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Consumer Reports Most and Least Satisfying Winter/Snow Tires

If you are looking for the best tire brand for winter 2023, here are the results of a Consumer Reports survey with a focus on the best consumer-recommended tire brands you should choose and those to avoid.
CR Customers Found These to Be the Most and Least Satisfying Tire Brands

Now Is the Time to Get Your Winter/Snow Tires

With winter approaching, tire shops, dealerships, and big-box stores are now stocked with winter/snow tires. So, now is the right time get this and other winter-prep chores out of the way while tire models are in stock providing you with a wide range of choices before supplies begin to dwindle leaving you with fewer tire brands and models to choose from.

Related article: The Best Tire Brand of 2023 You Should Be Buying Today

CR Tire Tests and Consumer Reviews

Rather than take for granted what tire manufacturers claim with their tires uses and performance, Consumer Reports analyst’s road test a wide selection of tires on closed tracks, snow-traction tests in New York state; and yes---even sometimes on hockey rinks to provide a controlled test surface to compare tires under identical ice conditions.

However, even better yet, CR analysts have recently dug into their customer survey data to share with consumers what tires other tire shoppers have bought and found to be the most and least satisfying brands.

Related article: Consumer Reports Treadwear Testing Reveals How Long Some Tire Types Really Do Last

“More than half of members (55 percent) purchased new tires due to the normal wear of their old ones. The next most common reason to buy new tires was premature/irregular wear (17 percent). All other reasons garnered single-digit responses,” stated CR analysts in a recent newsletter.

Of the 23 tire brands tested, the data shows that when it comes to customer satisfaction three brands stood out as the best and 3 brands that came in at the bottom of the satisfaction scale. All other brands that comprised the majority of brands fell somewhere in between.

According to CR analysts, because owners reported having different experiences with their tires, it pays to collect additional data from Consumer Reports on each model within a brand to base your final tire buying decision. However, bear in mind that tire life is greatly affected by owners using proper tire maintenance and care.

As such, it is recommended to invest a small amount of money into a membership for access to these tire test reviews that offer potential savings making the cost of a membership negligible in comparison when looking for the latest information to aid your tire or other consumer related product buying research.

MOST AND LEAST SATISFYING WINTER/SNOW TIRES

That said, listed below is a summary of their top-scoring, middle range and least satisfying winter/snow tires rated by consumers.

The Top Three Brands

  • Bridgestone
  • Nokian
  • Michelin

The Upper Middle-Range Brands

  • BF Goodrich
  • Continental
  • Cooper
  • Toyo

The Middle Middle-Range Brands

  • Vredestein
  • Falken
  • Firestone
  • General
  • Goodyear
  • Hankook
  • Mastercraft
  • Pirelli
  • Yokohama

The Upper Lower-Range Brands

  • Dunlop
  • Hercules
  • Kelly
  • Kumho

The Bottom Three Brands

  • Nexen
  • Sumitomo
  • Uniroyal

For additional articles about tires, here are three selected articles for your consideration:

Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on  “Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair” website, the Zen Mechanic blog and on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites  and Facebook for daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

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