Performance SUV Tires

Michelin and Goodyear both make very good products and offer a large selection of tires for driver's cars, trucks and SUVs.

In the Grand Touring All-Season category, Goodyear offers the Assurance ComforTred Touring while Michelin provides customers with the Primacy MXM4. As you can see below, Michelin's offering performed better in our testing. "There's not much that needs improvement" sums up how much we liked this tire during our time with it.

When it comes to Max Performance Summer tires, Michelin has the Pilot Super Sport and Goodyear designed the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2. Here again, the Michelin scored better in our tests. It is also the top-rated tire in its category. The Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 hasn't logged enough miles to be added to our Tire Survey Results. However, speaking to customers, many have provided a positive review of their experience with the tire. 

In the Passenger All-Season category, Goodyear's option, the Assurance TripleTred All-Season, is currently the top tire. Customers like it for its hydroplaning resistance, wet traction, dry traction and ride comfort. The tire will get a good run for its money from the newer Michelin Defender.

Both manufacturers offer great tires. Shop by vehicle to see all Goodyear and Michelin tires available for your application.

There are many rivalries in today's competitive world: Chevy versus Ford, Coke versus Pepsi and Burger King versus McDonald's may come to mind when thinking of two prominent companies within an industry. When it comes to tires, Goodyear and Michelin is one of the most common rivalries.

In some categories, such as the Crossover/SUV Touring All-Season, the Goodyear Assurance CS TripleTred All-Season ranks just a bit higher than Michelin's competing tire, the Latitude Tour. In other categories that include performance tires, Michelin's tires often rank higher. For example, in the Max Performance Summer category, the Michelin Pilot Super Sport is on top. I was so impressed by this particular tire that I bought a set for my own car. My experiences with the tire can be found by reading, "Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires Installed on My Car." The Pilot Super Sport also picked up a win against Goodyear's Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 last summer during our testing. You can see how well the Michelin tire performed by taking a look at "Testing Max Performance Summer Tires."

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2

So, who really has the better tires? When it comes to performance tires, Michelin is tough to beat right now. However, the tire market is fast paced and new technology is constantly pushing the performance envelope further. When changes are made, you can always count on us to provide you with the best tire options for your vehicle.

Very few of the pickup trucks and SUVs on the road today will venture off-road. However, many vehicles are still designed with tough off-road suspensions and come equipped with knobby tread tires. If you want to give your truck better on-road manners, consider a set of Michelin LTX M/S2 tires.

Michelin has built a reputation for providing quiet and comfortable tires for passenger cars, as well as durable tires for commercial vehicles. They have used this experience to combine both attributes into their light truck tires, including their newest Highway All-Season tire, the LTX M/S2.

The LTX M/S2 features a symmetric tread design and a long wearing, silica-enhanced, all-season compound to provide a smooth, quiet ride with year-round traction in dry, wet and light snow conditions. With over seven million miles of reported use by our customers, the M/S2 has received high marks for ride and noise comfort. Currently, the tire is ranked second in our Tire Survey Results.

Take a look at what some of our customers are saying about their experience with the Michelin LTX M/S2:

"Best tires ever purchased. On my third set and would buy again whenever possible." -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2004 GMC Yukon Denali

"As I write this review, I am in the process of ordering a second set of the Michelin LTX M/S2, P275/65R-18 for my Tundra Crewmax. I have 56,000 miles on my old set and probably have another 5,000 or more on the tires (I drive a great deal of highway miles for work). Proper tire rotation has left me with very even wear. They are getting down there, so I want to stage the next set for replacement. Highly recommended tire!" -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2008 Toyota Tundra

"This is the best set of tires we have ever owned. These Michelins are on my wife's Honda Pilot and I must say, I am thoroughly impressed. They effortlessly handle our winter and the treadlife is outstanding. After witnessing the performance of these tires, I switched the tires on my Toyota to Michelins as well." -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2004 Honda Pilot EX

For the quietest and most durable light truck tire on the market, it's tough to beat Michelin's LTX M/S2. Shop by vehicle to see if the LTX M/S2 is available for your application.

The On-/Off-Road All-Terrain class is one that receives much attention from owners of light trucks and SUVs looking for a more aggressive tire than their Original Equipment. With a few exceptions, most of today's trucks and SUVs come shod with standard Highway All-Season tires that put an emphasis on treadlife and a quiet ride. 

