Tires: Reviews

Updated February 2012

It is not possible to overstate the importance of having good tires on your car. Those four contact patches are the only parts of your car that are always in touch with the road surface, and as such, they have wide-ranging effects on performance, from handling to fuel economy, in all weather conditions. This report focuses on the best all-season and summer tires for passenger cars, based on an analysis of expert and user reviews. We have a separate report on snow tires.

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Best all-season tires

Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All-Season

*Est. $150 Compare Prices

Reviewers recommend the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All-Season more highly than any other all-season tire. It performs well in tests on every road surface, although in prior years, it didn't handle snow and ice quite as… expandcapably as the budget-priced Hankook Optimo H727 (*Est. $90). For 2012, the TripleTred All-Season gets a new tread pattern designed to address that. The latest version TripleTred All-Season grips better in rain and on dry roads, while delivering more precise handling than the Hankook in one head-to-head test. The TripleTred All-Season carries an 80,000-mile tread-wear warranty in T and H speed ratings and a 70,000-mile tread-wear warranty in V speed ratings. (Price estimate based on P215/60R16 tire size.) collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

ConsumerReports.org: ConsumerReports.org compares the original Goodyear Assurance TripleTred with 25 other all-season tires, ranking them based on unbiased tests on dry and wet roads as well as ice and snow.

Tire Rack: Editors compare four popular all-season tires -- the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All-Season, Hankook Optimo H727, General Altimax HP and Michelin HydroEdge with Green X -- on city, highway and back roads, as well as on wet and dry test tracks.

Tire Rack: Fewer than 20 owners have reviewed the new Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All-Season at TireRack.com, but you can click on the full list of passenger all-season tires and see how both the new TripleTred All-Season and the original TripleTred (with more than 3,100 reviews) stack up against their rivals on wet, dry, snowy and icy roads, as well as for ride comfort, quietness and tread wear.

SaferCar.gov: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires manufacturers to test their tires for tread wear, traction and heat resistance, and to label the tires with these ratings.

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Budget all-season tires

Hankook Optimo H727

*Est. $90 Compare Prices

For substantially less cash, the Hankook Optimo H727 performs nearly as well as the more expensive Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All-Season (*Est. $150). The Hankook tire has a better track record in snow and ice than the… expandTripleTred (an issue Goodyear hopes to address with the 2012 TripleTred's new tread pattern), while delivering good tread life with long warranty coverage. In one recent TireRack.com test, however, the TripleTred All-Season edges the Hankook in rain and dry-road performance. Regardless, the budget-priced Hankook Optimo remains a consumer favorite in user reviews and the top option if your budget calls for a less costly all-season tire. The Hankook Optimo H727 is T-rated, with a 100,000-mile tread-wear warranty. (Price estimate based on P215/60R16 tire size.) collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

ConsumerReports.org: ConsumerReports.org ranks the Hankook Optimo H727 against 25 other all-season tires based on rigorous testing on all road surfaces -- dry, wet, snowy and icy -- as well as tests of noise, ride comfort and tread life.

Tire Rack: The Hankook Optimo H727 finishes last among the four all-season tires in this shootout.

SaferCar.gov: Government-mandated tire tread-wear, traction and heat-resistance ratings are listed here by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Tire Rack: With more than 330 reviews posted, the Hankook Optimo H727 rates as owners' favorite standard touring all-season tire here.

1010Tires.com: Almost 40 owners had rated the Hankook Optimo H727 at this Canadian retail site when we checked.

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All-season tires for performance cars

Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position

*Est. $185 Compare Prices

Wet-road prowess and rich driver feedback make this all-season performance tire the new favorite of experts and owners at retailer TireRack.com. Most owners say the new Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position handled… expandits first winter well, too. The tire it replaces, the RE960AS, gripped well on all road conditions in an earlier expert test. The RE970AS Pole Position is W-rated, with a 40,000-mile tread-wear warranty. You can save money by choosing the Yokohama Avid Envigor (*Est. $140) instead, but owners say it doesn't grip quite as well as the Bridgestone in any road condition. (Price estimate based on 235/50R17 tire size.) collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Tire Rack: The Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position just edges out two-time champ Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season in this road-and-track test, largely because testers perceive that the Bridgestone communicates better with the driver.

Tire Rack: Customers who post reviews here like the Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position better than any other UHP all-season tire.

Tire Rack: Compared with the outgoing RE960AS, the Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position promises better snow-and-ice traction, Spencer Diaz says.

SaferCar.gov: With a government tread-wear rating of 400, and the highest possible traction (AA) and temperature (A) ratings, the Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS is comparable to other ultra-high-performance all-season tires.

ConsumerReports.org: Although ConsumerReports.org hasn't yet tested the new Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS, experts here have tested the RE960AS model it replaces.

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Budget high-performance all-season tires

Yokohama Avid Envigor

*Est. $140 Compare Prices

This inexpensive tire is the best budget bet for your performance car, experts say. Although it can't match the pricier Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position (*Est. $185) on any road condition, the Yokohama Avid… expandEnvigor beats three other budget-priced performance all-season tires in a recent head-to-head test, delivering the best wet and dry grip and the quietest, most comfortable ride. However, in other tests and owner reviews, it's a tale of two tires. The H- and V-rated Yokohama do fine in their lower performance category, but the faster W-rated version doesn't fare as well against its ultra-performance rivals. Owners also find the Yokohama slipperier on ice and snow than other performance all-seasons. The H- and V-rated versions carry a longer tread-life warranty: 60,000 miles, versus 45,000 miles for the W-rated version. (Price estimate based on 235/55R17 tire size.) collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

ConsumerReports.org: Editors here include the W speed-rated version of the Yokohama Avid Envigor in their comparison test of 20 ultra-high-performance all-season tires.

Tire Rack: The H- and V-rated Yokohama Avid Envigor takes first place in this expert test, edging out the Dunlop SP Sport Signature and pulling even further ahead of the Firestone and Goodyear contenders, with the best overall wet- and dry-road grip and the quietest, most comfortable ride.

Tire Rack: The higher-performance W-rated version of the Yokohama Avid Envigor doesn't fare as well against its peers, finishing third out of four tires in this test.

Tire Rack: Just like the experts, owners rank the H- and V-rated versions of the Yokohama Avid Envigor better against their peers than the faster W-rated version.

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Max-performance summer tires

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

*Est. $195 Compare Prices

For pure performance on wet and dry (never snowy) roads, the Michelin Pilot Super Sport beats all other max-performance summer tires in head-to-head tests and owner reviews. The Pilot Super Sport is suitable for sports… expandcars and luxury performance cars, and it can only be used year-round in climates that never receive a flake of snow. A good all-season alternative is the top-rated Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position (*Est. $185). Michelin offers the Pilot Super Sport in the highest speed rating: Y (up to 186 mph). Most pure performance tires offer no tread-wear warranty, but this one does -- 30,000 miles. (Price estimate based on 235/45ZR/17 tire size.) collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

ConsumerReports.org: ConsumerReports.org tests the Michelin Pilot Super Sport alongside 22 other UHP summer tires.

Tire Rack: "'Wow' handling and ultimate traction" make the Michelin Pilot Super Sport "the new superstar in the max performance summer category," expert testers conclude.

Tire Rack: The Michelin Pilot Super Sport ranks highest among max performance summer tires in owner reviews here, with more than 160 ratings posted.

Motor Trend: At a Michelin press event in Dubai, Scott Mortara tries out the Michelin Pilot Super Sport.

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for $275.00