Top 5 Best Touring Tires [2023 Review]

By Tire Expert, Joe Steffen
By Tire Expert, Joe Steffen

Looking for your next set of touring tires can be challenging with so many options available in today’s market, especially with all the biased tire reviews.

Don’t worry, I have been in the tire industry for over nine years and have seen all the good and bad tires offer. This list of top five best touring all-season tires has been hand-selected by a true tire expert to save you precious time and make your next tire decision much more straightforward.

Touring tires are designed to last longer while not sacrificing too much traction in wet, dry, and snow. They are a perfect option for anyone who lives in bigger cities or has to commute a long distance to work frequently.

Let’s get started and see why I picked the Goodyear, Falken, Michelin, Continental, and Bridgestone as the top five touring tires.

Honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut: Yokohama Avid Ascend LX, Firestone Affinity Touring, and Dunlop Signature II.

Our Top Pick
Goodyear Assurance Maxlife
Goodyear Assurance Maxlife
★★★★★ 4.0/5
4.0
  • Long-lasting tread life
  • Wet traction
Check Price
Read Review
Best Budget
Falken Sincera SN250 A/S
Falken Sincera SN250 A/S
★★★★★ 3.5/5
3.5
  • Low price
  • Long tread life
Check Price
Read Review
Best High End
Michelin Defender T + H
Michelin Defender T+H
★★★★★ 4.0/5
4.0
  • Comfortable ride
  • Fuel efficiency with a low rolling resistance
Check Price
Read Review
Best For Daily Driving
Continental TrueContact Tour
Continental TrueContact Tour
★★★★★ 3.5/5
3.5
  • Three season traction
  • Warranty package
Check Price
Read Review
Best For Highway Driving
Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack
Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack
★★★★★ 3.5/5
3.5
  • Has a low rolling resistance
  • Extremely quiet ride
Check Price
Read Review

Updated as of September 13, 2024

Goodyear Assurance Maxlife

Goodyear Assurance Maxlife
Our rating:
4.0/5
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Check Price At TireRack

Pros and Cons

  • Long-lasting tread life
  • Wet traction
  • Overall ride quality
  • Above average road noise
  • Snow traction
  • Heavy body roll when making sharp turns

Ratings

Wet Traction:
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Ride Handling:
★★★★★ 3.0/5
Dry Traction:
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Ride Noise:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Snow Traction:
★★★★★ 3.0/5
Ride Comfort:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Tread Life:
★★★★★ 4.5/5
Value For Money:
★★★★★ 4.0/5

Typically I am not a massive fan of Goodyear tires, but I had to set my personal biases aside and strictly look at the facts and customer feedback I have received. The Assurance Maxlife offers the best tread life durability.

This tire will come with an eighty-five thousand mile treadwear warranty when purchasing it. Something very common with touring tires is they will slap a high mileage warranty on them just for it to wear out within half of the miles manufacturers have warrantied it for.

The Goodyear Assurance Maxlife will not have this issue. This tire has only been out for a few years now, but I have seen the Maxlife come in with thirty thousand miles and not even have a quarter of its tread be worn off. What it tells me is this tire is going to last for a long time.

On top of receiving a super long tread life, the Assurance will have extremely safe traction in wet and dry weather conditions. It has a symmetric tread pattern and usually doesn’t do as great in these traction categories due to their uniformity. But their ability to evacuate water makes it extremely difficult to hydroplane even at high speeds.

Symmetric tread patterns are mainly utilized in touring tires because they promote long, even treadwear.

When it comes to light snow traction, they aren’t winter tires, but they have enough traction to keep you straight on the road when that light snowfall occurs. I do not recommend driving on them in severe snow conditions.

Aside from having great all-season performance, long tread life, and a comfortable ride, it was easy to make this Assurance Maxlife the top pick because of the value you get. You won’t find this tire priced as high as a Michelin, plus the fact that Goodyear has been running a rebate on the Maxlifes throughout the whole year.

