Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All-Season

The Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All-Season is the most highly recommended all-season tire for passenger cars. Tests indicate it delivers very good traction on both wet and dry pavement, and good grip on snow and ice. Very few all-season tires perform better on winter roads, although the budget-priced Hankook Optimo H727 (*Est. $90) does beat the original TripleTred in one snow-and-ice test. (Note that the 2012 TripleTred All-Season adds higher speed ratings and an updated tread pattern for better wet and dry grip; you may still see the older version in stores, sold as the TripleTred (minus the 'All-Season').

Owners still prefer the Goodyear to the Hankook on wet and dry road conditions, and the pricier, high-performance Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position (*Est. $185) can't match the TripleTred All-Season's higher government tread-wear grade (400 versus 740) or its longer tread-life warranty (40,000 versus 70,000 to 80,000 miles for the Goodyear, depending on speed rating). The TripleTred All-Season costs more than other highly rated all-season tires, but owners say its long tread life makes it a good value. Some owners -- and TireRack.com experts -- find the new TripleTred All-Season noisy, but other owners don't notice a noise problem.

TireRack.com experts test the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred All-Season head-to-head against three other popular all-season tires on real roads as well as dry and wet tracks. ConsumerReports.org experts haven't yet tested the new TripleTred All-Season, but their ratings of the original Goodyear Assurance TripleTred are still helpful. Owner reviews at TireRack.com often consider longer periods of time and provide more detail; we found fewer than 20 reviews for the new TripleTred All-Season, but more than 3,100 for the original TripleTred. The manufacturer's official tread-wear, heat-resistance and traction ratings, posted at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website, SaferCar.gov, are also useful.