"Which tire brand do you mostly recommend?" is a question that almost every driver asks his tire dealer. At the same time, each driver might have a certain favorite tire brand depending on his specific needs and priorities. The point is that tire brands also differ in the performance attributes they offer through the prism of their tires. While one manufacturer can be the best in traction matters, another one can excel in matters of tread life, for example.
With these in mind, there is no definitive answer to the question "Which is the most reliable tire brand?". The answer is rather "It depends on what exactly you need and what exactly you expect from your tire manufacturer".
Considering that the driver has decided which attributes he needs in a tire, what does he do next? How to choose the right product? Well, this is where our NeoTires team comes into play. We wrote this article to highlight the strong points of various tire manufacturers and help you decide on which tire brand might suit you the most.
For this, we considered the analysis made by Consumer Reports in this regard. This organization has evaluated and tested various manufacturers from various perspectives to help drivers choose the right manufacturer based on their unique needs.
We hope that this article will be useful and help you find the right tire manufacturer in 2024. Below, we spotlight the best tire makers that have stood out in various aspects of performance. Check them out and choose the one that provides the best performance you need.
Which Is The Best Tire Brand?
Instead of mentioning a particular tire maker as the best, we will instead look at what makes a tire the best. If we talk about a tire for daily commutes and family travel, we need it to provide outstanding braking, reliable hydroplaning control, and confident handling.
If we talk about an all-weather and winter tire, most likely we will look for it to ensure agile ice and snow braking as well as confident snow traction. So, the best tire brand is the one that demonstrates that its tires excel in the purposes for which they were created.
Consumer Reports undertook to test over 130 tire products across 28 tire manufacturers. We will not expose them all in this article, but we would rather show the first 5-10 that stood out the most.
Many drivers look for their tires based on brand reputation. This is indeed a good place to start, but still, we recommend entering the details of the ratings for a specific category and a specific tire model. This helps you identify the best-performing product from the wide variety of products.
Sometimes, a certain brand excels in those performance attributes that you might not need and is slightly inferior to other brands in what you might specifically look for in your daily routes. So, the brand name does count, but the product itself and its rating matter more.
Below, we will talk in more detail about some tire categories. Particularly, it is about:
What Makes A Good Tire?
Before finding out which brands offer the best quality with their products, you first need to know what criteria were prioritized in the tests. During the tests, the tires were evaluated from the perspective of comfort, dry and wet braking, hydroplaning, handling, and tread life. In addition, the testers measured their noise suppression abilities, rolling resistance as well as other important aspects of their purposes (snow traction for snow tires, durability for all-terrain tires, etc...)
The winning brands below have gained the "Consumer Reports Recommended" title. This means that they provide excellent quality in terms of safety and performance. I reiterate that the tests were done on a sample of 28 tire manufacturers. We will present the results of the 10 most reliable tire brands, after which we will talk about the strong aspects of each.
Best Tested Tire Brands
The chart below indicates the score accumulated by each tire brand. This score includes the performance ratings of the tire brand from various aspects after testing. Here are the tire manufacturers that stood out the most:
Now let's go to each brand separately to see what makes them stand out and which products the Consumer Report recommends.
How Good Is Michelin Tire Brand?
According to performed tests, this tire brand seems to be the best in 2024. Let's see what are its strong points in which it excels compared to other competitors. Accumulating an overall score of 72 points, the products of this manufacturer performed exceptionally well in all tested categories. In some of them, Michelin products provided the best results while in others, among the best ones.
The superior advantage of Michelin tires lies in the combination of their performances. Michelin seems to know best how to blend superb handling, confident grip, and generous tread life. Many will agree that the products of this tire maker are, as a rule, more expensive than what the competition offers. However, here is the case when the price is paid for validated and proven quality and not for marketing only.
The price for Michelin products can be considered a judicious investment in superior performance and quality. Consumer Reports awarded the "Recommended" distinction to all 7 products from the Michelin portfolio that took part in the test. See below which model performed best per category and trust that by choosing that model, you will benefit from the best of what the tire industry can offer you at the moment.
