Unlike winter tires that are specialized at dealing with snow, all-season tires can be used all year round. Unfortunately, the rubber compound in all-season tires doesn’t handle extreme cold temperatures as well.
Tread pattern and tread compound optimizations help bridge the gap between winter tires and all-season tires. Some combinations are more successful than others and often these come at a cost. Whether that cost is other aspects of performance or in actual dollars.
This list of the best all-season tires for snow traction will help you narrow down your list to choose from but you should still check out our article on how to buy tires to be sure to consider UTQG ratings and sizes all line up with your vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations.
Best All-Season Car Tires For Snow
Best All-Season Truck Tires For Snow
All-season tires that are best for use in snow usually will have the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol on their sidewall. This is to signify that they meet a standard for traction in winter weather.
While this is generally a strong indicator, it isn’t always the best one. Tires on this list marked with an asterisk do not meet this standard but performed extremely well in real-world conditions and are as good or better than many that do meet the standard.
Let’s take a closer look.
Best All-Season Car Tires For Snow
All-season tires are a compromise. They need to work well as summer tires, wet conditions, light snow, and milder winter weather conditions. Winter tires are specialists. They can handle extreme winter weather and heavy snow-covered roads more easily, but the rubber that is designed to stay flexible in extremely cold weather can’t handle warm weather.
An all-season tire will not perform as well as winter tires for deep snow and more extreme winter weather conditions. But there are some really amazing all-season tires on the market today that can handle light snow and still perform well all year long.
To get the best snow tires that are still all-season tires, you likely want to consider a tire with the 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMS) symbol. This means the tire has passed a standard for winter and snow tire performance.
You’ll notice many of the tires on this list are marked with a 3PMS symbol, but not all. Some tires will only have a Mud & Snow (M+S) symbol but still perform extremely well in winter conditions for an all-season tire.
Real-world performance can sometimes trump tests that can’t give a more well-rounded picture of how a tire will handle snowy weather.
Traditional all-season tires optimize more for wet conditions and warm weather than they do for snow and freezing temperatures. An all-weather tire is designed for the driver that sees more snow and winter extremes but not so much they need winter tires.
Important Note:
Just because an all-season tire doesn’t specifically say it’s meant for trucks or SUVs doesn’t mean it won’t fit yours. Smaller trucks and SUVs don’t need the higher load ratings and capabilities of truck-specific tires.
#1 Michelin CrossClimate 2
View Manufacturer’s Product Page
- Overall Score: 9.20 of 10
- Snow Traction: 9.0 of 10
- Treadwear: 640
- Traction: B
- Temperature: A
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake: Yes
Treadwear Mileage Warranty: 60,000Description
Michelin is known for making some of the best tires you can buy. And they’ve managed to make some of the best tires for passenger cars and trucks for decades.
While they usually aren’t inexpensive, you can usually be confident that you’ll get a very good quality tire from them.
The CrossClimate 2 is an evolution of the CrossClimate Plus and improves upon this already incredible tire that is also on our list.
The CrossClimate 2 has a very unique tread pattern that is “V” shaped and has overlapping staggered tread blocks that start from the center and channel water, snow, and slush out and away from the contact patch.
Michelin claims to have designed the tread blocks to hit the road surface in a pattern that reduces noise and improves ride quality.
Review
The CrossClimate 2 is an amazing tire. Customer feedback is nearly perfect across the board and brings in an amazing overall rating. This tire handles everything you can throw at it and also has an impressive 60,000-mile treadwear warranty.
Every tire has some complaints from some owners, but the overwhelming majority have no complaints. These all-season tires handle light snow without issue, rainy weather, and wet conditions amazingly well, and have an astoundingly long tread life.
There really isn’t anything bad to say about this all-season tire.
#2 Firestone WeatherGrip
View Manufacturer’s Product Page
- Overall Score: 8.60 of 10
- Snow Traction: 8.7 of 10
- Treadwear: 640
- Traction: A
- Temperature: A
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake: Yes
Treadwear Mileage Warranty: 65,000Description
Designed for maximum winter performance, these all-season tires tackle light to medium snow extremely well. While all-season tires can’t live up to the purpose-designed performance of a winter tire, the WeatherGrip does an amazing job while still being an extremely capable tire on dry and wet roads.