You will get a tire with similar performance and better life expectancy than even the highest quality manufacturers, all for a lower price. That’s what I call a great value. That’s why I chose the Goodyear Assurance Maxlife as the top pick.

Falken Sincera SN250 A/S

Falken Sincera SN250 A/S
Our rating:
3.5/5
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Check Price At TireRack

Pros and Cons

  • Low price
  • Long tread life
  • Tire warranties
  • Light snow traction
  • Decreases fuel efficiency
  • Wet braking

Ratings

Wet Traction:
★★★★★ 3.0/5
Ride Handling:
★★★★★ 3.0/5
Dry Traction:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Ride Noise:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Snow Traction:
★★★★★ 3.0/5
Ride Comfort:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Tread Life:
★★★★★ 4.5/5
Value For Money:
★★★★★ 4.0/5

Not everyone has a pile of cash sitting around to be spent on a new set of tires, and often times when told you need new tires, it comes as a shock. For those who need new tires and are on a budget, the Falken Sincera SN250 A/S will provide you with safe traction and long tread life.

When looking for a tire that will fit your budget, the Sincera is more than affordable, and when you combine that with its long-lasting tread life, you get a tire that will be your last purchase for a long time.

Even though the wet weather traction on this tire is not the best, it will still provide safe, reliable traction. Because of the way this tires tread is designed, it’s not the best at evacuating large amounts of water out of its tread. Take extra caution if it is heavily raining outside.

For a value tire, it has a very comfortable ride making those long commutes nice and smooth. The Falken Sincera uses a symmetric tread design, promoting more even wear. Thanks to this, you won’t have to worry about your tire developing noisy, irregular wear patterns.

On top of delivering better even wear, it comes with a great warranty from Falken Tire, including road hazard protection for one year and up to an eighty thousand mile treadwear warranty.

When on a budget, nobody wants to worry about having to replace your tires after you just purchased them, so coming with this warranty is a big reason why I picked the Falken Sincera SN250 A/S.

Michelin Defender T+H

Michelin Defender T + H
Our rating:
4.0/5
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Check Price At TireRack

Pros and Cons

  • Comfortable ride
  • Fuel efficiency with a low rolling resistance
  • Wet conditions traction
  • Are very expensive
  • Dry rot sets in around four to five years,
  • No road hazard coverage from manufacturer

Ratings

Wet Traction:
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Ride Handling:
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Dry Traction:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Ride Noise:
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Snow Traction:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Ride Comfort:
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Tread Life:
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Value For Money:
★★★★★ 3.5/5

Any time someone says high-end tire, I go right to Michelin, and this is for a good reason. They have the highest ride quality standards I have seen in the industry. When deciding what tires would make this list, I didn’t put the Michelin Defender T+H as the best overall pick because of the lower value.

When driving on the Defenders, you will immediately notice how responsive it is, especially when trying to turn around corners.

Typically when a tire handles very well, you sacrifice a quiet ride and comfort due to a stiffer sidewall rubber compound. Michelin does a great job of designing a sidewall that is stiff where you need it to be and soft otherwise.

Ride comfort is a big reason so many consumers go back to this tire repeatedly. Engineering a silica tread compound that doesn’t compromise tread life for a smooth ride allows this tire to be long-lasting and highly comfortable for the whole life of its tread.

Why do they call it the T+H?

It used to be called the Michelin Defender, which was made in a V speed rating. However, they upgraded the rubber compound and exclusively make it in a T and H speed rating. Hence the T+H.

You may have seen Michelin’s commercials where they state, “safe when new, safe when worn.” I can tell you that this is true from first-hand experience with these tires. Michelin uses full-depth siping in their tires, allowing them to have very little performance loss while wearing down.

That’s why you can always count on the Michelin Defender T+H to have safe year-round wet road traction.

After all, what makes this best tire from high-end manufacturers is the consistency. I have never had a customer return with a complaint about the actual performance of these tires.

