Best Touring Tires

Table of Contents

‍1. Best Overall - Michelin CrossClimate 2

The Michelin CrossClimate 2 is a "best of both worlds" tire. It combines the winter grip of an aggressive winter tire with the street manners of a touring all-season.

The tread design on the Cross Climate is, well, excellent. And its water evacuation system channels water away from the tread face to keep it more firmly planted on wet roads than most other touring tires. We got over 40K miles out of our last set before they were due for replacement.

In terms of construction, the CrossClimate 2 is a mix of materials. The sidewalls add a bit of comfort and compliance to the tire, but the center area of the tread features a harder rubber compound for durability and grip.

The dry performance of the CrossClimate 2is quite decent. It's not the best out there, but it's quite predictable and manageable in all weather conditions. We were very satisfied with how we could rely on this tire to give us solid braking and steering grip even at speeds over 100mph.

The wet performance of the CrossClimate 2 is excellent for a touring tire. We were consistently impressed by how quickly we could brake and how much traction we had when cornering at speed on wet roads. Steering response felt more precise than other tires in its class

Snow performance is where this tire shines. It grips and grips and grips, even when the roads are slick in snowy conditions. We never felt like we had to slow down significantly on snowy roads because this tire simply gave us grip.

We've been getting around tread wear of 55K miles on the Michelin CrossClimate 2's. We're very impressed with how well this tire wears for a winter/touring tire. The most noticeable wear has been in the center of the tire, where it's showing through the tread design a bit more than before, but it still has 4-5K miles of tread life left in it at least.

The Michelin CrossClimate 2 is available in several 16, 17-, 18-, 19- and 20-inch rim sizes and is recommended for lighter and larger vehicles. It's available in various load ratings and speeds to fit your specific needs, but we've been running it with the speed rating of H.

The CrossClimate 2 is a great tire for those living in cold winter climates or cold summer climates. The tread design is aggressive enough to be used year-round without any problem, but it's still comfortable enough to be used as a daily driver tire. It's also very reliable and wears well under normal driving conditions.

The price is reportedly between $150 -$260 per tire, depending on size and retailer. A better deal can be found when shopping online; you can expect to pay significantly less per set when buying from online retailers such as SimpleTire.

Pros

Excellent snow traction - Bears the 3PMSF symbol
Tread design provides excellent grip in all weather conditions
Great wet and dry traction for a winter/all-season tire
60,000-mile tread life
Plush ride quality

Cons

A tad expensive
Doesn't offer the best treadwear life in its class

2. Best For Grand Touring - Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack

The Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack is one of the most underrated touring tires on the market. It's not that its performance is poor; it's quite the opposite. When you put these on your car, you may be surprised just how good they are at all things tire-related.

It's difficult to explain exactly what makes this tire so good. It's designed as a top-class touring tire, and it actually performs quite well in almost every weather condition you might come across. There are very few conditions where we didn't feel confident driving with the Turanza QuietTrack installed on our car.

We felt that this tire had some of the best road manners out of any other tire available. Part of that is due to the innovative QuietTrack Technology, which is due to the directional advanced tread patterns. In practice, we felt that cornering was very predictable and easy to control at any speed.

Braking performance is another area where this tire excels. Whenever we hit the brakes, we felt confident that our stopping distance would be shorter than normal for a touring tire. Even during a panic stop on a wet road, we never felt like we had to brake harder than usual because these tires performed so well

Bridgestone designed the QuietTrack to be better than many summer tires for dry weather. When we put this tire to the test in California, we were very impressed with how well it gripped and managed various surfaces. There is clearly a difference between winter and summer performance, but having a good tire for all seasons has its perks.

If you have to slam on brakes at a yellow light because someone cuts you off, you want to know that your tires are capable of stopping safely, right? Well, the Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack does an excellent job of bringing you peace of mind when driving through rainy conditions.

When we put it to the test during some serious rainstorms in California, this tire continued to surpass our expectations. It grips as an all-season touring tire should but still isn't as good as dedicated summer tires when they're brand new and fresh out of the box. This is normal since grand touring tires aren't designed specifically for wet conditions.

This tire takes a small hit in deep snow, but it's still one of the best options you have to use every day. We wouldn't recommend using this tire if your morning commute puts you in a place where there are many inches of snow on the ground.

The Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack is available in all popular 15- to 20-inch sizes. We recommend it for use on vehicles that are daily drivers. There are many brands of tires out there, but you'll have a difficult time finding one better than this tire when it comes to regular touring.

The Turanza QuietTrack retails for $150 to $250 per tire, depending on size. This price is a little higher than the average tire, but it's somewhat justified by the fact that you'll get better treadwear and feel more confident during rainstorms.

Order your set of Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack tires today from SimpleTire.