How Good Is Continental Tire Brand?
Accumulating an overall score of 68 points out of 100, Continental products are in the 2nd place in the list of the best-performing tires. In some aspects, the Continental tires excelled compared to the competition, in others - it lost. 8 Continental products were evaluated during the tests, 7 of which received the CS Recommendation distinction.
The product that stood out as the best is the TerrainContact A/T, showing itself exceptionally in the all-terrain truck tire class. The model that failed to receive the "CS Recommended" distinction was the TrueContact Tour tire. This product stood out for its dry braking, handling, hydroplaning, and fairly decent noise suppression. However, it did not get enough points in wet braking and rolling resistance, which is why it was slightly eclipsed by better competitive models.
Here are the 7 models to rely on from the Continental portfolio which are proudly recommended by Consumer Reports. :
How Good Is Vredestein Tire Brand?
During the tests, Vredestein products scored 67 points out of 100. This is a very good result because it ranks the brand in 3rd place in the list of the most reliable ones. I want to add that this result is a phenomenally good one for a tire maker not very popular across the U.S. However, I also want to point out that in fact, Vredestein is highly appreciated and validated by European buyers.
Either way, what interests us now more than the history of the brand is the test results. The beautiful part is that of the 6 evaluated models, all 6 passed the Consumer Reports trust threshold, receiving the "Recommended" distinction. The model that stood out as the best in comparison to other products in its class is the Wintrac Pro due to its exceptional winter performance. Another model worth considering is the HiTrac all-season tire which is second-rated in the SUV tire category.
How Good Is General Tire Brand?
It is incredible for many to find the General Tire brand in a higher position than, let's say, Pirelli. Well, the tests show that these 2 tire makers are actually not far from each other. While General Tire has an overall rating of 67, Pirelli has accumulated 60 points for the entire set of performances.
I want to mention once again that it is not always a good idea to choose a brand based only on the overall score. We definitely recommend considering the ratings of the specific models you are looking for. In certain performance criteria, some Pirelli tires are far superior to General tires. So, make sure that you compare the ratings of the models in parallel with the brand comparison.
Back to General Tire, I am not surprised to see this manufacturer on the list of the most reliable ones. Now being backed up by Continental AG, General Tire is a performer tested and confirmed as valuable. 6 out of 7 models stood out well enough to receive the title of a highly recommended product. You can see them below.
The 7th model that did not accumulate enough score to receive the distinction is the G-Max AS-05— which is a UHP all-season tire. Does it mean it's an inferior product?- not at all. On the contrary, it stood out decently in dry braking, noise suppression, hydroplaning, and ice braking. What dropped it off the score was average rolling resistance and comfort, which was a little better in the competitive models.
How Good Is Bridgestone Tire Brand?
The 5th tire maker in the list of the best is Bridgestone with 65 accumulated points out of 100. 8 Bridgestone products participated in the tests, of which 4 showed exceptional capabilities for their purpose. You can see them below in the graphic table. Until then, let's see which models lost points and did not end up being products recommended by the evaluation agency.
It is about the Bridgestone Potenza Sport summer tire. This tire performed flawlessly in terms of handling, dry braking, and hydroplaning control. In addition, its noise suppression abilities are very decent.
The overall owner satisfaction is high, but what it lacked to receive the status of highly recommended tire is the comfort and rolling resistance ratings. This is where the Potenza Sport lost some points. On the whole, this model has accumulated a score of 70/100 points in the UHP summer tires class. It is a nice result in which it was just a little short of receiving the title of a highly recommended tire.
The other similar models are the Bridgestone Potenza RE980+ with scoring drops in terms of rolling resistance, the Bridgestone WeatherPeak with small shortcomings in handling, and dry and wet braking, and the Bridgestone Alenza AS Ultra with very decent but not exceptional ratings. As for the recommended products, here are the heroes:
Comparing Tires, Not Only Brands
These 5 tire makers were the best in the recent Consumer Reports tests. While their overall ratings are the best, I still recommend that you take into account the individual rating of each product when it comes to choosing a particular tire.