What is missing from these O.E. tires? It most cases, it's an aggressive biting edge that's capable of light off-road or heavy snow use, while still maintaining acceptable levels of treadwear and road comfort. Tires in this performance category are not to be confused with Off-Road Maximum Traction tires. In many cases, On-/Off-Road All-Terrain tires are available with mileage warranties from the manufacturer.

A fine example of a do-it-all all-terrain is the Firestone Destination A/T. This tire offers a degree more biting edge over most factory tires without becoming too extreme. While tires exist that might perform better in dedicated off-road situations, few tires are as versatile as this one. The well-rounded nature of this tire has translated in a first place ranking in our Tire Survey Results.

Available for a wide range of applications, shop by vehicle to see if this tire is a match for your light truck or SUV. 

The Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season is a premier Crossover/SUV Touring All-Season tire. It has continually been ranked in customer surveys and internal tests as a perennial favorite. This eco-friendly option features a quiet and smooth ride, as well as some of the highest marks in wet traction according to "Testing the Newest/Popular Crossover/SUV Touring All-Season Tires".

Scorpion Verde All Season tires mold a silica tread compound into an asymmetric tread design that features an optimized rubber-to-void ratio and uniform contact patch to blend dry road traction and performance with uniform wear. Four wide circumferential grooves displace water to resist hydroplaning and improve wet traction while longitudinal siping for lateral stability on loose surfaces and high-density lateral siping enhance wet and wintertime traction.

Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season

Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season

The Scorpion Verde All Season is labeled as a Crossover/SUV Touring All-Season tire because most of the sizes offered cater to mid-size SUVs. However, with many SUVs today being based off of successful car platforms, the tire can go on a wide range of vehicles. I have had many customers use the 255/40R19 on high-end luxury sedans with great success. This would include luxury sedans/wagons like:

• Audi Allroad
• Audi A6
• Audi A8
• Buick Lacrosse
• Cadillac CTS Sedan/Wagon
• Volvo XC70 (Cross Country)

Shop by vehicle to see if the Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season is offered for your SUV or luxury sedan and take advantage of the current sales price of $135 per tire in the 255/40R19 size.

Here at Tire Rack, we built our business on higher performance tires for more exotic applications. The inventory expanded over the years as we also carry tires that are targeted toward regular cars used for everyday transportation, and tires for the enthusiast on a budget.

Fuzion, the entry level brand from Bridgestone, often has the best-priced tires in a given size. Though not as well known as its older siblings from Bridgestone and Firestone, Fuzion tires offer an excellent value. The Fuzion Touring is a smooth riding, all-season tire that's very aggressively priced, while the UHP is Fuzion's new Ultra High Performance All-Season tire designed for sporty handling combined with capability in cold weather and light snow. 

Kumho has been a stalwart in the performance-per-dollar arena. Little known when they first came to the United States, they have built a loyal following over the past decade or so. Their Ecsta 4X is often my go-to selection for a value-oriented all-season performance tire. The Solus KR21 does consistently well in surveys among customers needing a regular all-season passenger tire. 

Among light trucks and SUVs, the Yokohama Geolandar H/T-S G051 has an excellent combination of long treadwear, reliable performance and an excellent price. With each option fitting into most budgets, you're getting a great tire for your vehicle as each is currently ranked in the top ten in their class.

To see what options are available for your application, shop by size. 

General Motor's mid-size SUVs, the Chevy Equinox and its GMC Terrain counterpart, have been one of America's best-selling sport utility vehicles over the past few years. Great looks and efficient power keeps this American family wagon rolling right along. With so many on the road, it's probably time for many owners to start considering new tires. Thankfully, there are many great options for these vehicle.

Currently, the top-rated Crossover/SUV Touring All-Season tire is the Continental CrossContact LX20 with EcoPlus Technology. This tire seems to simply do it all. Right away you'll notice how quiet, smooth and comfortable it rides. In addition, it has exceptional all-season traction. As a low rolling resistance tire, you can also expect to save fuel while receiving an enhanced driving pleasure. 

Another great tire to consider is the Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season. Similar to the CrossContact LX20 with EcoPlus Technology, this tire offers excellent ride qualities and is very nice to drive on. Designed as an eco-friendly option, the tire features an Ecoimpact icon on its sidewall to highlight its environmental compatibility where it reduces rolling resistance and tire weight to increase fuel economy and lower the vehicle's CO2 emissions.

As a good value option, take a look at the Firestone Destination LE 2. It's a relatively new tire that replaced the popular Destination LE. It features a completely revised tread design that not only looks good, but performs great. Combining long wear with a comfortable ride, the Destination LE 2 provides all-season traction, even in light snow.

