Michelin, Pirelli, Conti among CR's most recommended brands

WASHINGTON — Michelin, Pirelli and Continental were the most prominent brands among recommended tires in Consumer Reports' 2018 tire ratings.

CR selects different categories of tires every year for testing, and ranks them according to factors including tread life, dry and wet braking, handling, hydroplaning, ride comfort, noise and rolling resistance.

CR's recommended tires for this year, according to category, are as follows:

• All-season: Michelin Defender, Continental TrueContact, General Altimax RT 43 (T), Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus.

• Performance all-season: Continental PureContact (H), Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus (H), Michelin Premier A/S (H).

• Ultra-high-performance all-season: Michelin pilot Sport A/S 3+, Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus, Continental ExtremeContact DW506, BFGoodrich g-Force COMP-2 A/S.

• Ultra-high-performance summer: Michelin Pilot Super Sport, Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3, Nokian zLine, Yokohama ADVAN Sport V105, Pirelli P Zero.

• All-season light truck: Continental CrossContact LX20 EcoPlus, Michelin Premier LTX, Firestone Destination LE 2, Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season Plus, Michelin Defender LTX M/S.

• All-terrain light truck: Continental TerrainContact A/T, Michelin LTX A/T 2, Goodyear Wrangler TrailRunner AT, Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015, Nexen Roadian AT Pro RAB, Falken WildPeak A/T AT3W.

• Winter/snow: Michelin X-Ice XI3, Nokian Hakkapeliita R2, Bridgestone Blizzak WS80, Cooper Weather-Master WSC, Toyo Observe G3-ICE, Continental WinterContact SI.

CR did not include its tire rankings in its 2018 Auto Issue, which is the April 2018 issue. A CR spokesman said the editors decided to omit the tire rankings to make room for other content.

The tire rankings included in previous Auto issues have generally been reprints, he added.

The issue did include a brief capsule article on low-rolling-resistance tires. It recommended Bridgestone, Firestone, Goodyear and Michelin low-rolling-resistance tires as providing better fuel economy without compromising traction or tread life.

Genesis, the new luxury brand from Hyundai, was CR's top-ranked vehicle brand for 2018, edging out Audi, the top pick for 2017, CR editors revealed at a Feb. 22 news conference at the National Press Club in Washington.

Rounding out the Top 10 were BMW, Lexus, Porsche, Kia, Subaru, Tesla, Honda, and Toyota. As in 2017, Fiat came in last out of 34 brands rated.