Weather or Not

Big names from the newest tire category battle it out on dry, wet, and snow-covered surfaces to see which is the ultimate evolution in all-season rubber.

- by Austin Irwin / photograph by John Roe

YOU DON'T NEED TO WATCH Married at First Sight to get the gist of it. Two strangers meet at the altar, share a big wet smooch, and get married—no dates, no conversations. Just a wild gamble. If the relationship hits a pothole, they can bail at the end of the season. It's an outrageous way to find love. It's also a ridiculous way to shop for tires. Especially the kissing part.

Yet many people purchase tires without as much as a test drive, and it's why tire testing is so valuable. It's impossible to tell just by looking, but every tire behaves differently, even in identical conditions. And buying the most expensive option doesn't guarantee happiness.

For this latest foray into matchmaking, we selected five tires in the fledgling all-weather category. If you have never heard of all-weather, don't confuse it with the nearly 50-year-old all-season category. All-weather tires take the one-tire-to-do-it-all directive and bake in more winter capability. The sales pitch on all-weather tires is that they carry the three-peak mountain snowflake (known as 3PMSF) badge of certification that some localities—namely, Quebec and parts of Europe—require in winter months. Since all-weather tires are designed to run year-round, drivers can avoid the twice-a-year swapping of one set of rubber to another and then back again.

All-season tires still dominate the U.S. market, but big players such as Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin, Nokian, and Pirelli now sell all-weather tires as well. To see what this new segment delivers, we evaluated the tires on feel, handling, lateral acceleration, and braking on dry, wet, and snowy surfaces, in addition to road noise on dry pavement and acceleration in the snow. Price and warranty also factored into our scoring. In the end, we found the one we wanted to mount and keep mounted.