Customers have complained about how long they lasted, but this was not due to the tire. They either didn’t rotate them frequently, or their wheel alignment was incorrect.

These complaints I received did not factor into the decision of the Michelin Defender T+H being the best high-end tire due to the lack of basis on their claims.

If you are looking for a tire to provide you with the best of what touring tires have to offer and can afford the price tag that comes with them, this is the tire for you.

Continental TrueContact Tour

Continental TrueContact Tour
Our rating:
3.5/5
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Check Price At TireRack

Pros and Cons

  • Three season traction
  • Warranty package
  • Hydroplaning resistance
  • Noise at high speeds
  • Shorter life span in V speed-rating
  • Sidewall prone to punctures

Ratings

Wet Traction:
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Ride Handling:
★★★★★ 3.0/5
Dry Traction:
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Ride Noise:
★★★★★ 3.0/5
Snow Traction:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Ride Comfort:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Tread Life:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Value For Money:
★★★★★ 3.5/5

Continental tires are often a manufacturer that doesn’t get credit where it is due. Most consumers hear Continental and may think they aren’t high-quality or only make high-performance summer tires.

I think this is the case because Continental didn’t make a lot of tires available for every vehicle, like a Honda Civic. Well, let me tell you, this is no longer the case. The Continental TrueContact Tour is a tire built for any vehicle a daily driver would own.

It has mileage warranties of eighty and seventy thousand miles depending on the size and speed rating. I can’t stand when a manufacturer puts a massive mileage warranty on a tire only for it to get less than half of what the manufacturer says it should.

That scenario will not happen with the Continental TrueContact Tour, I see this tire getting sixty to seventy thousand miles on average. Now you have to rotate them every five to eight thousand miles, maintain the recommended tire pressure and have a good wheel alignment to get this kind of mileage.

What makes this tire perfect for a daily driver is how well it does on every type of road condition, whether wet, dry, or icy. An X-shape tread design allows water to pass through and snow to pack in the tread for added traction on ice.

Keep in mind these are not winter tires, for anyone who lives in climates that frequently have sub-forty-degree temperatures should have a set of winter tires.

The one category of this tire I found hard to look past and wanted to make sure I mentioned was the road noise at high speeds. When driving on the highway at high speeds, you may notice this tire reverberates the sound of every crack in the road. This is something that I noticed as my ears are always listening to tires and how they ride.

If you constantly find yourself on the highway, check out the next tire as I picked it for consumers who are looking for the best tire on highways.

Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack

Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack
Our rating:
3.5/5
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Check Price At TireRack

Pros and Cons

  • Has a low rolling resistance
  • Extremely quiet ride
  • Excellent steering response
  • Performance in light snow
  • Price can be high compared to other touring tires

Ratings

Wet Traction:
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Ride Handling:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Dry Traction:
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Ride Noise:
★★★★★ 4.0/5
Snow Traction:
★★★★★ 2.5/5
Ride Comfort:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Tread Life:
★★★★★ 3.5/5
Value For Money:
★★★★★ 3.5/5

The Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack is considered a grand touring all-season tire which means that it offers a high ride quality. I had the pleasure of doing a road test of this tire which consisted of different driving conditions that I will go in-depth about while I tell you all the reasons I chose the QuietTrack as the best for highway driving.

Made in various tire sizes, you will mainly find them to fit crossovers, sedans, and coupes. I find them best suited for highway driving due to their extremely quiet ride, I drove on the QuietTracks in a BMW sedan, and to simulate road noise, there were small speed bumps set on the ground.

When I drove over them, you could barely hear the noise generated from hitting the bumps at thirty miles an hour. This tells me that when flying over all the cracks and bumps in the road, you will barely hear any noise coming from the road.

Another area the Turanza QuietTrack tire excelled in was wet and dry stopping capability. I tested them, going sixty miles an hour and slamming on the brakes on wet roads and then on dry. They stopped much shorter than the Pirelli P7 AS Plus 2 and Michelin Primacy Tour AS.

