Best Tire Brands of 2023
Consumer Reports’ test results reveal which companies make the best-performing tires
By Jeff S. Bartlett
Updated January 4, 2023
Photo: Getty Images
Tire shoppers cite brand as a key factor when they’re choosing a replacement, based on our last survey of Consumer Reports members about tires. The leading purchase considerations are all-weather grip (54 percent); brand (43 percent); handling (40 percent); and manufacturer treadwear warranty (40 percent), according to the survey of 15,945 members, who reported on their tire purchase and/or installation experiences.
Consumer Reports’ extensive tire testing has found there are significant differences among brands and models, particularly in grip and tread life. To steer you in the right direction, we developed a brand rating based on individual tire tests. Brand scores are presented below for 16 of the 29 brands tested. We tested four or more models under each of these brand names.
“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.”
The tires we test come from these categories: all-season and performance all-season car tires; ultra-high-performance (UHP) all-season and UHP summer tires; all-season SUV tires; all-season and all-terrain truck tires; winter/snow car and truck tires; and performance winter/snow tires.
Below, we spotlight the top four brands and list recommended tires from each, across all the categories we test.
How We Test Tires
Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports
Our tests measure performance in braking, comfort, handling, hydroplaning (when water gets between the tire and the pavement), noise, snow traction, and other important areas. We test braking on ice at a local skating rink, and an outside lab assesses the rolling resistance of tires, which affects fuel economy. Plus, we evaluate tread life by driving thousands of miles on a road course in western Texas and use that information to predict tread life.
Combined, this extensive information can help you find the best tires from 29 tested brands, including BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, Cooper, Falken, Firestone, General, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho, Michelin, Nexen, Nitto, Nokian, Pirelli, Toyo, Uniroyal, Vredestein, and Yokohama.
A tire must excel at performance and safety in our tests to earn a Consumer Reports recommendation, a distinction noted in our dynamic ratings chart.
Tire Brand Report Card
2022 Consumer Reports. All rights reserved.
No. 1: Michelin. Score: 70
Michelin is near or at the top of most tested tire categories. Typically, 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. That said, two of the 11 tested models don’t earn a CR recommendation, underscoring the point that you shouldn’t shop just based on brand. The Michelin CrossClimate2 and CrossClimate SUV are all-weather tires that are top-rated in the performance all-season and all-season SUV categories. Other top-rated Michelin tires include the Defender T+H all-season tire and the Pilot Sport All-Season 4 ultra-high-performance tire. For trucks, the Defender LTX M/S all-season and LTX A/T 2 all-terrain tires are strong performers.
Michelin Defender T+H
Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports
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 XI2w
No. 2: Continental. Score: 68
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. Other notable tires include the PureContact LS performance all-season tire and the VikingContact 7 winter/snow tire.
Continental TerrainContact H/T
Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports
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. Score: 67
The name may not be familiar to many U.S. shoppers, but 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. The Pinza AT all-terrain truck tire and HiTrac all-season SUV tire score well in their respective categories, thanks to a good mix of grip and handling. 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.
Vredestein HiTrac
Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports
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. Score: 67
We have seven tires in our ratings from Bridgestone, one of the largest tire manufacturers in the world. Of those, four are recommended, with the company showing clear strength in winter/snow tires, a segment it helped popularize. In fact, 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.
Bridgestone Blizzak WS90
Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports
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
Before choosing a tire, be sure to check its performance in CR’s ratings. We can tell you how it compares with its rivals in braking, comfort, handling, hydroplaning resistance, noise, and snow traction.
Tire Testing on Ice
Tires play a big role in how your car performs in winter weather. On the “Consumer 101” TV show, Consumer Reports’ experts demonstrate to host Jack Rico how CR tests tires for icy conditions.
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