Pros

Quiet ride due to QuietTrack Technology
Amazing ride comfort and low road noise
Top of the class 80,000-mile tread warranty
Provides reliable all-season performance in dry climates
Exceptional wet traction

Cons

Doesn't handle deep snow well enough for certain climates or routes.
A bit pricey

3. Best Wet Performance - Continental CrossContact LX25

The best-selling tire of its kind in America is the Continental CrossContact LX25 with EcoPlus Technology. This eco-friendly all-season touring tire has excellent dry grip and good wet performance. It does well on dirt roads, though not quite as well as other tires on this list.

Continental AG designed the LX25 to be an affordable, environmentally friendly touring tire for drivers who often come across rain while driving. The sidewalls are made out of EMT (extended modulus technology), making them very flexible while still providing stability at higher speeds.

This design also reduces weight by about 40% compared to traditional steel-belted radials. As you drive down the road, your car uses less fuel, thanks to reduced weight. Less weight also means that you'll experience less wear and tear on the different components of your vehicle. The aggressive tread pattern provides great traction on both pavement and gravel.

This tire grips best in dry conditions, even though there is some improvement with wet weather performance compared to most all-season touring radials. The tread design allows the tire to shed water quickly enough, so you don't lose grip while cruising through puddles or thick fog.

We put this tire to the test during an emergency braking test. It needed a few extra feet to come to a complete stop compared to some other touring tires on this list.

Keep in mind this tire isn't a replacement for dedicated winter tires. They don't come with the 3PMSF symbol on the sidewall, so they aren't great for snowy conditions.

The CrossContact LX25 with EcoPlus Technology provides slightly above-average treadwear warranty, which means you'll get 70,000 miles of tread life out of these tires if driven under normal conditions. The tread compound isn't quite as durable as the Turanza QuietTrack, so the LX25 is best for people who don't drive as much as those in rural areas.

The tire makes less noise than most tires out there, especially those with stiff sidewall designs. This makes it a great choice for highway cruising and other daily driving routines that don't include off-roading or high-speed cornering.

The Continental CrossContact LX25 is available in popular rim sizes, including 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 22 inches.

If you live in an area with average amounts of rain during the summer, this tire has excellent wet braking performance. Continental's best touring tires are made better than most other brands on the market, and the CrossContact LX25 is a prime example.

This tire retails for $160 to $300 per tire, depending on size and load rating. That price point is similar to other all-season touring tires we've tested, but we feel like the CrossContact LX25 provides slightly better dry and wet performance. If you can afford to spend a little more, then these quality touring tires will serve you very well over the life of the tire.

Order your set of Continental CrossContact LX25 tires today from SimpleTire.

Pros

Great road grip in dry and wet conditions
EcoPlus Technology provides better treadwear and fuel economy
Low road noise and smooth ride quality
Excellent 70,000-mile tread warranty
Excellent wet road performance.

Cons

Can't handle deep snow well enough for certain climates or routes.
A bit pricey compared to other all-season touring tires.

4. Great Value - Cooper CS5 Grand Touring

Cooper is one of the best brands on the market when it comes to making affordable, high-quality tires. This best-selling Cooper CS5 tire has an advanced silica compound that significantly increases dry grip while improving wet performance.

These are some of the quietest touring radials that we've tested. You get 80k miles out of these tires if driven under normal conditions at highway speeds. This is almost as high as more expensive options out there, but you'll save hundreds of dollars without sacrificing much performance.

The tread compound doesn't provide as much grip on dry pavement as other models on this list, but they aren't far behind. Our tests show that this tire grips best in wet conditions, although it does worse than most other touring tires when braking from 50 mph in a panic situation. Overall, these are some of the safest tires on the market if you often drive through rain or snow during the winter months.

This tire comes with an M+S rating for mild off-road use, but they aren't true snow rated since there's no mountain/snowflake symbol on the sidewall. They also don't resist hydroplaning since there aren't any grooves cut into the tread.

Although this tire doesn't have a lot of dry grip compared to other touring tires, it does provide solid wet and dry traction while lasting longer than other all-season radials on the market. This makes them a great choice if your driving habits don't include aggressive accelerating or braking, and you usually get caught driving in rain and snow at least a few times every year.

The Cooper CS5 is available in popular sizes, including 15-, 16-, 17-, and 18-inch rim sizes. The price varies depending on size and load rating from $110 to $200 per tire. If you're looking for an affordable touring tire that won't set you back a lot of money, this is one of the best options out there.

Order your set of Cooper CS5 Grand Touring tires today from SimpleTire!

Pros

Great wet and dry traction
Excellent 80,000-mile tread warranty
Provides surprisingly good cornering grip for such a low-cost tire
Minimal road noise and comfortable ride
Budget-friendly

Cons

Loses some wet performance compared to other models that retail at higher prices
Lack of available sizes
Not recommended for snowy weather

About The Author

Charles Redding

I've spent many years selling cars, working with auto detailers, mechanics, dealership service teams, quoting and researching car insurance, modding my own cars, and much more.