If you are someone who drives like a maniac on the highway, weaving in and out of traffic, you will enjoy how responsive the Turanza QuietTrack tire is. It will make those quick last-minute maneuvers no problem. They also come with a low rolling resistance for increased fuel economy, which helps your gas mileage on the highway.

Where I would not recommend driving on these is in the snow. While they have a lot of siping to provide excellent wet weather traction, the siping is not as flexible in cold temperatures. When the siping can’t flex open properly, it will not be able to pack snow inside.

I recommend the Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack to anyone who is always on the highways in wet and dry climates.

What To Look For When Buying The Best Touring Tires?

Shopping for tires on your own can get confusing and quite honestly intimidating sometimes, especially when you don’t know where to start. That’s why I have listed a few things you want to look for when buying touring tires.

Does It Offer A High Mileage Treadwear Warranty?

It is not that great of a touring tire if it doesn’t offer a high mileage warranty. I recommend ensuring the mileage warranty is no lower than sixty-thousand miles.

Is The Tread Pattern Symmetric or Asymmetric?

Asymmetric tread patterns are when the right side of the tread pattern is different than the left side, and symmetric tires have an identical tread pattern on the right as the left. This will matter because asymmetric tires offer better all-season traction but tend to wear unevenly, while symmetric tires last longer and have more even treadwear.

Are Manufacturers Running Any Rebates?

It is always beneficial when a tire manufacturer is running a special on their products because it will allow you to possibly afford a better set of tires at a lower cost.

How Much Do Touring Tires Typically Cost?

I went ahead and compared prices from various tire retailers like SimpleTire, TireRack, Amazon, and Discount Tire. These are ballpark estimates from what I found:

Four New Tires

When buying four new tires, you can expect to pay between $400 and $1200.

Two New Tires

If you are only looking to replace two tires, you can expect to pay between $200 and $600.

It is always recommended to replace all four tires simultaneously to promote even tread wear.

Single Tire

Have a tire blowout and only need to replace one of your tires?

You can expect to pay between $100 and $300 to get that replaced.

Replacing only one tire is not ideal or recommended unless your other three tires are close to brand new. Only replacing one of your tires when the other three are worn out will lead to your new tire wearing out much faster.

Are Touring Tires Worth It?

Touring tires’ primary purpose is to provide long tread and on-road all-season traction. Obviously, if you take your vehicle off-road touring tires are not worth it. All terrains are better suited for dirt road driving than a touring tire.

If you spend a lot of time on the road and put a lot of miles on your vehicle, then touring tires are incredibly worth it. So, it all depends on what kind of driving you do to answer the question if they are worth it.

How Long Should Your Touring Tires Last?

While touring tires have a much longer tread life expectancy than any other tire, it doesn’t mean they will last forever. You can expect them to last anywhere between fifty and seventy thousand miles.

How long your tires will last will heavily depend on your ability to maintain your tires. That would include rotating them every five to eight thousand miles, maintaining recommended air pressures, and ensuring your wheel alignment is within the vehicle manufacturer’s specs. Otherwise, you will not only get a shorter amount of life out of the tire but also void the manufacturer’s warranty.

Does the Year of Your Vehicle Matter When Buying New Touring Tires?

The year of your vehicle does not matter when buying these tires, and they are a great option for any car that sees high mileage.

Anything Else Worth Knowing When Buying Touring Tires?

The only thing I want to leave you with is that touring tires are designed for anyone who wants a better tread life and a more comfortable ride. I recommend performance all-season tires if you need a tire that provides better all-season traction and handling.

Frequently Asked Questions
There is no difference because a passenger tire is made for all vehicles that require a specific load carrying capacity. In contrast, a touring tire is a category under the passenger tire scope.
When you see a P on a tire, it is passenger rated, meaning it is a standard load four-ply tire.
The advantage of a touring tire is it has a longer tread life and is less prone to irregular wear patterns.

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