It’s a given that all-season tires are designed to deliver a quiet, smooth ride and excellent traction regardless of the weather or road conditions. The rubber compounds and tread patterns can withstand a wide range of temperatures and road conditions, including light snow.
Most drivers can get by with just one set of all-season tires because of their versatility, and they don’t have to bother about storing spares or changing them out seasonally.
Tire Rack’s Grand Touring All-Season ratings give Michelin Crossclimate2 tires the top spot. The Crossclimate2 is a popular choice for drivers of sedans, coupes, wagons, crossovers, and SUVs looking for dependable performance on dry, rainy, or even mildly snow-covered roads.
In many cases, the smooth and quiet ride provided by Michelin’s improved tread design has been praised by owners. Compared to other brands, the tire’s centering may be a little shaky at highway speeds of 70 mph or more, but it could be due to other difficulties with their automobiles.
Most drivers say they wouldn’t suggest venturing too far off-road in their Crossclimate2, even though it scored 9.5 on Tire Rack’s 10-point scale for wet road performance and 9.4 on the same measure for dry road performance.
A winter tire’s snow traction is outstanding, but some drivers reported lower fuel economy than they had experienced with their vehicle’s regular tires.
Drivers give Bridgestone’s Turanza Quiettrack tires an “excellent” rating because of their outstanding wet and dry road performance, plush ride quality, and remarkable treadwear lifespan.
However, unlike most all-season tires, the Turanza Quiettrack lacks the grip necessary to safely navigate through snow. Especially if the snow is already compacted and slick, this is the case.
Designed with luxury in mind, Tire Rack’s testing has shown the Turanza Quiettrack to be one of the best all-season on-road tires. It’s worth noting that a small number of drivers have noticed a decrease in overall ride comfort after 30,000 or more miles of driving, although the explanation for this is unclear.
Tire performance after a certain amount of mileage can be affected by a variety of factors, including tire pressure, wheel alignment, and driving style.
With the help of Firestone’s Hydro-Grip tread technology and full-depth grooves, Weathergrip tires can withstand hydroplaning while cutting through the water.
Zig-zag and interlocking groove traction are also dependable in icy circumstances thanks to the high-density sipes. In the heaviest downpours, drivers report a comfortable and secure ride throughout the season…
In both good and poor ways, the Weathergrip is like a winter tire. According to some reviewers, this tire is extremely stable and grippy in wet or snowy weather conditions but can make a car’s steering seem heavy and slow to respond.
These characteristics are common to winter tires, but drivers acclimated to summer performance rubber will notice them more. Although some drivers complain about the tire’s increased road noise, this is a common trade-off when looking for a tire with the best possible wet-weather traction.
For those looking for an all-weather tire, Goodyear’s Assurance WeatherReady is an excellent choice. While most all-season tires are adequate in snow, Goodyear’s Weather Reactive Technology makes use of 3D Tredlock Technology Blades located in the core of the tire and outboard tread ribs to enhance handling and braking performance.
Goodyear’s Evolving Traction Grooves keep the treads from losing traction as they wear. These tires come with a 6-year, 60,000-mile warranty, however, drivers have complained that their tires had worn down to the low-tread warnings after just 40,000 miles of driving time.
For highway and freeway driving, Assurance WeatherReady tires provide excellent straight-line tracking after a 1,000-mile break-in period. Choosing a tire with improved traction on wet, slushy, or snowy roads comes at the cost of increased road noise and a rougher ride throughout the summer and on warm roads. Having poor dry traction on gravel or dirt roads can trigger your vehicle’s anti-lock brakes (ABS).
The Continental True Contact Tour tire has been tested for 3,409,000 miles by Tire Rack customers, who consider it to be among the best standard touring all-season tires on the market. Overall, the True Contact Tour’s 80,000-mile (T and Hi-speed rated) or 70,000-mile (V-speed rated) lifespan makes it a tough competitor.
This tire’s rubber formula is designed to help with tread life and fuel efficiency while delivering responsive handling and grip in dry, wet, and light snow situations. Conti Comfort Ride adds a layer beneath the tread to absorb and block vibrations, but the tire will still produce more road noise than summer tires, which generally have less siping and smoother tread blocks.
Wide circumferential grooves in True Contact’s tread pattern keep the tires from hydroplaning on wet pavement. If you drive through heavy snow frequently, a good snow tire or the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady tires described above are your best bets. Continental’s Silane additives help with traction in slippery weather.