Knowing which tire maker is more reliable is indeed an important aspect. This helps you narrow down all the available options, which are thousands in the tire industry. However, this is not enough. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, each tire maker can excel in a certain performance aspect better than its competitor AND be inferior in other aspects.
Your job here is to determine what exactly you are looking for in your tires. Then, find the product with the best ratings in the category even if its brand is not listed as the best of all. Let me give you an example.
Let's assume that you need a reliable all-season truck tire. If you are guided by the "best tire brand", you will want to choose an A/S Truck product from the Michelin range. It's Michelin that holds the title of the most reliable tire brand in our tests, isn't it? This statement should hypothetically apply to all Michelin tire categories, right?! So, the first you might want to do is to find any A/S truck tire and buy it, without even analyzing it in detail. Most probably, you will come across the Michelin Premier LTX all-season tire that indeed is praised for its capacities.
But, if you take the time to delve into the details, you might discover that another product would suit you better. Let's see the comparison below:
So, the graphic above shows the ratings of 2 popular all-season truck products in comparison. It is about Continental TerrainContact H/T and Michelin Premier LTX. Both are highly recommended products and have a fairly good overall rating. But what do we see in this graph?
We see that the Michelin product is slightly inferior in terms of handling. Also, the tire tread longevity is way inferior to the Continental product. On the other hand, the Continental TerrainContact H/T tire gives way to Michelin through a higher rolling resistance.
What I want you to pay attention to here is that these small details can make a big difference. If you seek generous longevity, Continental might be a better option for you. And if your priority is better rolling resistance, the Michelin would suit you better. At the end of the day, evaluating the product, not just the brand gives you a better chance of finding the tire that meets your needs and expectations.
Tire Brands: FAQs
What Are The Top 10 Tire Brands?
According to recent tests by Consumer Reports, the 10 leaders in the tire industry in 2024 are the following brands: Michelin, Continental, Vredestein, General, Bridgestone, Hankook, Goodyear, Nokian, Yokohama, Nexen and Toyo. They are followed by the brands Pirelli, Falken, Firestone, Sumitomo, GT Radial, and Nitto. The products of these brands were evaluated from different performance perspectives, after which they accumulated points that determined their position in the rating chart.
Do Brands Matter For Tires?
Yes, but not completely. Tire brands always undergo tests, reviews, and evaluations by specialists, drivers, testers, or even bloggers. Following them, certain tire brands stand out more than others. So, yes, the brand name gives you a general idea about the quality and performance level of its products. However, we recommend that when you choose a certain product, you also evaluate its rating in addition to the overall rating of the brand. Depending on your specific needs, sometimes a less popular brand can offer you a better product than that of a more reputable brand.
Should All 4 Tires Be The Same Brand?
Ideally - yes. For full matching and performance potential, all 4 tires must have the same tread, the same rubber formula, and size, and the same brand. Drivetrain damages are frequently related to mismatching tires and to avoid such an outcome, it is better to opt for identical tires. If for some reason this is not possible, at least opt for identical wheels on the same axis. Still, this solution should only be a temporary one for safety and performance reasons.
Why Trust Us?
We hope that our article will help you understand which tire brand is more suitable for you. At the very least, you should have a clearer view of which names in the tire industry deserve your attention. However, I want to mention once again that in addition to the brand, you should also analyze the product. This will give you a wider clarity about how suitable it is for your needs.
If you are confused about tire products and their ratings, NeoTires is here to help you. First of all, we have a wide range of products for any needs and vehicles. Secondly, we offer reasonable prices and comfortable payment options so as not to break the bank for the best products.
Thirdly, we are a good ally for qualified assistance, professional recommendations, and tire insights accumulated through experience. The NeoTires team is guided by the most reliable tire brands and unbiased product evaluation agencies. Our priority is not for you to buy any product from our portfolio, but the right one for your needs and the specifics of your driving.
So, please feel free to count on us whenever you need a reliable partner in any tire-related matter. We might not be able to change the roads or the weather conditions you drive in. But, we can equip your vehicle with those tires that will face them the smoothest possible. Drive safe and choose your tires wisely!
