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Best Tire Brands Rated by Consumer Reports

Here’s the top four best tire brands recently rated by Consumer Reports with recommendations on which models are a good match for your vehicle type and driving conditions.
Revised New Listing of the Best Tire Companies Today

Shopping to Meet Your Tire Driving Needs

Matching your driving needs with the correct tire can be difficult when shopping around and trying to decide which tire type you really need and how much it is going to cost you.

According to Consumer Reports automotive analysts when it comes to tire manufacture, “…(tire) design can be quite sophisticated, from the rubber compound chemistry to the tread design. Differences among tires can have an impact on braking, handling, ride, noise, and even fuel economy. Given how complicated tires are, choosing the right replacements can be challenging.”

And this is not something to take lightly. Tires can make a huge difference in your driving and riding experience and safety.

Fortunately, the good folks at CR did your homework for you through extensive testing of many brands of tires that were rated according to how well they performed under multiple driving and environmental conditions.

“The best tires shine for impressive braking, handling, and hydroplaning resistance. For all-season and winter tires, snow traction and stopping on ice are important in our scores,” says Ryan Pszczolkowski, Consumer Reports’ tire program manager. “By choosing a top-rated tire, drivers can often enhance the performance and safety of their car.”

That said, here is a summary of CR’s test results that reveal which top four companies make the best-performing tires.

Best Tire Brands with Selected Models

NO. 1: MICHELIN
“…Michelin models offer a good mix of grip, handling, and long tread life. And even though Michelins are often among the most expensive models, they tend to be a good value when factoring in performance and tread life,” say CR analysts.

Recommended Michelin Tires

• All-season: Defender T+H
• All-season performance: CrossClimate2
• SUV all-season: CrossClimate SUV
• UHP summer: Pilot Sport 4s
• UHP all-season: Pilot Sport All-Season 4
• Truck all-terrain: LTX A/T 2
• Winter/snow: X-Ice Snow
• Performance winter/snow: Pilot Alpin PA4
• Truck winter/snow: Latitude X-Ice XI2

NO. 2: CONTINENTAL
“Continental tires often rank among the best, but not always. Five of the seven tested Continentals earn a CR recommendation. The brand is particularly strong in truck tires, with the TerrainContact H/T being our top all-season truck tire and the TerrainContact A/T being the highest-rated all-terrain truck tire,” analysts state in their new report.

Recommended Continental Tires

• Performance all-season: PureContact LS
• UHP all-season: ExtremeContact DWS 06 plus
• Truck all-season: TerrainContact H/T
• Truck all-terrain: TerrainContact A/T
• Winter/snow: VikingContact 7

NO. 3: VREDESTEIN
“Vredestein is among the oldest tire manufacturers. The European company has been building tires for more than a century, and it’s turning its focus to North America,” say CR analysts pointing to the Pinza AT all-terrain truck tire and HiTrac all-season SUV tire scoring well with a good mix of grip and handling. In addition, they report that the “... Wintrac Pro is a top-rated performance winter/snow tire for sporty vehicles. And the company has a strong showing among performance all-season tires with the Quatrac Pro.”

Recommended Vredestein Tires

• Performance all-season: Quatrac Pro
• SUV all-season: HiTrac
• UHP all-season: HyperTrac All Season
• Truck all-terrain: Pinza AT
• Performance winter/snow: Wintrac Pro

NO. 4: BRIDGESTONE
CR experts note that Bridgestone is clearly a strong winter/snow tire company: “…it has the top-rated tires in both the winter/snow and performance winter/snow categories—just barely. There are competing tires that almost tie those scores,” they added.

Recommended Bridgestone Tires

• All-terrain truck: Dueler A/T Revo 3
• Winter/snow: Blizzak WS90
• Performance winter/snow: Blizzak LM005
• Truck winter/snow: Blizzak DM-V2

And finally…

Note that the following tire brands rating lower than the top 4 listed are as follows in decreasing order: General, Goodyear, Yokohama, Hankook, Nexen, Nokian, Falken, Pirelli, Toyo, Firestone, Sumitomo, and Nitto.

For additional articles related to tires, here are a few for your consideration:

• Consumer Reports Treadwear Testing Reveals How Long Some Tire Types Really Do Last

• Consumer Reports Analysts Recommend Against Buying These Tires

• What You Need to Know About Mixing Car Tires

COMING UP NEXT: The Most Reliable Toyota Ever Made

Timothy Boyer is a Torque News automotive reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites for daily new and used vehicle news.

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