Tread life is also amazing on this jack-of-all-trades tire. So much so that Firestone stands behind it with a 65,000-mile treadwear warranty.
It does trail behind the outstanding performance of the CrossClimate 2 but it does an amazing job in its own right. It also can be had for a significantly lower cost which sweetens the deal enough to make it worth serious consideration.
Review
The Firestone WeatherGrip stands out for its exceptional performance on dry and wet roads according to customer feedback. It has excellent snow traction even though it’s a few ticks below the Michelin tire.
Interestingly, customer feedback on tread life is slightly low compared to the other measured performance metrics. I found this surprising only because Firestone provides the 65,000-mile treadwear warranty. Honestly, though, its treadwear rating isn’t bad at all. It actually is very good and with the warranty, there’s no reason to hesitate based on tread life.
#3 Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady
View Manufacturer’s Product Page
- Overall Score: 8.84 of 10
- Snow Traction: 8.6 of 10
- Treadwear: 700
- Traction: A
- Temperature: A
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake: Yes
Treadwear Mileage Warranty: 60,000Description
The Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady comes in third on this list because it is slightly lower rated at dealing with light snow than the Firestone WeatherGrip tires.
The overall customer sentiment was that the WeatherReady was the superior tire that has excellent high-speed stability and very good traction in dry and wet conditions. Their excellent traction extends to snow grip too. Just slightly less than the Firestone tires for snow.
Since this review prioritizes tires for snow, the Goodyear tire falls one spot. It’s still one of the best all-season tires on the market.
Review
Customer feedback is very good to excellent across the board. Braking performance on wet surfaces, deep snow skills, outstanding high-speed stability, long tread life, and of course one of the best all-season tires for snow you can find.
Customers gave this tire the highest marks for outstanding wet traction and dry surfaces. It drops slightly for ride quality, tread life, and grip for all-season tires for snow.
#4 Vredestein Quatrac 5 All-Season
View Manufacturer’s Product Page
- Overall Score: 8.70 of 10
- Snow Traction: 8.5 of 10
- Treadwear: 400
- Traction: B
- Temperature: A
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake: Yes
Treadwear Mileage Warranty: 45,000Description
Vredestein is a bit of a lesser-known brand in the United States but they produce some very high-quality tires. Their Quatrac 5 All-Season tires are 3 Mountain Peak Snowflake rated and get excellent feedback from consumers.
The Quatrac 5 uses an asymmetric tread pattern to maximize traction in rainy weather and light snow or slush.
It trails slightly behind the leaders of this group but only by a narrow margin. The Vredestein is a very competent grand touring tire with the ability to deal with warm weather conditions and snowy winter weather conditions without much fuss.
It’s solidly one of the best-performing all-season tires for snow on the market today.
They’re a little harder to find in stock but worth putting in the extra effort to track down.
Review
Traction on dry and wet roads is what customers gave the most praise for on these tires. That doesn’t mean other aspects were poor though. It’s just that the traction on dry and wet roads was near perfect.
Comfort and traction in snow and slush were also very highly rated. They weren’t scored quite as highly as traction on dry and wet roads, but these considerations were very much appreciated, especially the very good traction in snow conditions.
Even treadwear was highly rated even if it was the lowest rated of all of the measured factors of these tires. It should be noted however that there is only a 45,000-mile treadwear warranty.
#5 General Tire AltiMAX 365 AW
View Manufacturer’s Product Page
- Overall Score: 8.64 of 10
- Snow Traction: 8.1 of 10
- Treadwear: 640
- Traction: A
- Temperature: A
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake: Yes
Treadwear Mileage Warranty: 60,000Description
General Tire doesn’t get the same attention as some of the other tire manufacturers, but reviewers and consumers probably should consider the quality of the AltiMAX 365 AW. This tire really is an excellent performer.
Its heavy siping helps it keep up with some of the best all-season tires for snow and ice, and it even includes some unique tread designs with waved grooves for improved snow grip. General Tire specifically states that they’ve optimized it for deep snow grip.
It won’t be able to keep up with dedicated winter tires, but it is able to keep pace with the best all-season tires for snow on the market today.
