Best Tire Brands, Tested and Ranked
Consumer Reports evaluated hundreds of tires from dozens of major tire manufacturers. Discover which brands make the best performers.
When it comes to buying new tires, choosing the right brand and model is essential to keep you and your passengers safe. With dozens of manufacturers competing for your business—from household names like Continental, Goodyear, and Michelin to budget-friendly alternatives—knowing which tire brands deliver the best combination of safety, performance, and overall value can accelerate your replacement tire shopping.
To determine the best tire brands, Consumer Reports put thousands of individual tires through rigorous independent testing at our Auto Test Center. We rated every major brand across key safety and performance evaluations, including wet braking, emergency handling, hydroplaning resistance, and winter traction.
Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports Photo: John Powers/Consumer Reports
How Consumer Reports Ranks Tire Brands
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 (shown above), and an outside lab assesses rolling resistance, 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 28 tested brands, including BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Continental, Cooper, Falken, Firestone, General, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho, Michelin, Nexen, Nitto, Nokian Tyres, Pirelli, Sumitomo, Toyo, 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 tire ratings chart.
Consumer Reports Ranks Best Tire Brands
In our latest ranking of 18 brands, top-tier names like Continental and Michelin face challenges from value-driven brands like General, Hankook, and Kumho.
