most drivers. In that category, there are a number of tires that seek to balance all-around performance and reasonable pricing, but the clear-cut winner based on our analysis of expert and user reviews is the Goodyear Assurance Triple Tread, which retails for around $125 per tire. Shoppers on tighter budgets shouldn't despair: a new tire, the Hankook Optimo H727, comes in at under $100 per tire, and despite that substantially lower price, it performs as well as the Goodyear in one test. 

We also cover performance all-season tires in our report, and in that category, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS distinguishes itself at a reasonable price -- around $100 per tire. For absolute maximum performance, however, you should eschew all-seasons in favor of summer-only tires. The best summer tires are pricey -- at around $185 a pop, the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 will leave a dent in your wallet -- but the expert feedback suggests that in this case, at least, you get what you pay for. Reviewers single out the Michelin for recommendation more than any other summer tire.

If you drive a truck or SUV, we've got a separate report dedicated to tires engineered specifically for those vehicles. And no matter what tires you wind up fitting to your car, to get the most out of them, remember to check them monthly with a good tire gauge to ensure continued proper inflation. 

 (Note: The price estimates we show above, as well as in our newly-updated full report on tires, are based on a 215/60R16 tire for standard, family-style sedans, and a 225/55R16 tire for high-performance applications. Depending on your own vehicle's tire-size requirements, you may find that higher or lower prices apply.)