Continental CrossContact LX20 with EcoPlus Technology

Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season

Firestone Destination LE 2

If the time has come to replace the tires on your Equinox or Terrain, consider these three options. If you would like to see additional offerings, shop by vehicle.

If you ask a random person to name a few tire brands off the top of their head, odds are one of the first to come to their mind is Goodyear. Goodyear tires come as Original Equipment on many makes and models of cars, trucks, SUVs and crossover vehicles. In addition to being one of most well-known brands worldwide, Goodyear makes some of the top tires on the market in various categories.

An oldie but goodie, the Goodyear Eagle GT (V-Speed Rated) is still holding its own against the competition in the High Performance All-Season category. It's currently ranked fourth out of seventeen tires in our Tire Survey Results. During our in-house testing, we liked the tire's reasonable ride quality and good winter weather traction.

The Goodyear Eagle GT has an asymmetric tread pattern so you can rotate them for longer treadlife and help maintain an even treadwear for a quieter ride. To learn more about tire rotation, see my blog post titled "Should I Rotate My Tires?"

Take a look at what some of our customers are saying about the Goodyear Eagle GT (V-Speed Rated):

"These babies are sweet. I've got 20,000 on a set of four and it's like I'm riding on rails still. Treadwear looks normal for my "spirited" driving, probably 50-60% left and looks totally even. For my mom's Hyundai we ordered the Kumhos... On my Mustang I just couldn't do it. Goodyear Eagle GT's go a lot better on Sally."  -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2000 Ford Mustang Convertible.

"Good price, a great tire and good wet road and dry road ride." -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2004 Honda Accord Sedan EX V6.

"These are my second set of Goodyears. Old set went over 40,000 miles, much better than the Original Equipment which I only got about 12,000 miles out of. I also tried Yokohamas, which were good but extremely noisy and went about 30,000-35,000 miles; so the Goodyears are great and superior to the other two and I recommend them on your small car." -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2005 Suzuki Reno LX.

Shop by vehicle to see if the Goodyear Eagle GT is available for your application.

Since its introduction in the United States in 2001, the Toyota Highlander has been a popular luxury SUV/CUV. The second generation of the vehicle was introduced in 2008 and has continued to be a great choice for many drivers. Given the popularity of the Toyota Highlander, I'm often asked about what replacement tires are best for the vehicle. Below are my top picks that work well for each generation:

2001-2007 Toyota Highlander

Firestone Destination LE 2

Michelin LTX M/S2

The Michelin LTX M/S2 and Firestone Destination LE2 are the top two tires in our Highway All-Season category, and for good reason. Both tires offer a smooth and quiet ride, with excellent traction in all conditions. Firestone's Destination LE 2 is also designed to combine a long wear with a comfortable ride. Its internal structure features twin steel belts reinforced with spirally wrapped nylon to provide strength, uniformity and durability on top of a polyester cord body to help cushion the ride. Destination LE 2 tires come with a 60,000-mile treadwear warranty.

Compared to the original LTX M/S, the Michelin LTX M/S2 is an evolution in looks...and a leap forward in performance. It molds a long wearing, silica-enhanced, all-season compound into a tread profile that features Michelin's MaxTouch Construction to produce a contact patch that promotes reliable traction with long wear by evenly distributing acceleration, braking and cornering forces. The tire is offered with a 70,000-mile treadlife warranty.

2008-2013 Toyota Highlander

Continental CrossContact LX20 with EcoPlus Technology

Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza

Both the Continental CrossContact LX20 with EcoPlus Technology and the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza rank near the top of the Crossover/SUV Touring All-Season category. The CrossContact LX20 with EcoPlus Technology is a relatively new tire, but initial customer feedback and testing data show it to be a top contending tire. This ecologically friendly tire performs on the highway, as well as in mild off-road conditions. Designed to enhance driving pleasure, the tire saves fuel and maintains grip when braking on wet surfaces while providing long wear and all-season traction, even in light snow.

Bridgestone's Dueler H/L Alenza has been a reliable favorite for many years and is consistently praised for its smooth and quiet ride, as well as great wet traction and wear. The tire provides elegance with an edge, along with year-round traction, even in light snow. Featuring Bridgestone's UNI-T technology takes the tire's behavior to a higher level by increasing comfort and control, in order to further enhance wet traction over the life of the tire.

Shop by vehicle to view all tire options available for your Toyota Highlander.