Buyer's Guide: The Best SUV Tires

If you're looking for a great all-around performer, our top pick goes to the BFGoodrich Advantage T/A Sport LT. This is BFGoodrich's crossover/SUV touring all-season tire designed for light trucks, SUVs, and crossover vehicles with a focus on handling and responsiveness. It's also a great all-season tire since it meets the industry's severe snow service requirements and features the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol.

Featuring an advanced, all-season tread compound that has been molded into an asymmetrical design, the BFGoodrich Advantage T/A Sport LT boasts a continuous center rib and an optimized footprint provided by the company's Next Generation Equal Tension Containment (ETEC) System. Circumferential grooves help channel water through the contact patch for increased hydroplaning resistance, while 3D Active Sipe Technology sipes improve wet and light snow traction.

Internally, this tire's structure includes a two ply polyester body casing and next-generation g-Wedge Sidewall Stabilizer to help control distortion during cornering. Two wide, steel belts with a spirally-wrapped nylon reinforcement adds durability, ride quality, and stability.

Featuring EcoPlus Technology, the Continental CrossContact LX20 is another great touring all-season tire for crossovers and SUVs. It's designed to perform on the highway and in mild off-road conditions, offering good treadlife, wet performance, and can even tackle light snow. This tire features an all-season tread compound with Continental's Tg-F Polymers and +Silane additives, which improves treadwear, fuel efficiency, and traction on slippery and wet roads.

A symmetric tread design with notched outboard shoulders compliments independent intermediate tread blocks and continuous center ribs. Helping enhance wet traction are four circumferential grooves, while the company's Traction Grooves, which feature ridges in the outboard grooves, aid in snow-to-snow traction.

Internally, the Continental CrossContact LX20's structure uses twin steel belts that have been reinforced with spirally wrapped polyamide on top of a polyester cord casing. Most sizes of the tire also boast a flanged lower sidewall, which helps reduce the possibility of curbing fancy wheels.

If you own a high-performance crossover or SUV, you'll want a set of tires that can keep up. Our pick for the best street/sport all-season tire for SUVs is Pirelli's Scorpion Zero All Season Plus. Combining high-performance capability with all-season utility, this tire can even drive in light snow—although you shouldn't expect stellar results.

The Scorpion Zero All Season Plus features Pirelli's newest high-performance, all-season tread compound that has been molded into an asymmetric design. Along with a high-silica content matrix, special polymer blends and resins contribute to solid all-around performance. Large outboard shoulder blocks deliver responsive handling and braking performance in both wet and dry weather, while rigid central blocks also help in dry grip.

Four wide, circumferential grooves along with special silica improves wet traction, helping kick water away from the contact patch. For slippery, winter conditions, this tire turns to smaller, inboard tread blocks with winter-focused zigzag sipes.

The tire's internal structure is comprised of two wide steel belts with a spirally wound, nylon reinforcement.

Now in its third generation, the Michelin Latitude Sport 3 was originally developed as an OE tire on high-performance crossovers and SUVs, like the Porsche Macan Turbo. These tires are our pick for street/sport summer tires, designed to deliver solid dry and wet road traction, handling and cornering performance. You won't, however, want to use these tires on snow or icy conditions.

The latest version of the Latitude features a new tread compound molded into an asymmetric design with an increased void ratio, delivering better wet performance than the second-generation model. Helping reduce tread block deformation are variable thickness sipes, which also helps improve rolling resistance and fuel economy.

Internally, the Michelin Latitude Sport 3 includes two high-tensile, steel cord belts further reinforced by individual aramid/nylon hybrid filaments.

If you're shopping for an affordable all-season tire and don't require off-road capability, take a look at the Kumho Crugen HT51. This highway all-season tire offers durability, a comfortable ride, and is even capable in light snow. Featuring an asymmetric tread design, the Crugen HT51 from Kumho uses an optimized geometric block layout to maximize treadlife. Straight-line stability and enhanced dry traction can be contributed to this tire's five-rib tread design and stiff center block.

You'll also notice four wide, circumferential zigzag grooves that are designed to create a vortex effect to keep water out and increase hydroplaning resistance. There are also 3D zigzag sipes for light snow traction. This tire is also branded with the 3PMSF symbol, which means it's severe snow service rated.

Internally, the Crugen HT51 boasts a two-ply polyester cord body along with two wide steel belts that sit on top of the casing. Those belts are further reinforced by two spirally-wrapped nylon cord caps.

Looking for both on- and off-road performance? This all-terrain tire from General fits the bill. The Grabber A/TX is designed for a wide range of conditions, ranging from pavement to dirt, wet weather, and even light snow. It is even branded with the 3PMSF symbol, which means it meets the industry's severe snow service requirements.

It all starts with a tough compound that is resistant to cuts and chips, molded into an all-terrain tread pattern. The company's Comfort Balance Technology uses an absorption layer to enhance ride and sound comfort, while the wide footprint and pattern stiffness of this tire makes sure pressure is evenly distributed for enhanced treadlife. Aiding off-road performance are stone bumpers found between the alternating shoulder blocks. These bumpers help keep rocks and other debris from cutting into the tire. Additional protection comes from Sidewall Protection Lugs, keeping the sidewall safe from punctures.

Other highlights include multi-angle tread blocks, deep starting tread depths, traction notches and sipes, all of which contribute to increased traction on dirt, wet, and snowy conditions. The Grabber A/TX is also studdable for better performance on ice and snow.

Internally, General has outfitted this tire with its DuraGen Technology, using high-strength steel belts and a two-ply polyester casing along with a pair of polyamide reinforcement plies.

Those looking for the best off-road performance should consider this other tire from General, the Grabber X3. Offering aggressive off-road performance, the Grabber X3 still manages to deliver decent on-road comfort, but its specialty is to perform in dirt, mud, and on rock. It features an off-road tread compound that has been molded into a high void, symmetric pattern with block chamfers and traction notches. Helping clear mud, stone, and debris from the tire are evacuation channels and stone bumpers at the base of the grooves.

Full-depth sipes assist in wet and winter conditions, while a multi-pitch tread block design helps minimize road noise for a more comfortable on-road driving experience. Just keep in mind, this tire is designed for maximum off-road traction, so don't expect it to offer the same comfort as other highway, all-season tires.

Internally, the Grabber X3 also benefits from General's DuraGen Technology, using a three-ply body casing and two ultra-high strength steel belts. Sidewall Protection Lugs and Deflection Ribs can also be found to protect the tire from punctures.

Designed for wintry conditions, the Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2 features a special FleX-Ice compound that is formulated to maintain its flexibility even in extreme cold weather conditions. It uses what Michelin calls Micro-Pumps and Cross Z Sipe technology to improve stability in all winter driving conditions. There is also a wide tread contact patch to cover acceleration and braking power on snow and icy roads, along with contributing to cornering traction.

A directional tread design on the Latitude X-Ice Xi2 helps keep water and slush out to improve hydroplaning resistance, while the internal structure is comprised of twin steel belts reinforced by spirally wound polyamide cord.

This tire meets the industry's severe snow service requirements and features the 3PMSF symbol.

Just because it's winter doesn't mean your high-performance crossover or SUV has to suffer. If you want a performance tire for wintry conditions, the Pirelli Scorpion Winter is our recommendation. This tire combines predictable handling on dry and wet roads with traction in snow and on ice, specially designed for powerful luxury crossovers and SUVs.

The tread compound uses a new polymer blend with a higher content of silica components. Molded into a directional design with a rounded tread profile, the Pirelli Scorpion Winter features a modular center block and stable shoulders for dry road handling. Helping maintain good traction on wet roads are circumferential grooves, while snow boosters ridges have been molded in the bottom of the grooves. Multi-directional sipes also contribute to helping bite into snow and on ice.

These tires are branded with the 3PMSF symbol, so they're ready for all sorts of wintry driving conditions.

Last, but not least, is our recommendation for a run-flat tire for your crossover or SUV. The Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season is designed to be a touring all-season tire, combining dry and wet road handling, comfort, and year-round performance. It can even perform in light snow conditions. Featuring an asymmetric tread design, this tire uses a silica tread compound with an optimized rubber-to-void ratio and uniform contact patch for ideal traction and uniform wear.

For wet conditions, there are four, wide circumferential grooves that displace water to resist hydroplaning. Longitudinal siping aids in lateral stability on loose surfaces, while high-density lateral siping improves wet and wintertime traction.

Recent Updates

July 13, 2021: Updated with a promoted product recommendation.

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