Review
Customer feedback across the board was excellent for AltiMAX 365. Dry and wet surfaces were the most highly rated for this tire. Comfort and treadwear were very close behind. Like several of the other all-season tires on this list, it comes with a 60,000-mile treadwear warranty.
While it generally has outstanding performance and excellent traction, it slips down this list due to its slightly lower traction in snowy weather. It’s still very good and provides very safe handling in winter weather conditions, but it was just a tad lower-rated than the others.
#6 Goodyear Assurance ComfortDrive*
View Manufacturer’s Product Page
- Overall Score: 9.08 of 10
- Snow Traction: 8.7 of 10
- Treadwear: 700
- Traction: A
- Temperature: A
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake: No
Treadwear Mileage Warranty: 60,000Description
The Assurance ComfortDrive is an example of certification not necessarily being the best indicator of real-world performance. The best all-season tires for snow usually have the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol molded into their sidewall to show that they’ve achieved a certain level of snow and winter weather abilities.
The Assurance ComfortDrive doesn’t have this certification, yet it performs better than some tires that do have it. For instance, it outperforms the General AltiMAX 365 AW in snow. A tire that is 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake certified.
Review
ComfortDrive get’s stellar customer feedback for performance in every category. In fact, the only all-season tire that receives better customer feedback ratings is the Michelin CrossClimate 2. Drivers even seem to be more satisfied with the ComfortDrive than with Goodyear’s own 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake certified Assurance WeatherReady all-season tires for snow.
Best All-Season Truck/SUV Tires For Snow
It’s important to point out that this list of all-season tires is unique to the needs of larger trucks and SUVs, but small to mid-sized trucks and SUVs can often use standard car tires. Don’t feel like just because you drive an SUV you need to get a tire that is labeled specifically for SUVs.
For instance, a smaller SUV like the Audi Q3 or Jeep Compass won’t need SUV or truck-specific tires. The weight of the smaller trucks doesn’t need the extra load ratings of these tires.
#1 Michelin CrossClimate SUV
View Manufacturer’s Product Page
- Overall Score: 9.04 of 10
- Snow Traction: 8.8 of 10
- Treadwear: 580
- Traction: A
- Temperature: A
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake: Yes
Treadwear Mileage Warranty: 50,000Description
It should come as no surprise that the truck tire that leads the rankings is the same design as the one that’s at the top of the list for best all-season tires for snow.
This is essentially just a CrossClimate 2 in sizes for large SUVs and trucks. It does have a slightly lower tread life expectation at 50,000 miles, but otherwise, performance will be essentially the same.
Review
Just like with CrossClimate 2, customer feedback across the board is excellent. Its lowest ranked category is treadwear, however, it is still stellar. You can expect large vehicles to put extra strain on tires due to the excessive weight so a little shorter life is not unexpected.
#2 Michelin Agilis CrossClimate
View Manufacturer’s Product Page
- Overall Score: 9.06 of 10
- Snow Traction: 8.6 of 10
- Treadwear: N/A
- Traction: N/A
- Temperature: N/A
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake: Yes
Treadwear Mileage Warranty: NoneDescription
The Agilis CrossClimate is more of a commercial-grade tire than a consumer-oriented tire. It’s meant more for work vans and trucks than SUVs or similar family-oriented vehicles.
That said, it does a great job handling this more heavy-duty task. It is capable of supporting heavier loads and can do so in deep snow or wet conditions with ease compared to much of the competition.
This tire is even quite capable with light off-road use on construction sites and frequent use on more difficult dirt and gravel roads.
Review
Customer feedback is outstanding in every category. Its lowest reported performance category is as a snow tire, but it still does extremely well.
It should be noted that customers loved the tread life they saw from their Agilis tires. Even though Michelin doesn’t provide a treadwear warranty for this tire, tread life was exceptional.
#3 Kumho Crugen HT51
View Manufacturer’s Product Page
- Overall Score: 8.78 of 10
- Snow Traction: 8.4 of 10
- Treadwear: 720
- Traction: A
- Temperature: A
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake: Yes
Treadwear Mileage Warranty: 45,000Description
This incredible tire from the somewhat lesser-known brand Kumho is an exceptional light truck tire that is capable of handling heavier loads of large SUVs and work trucks.
It’s specifically designed for good traction in snowy weather conditions and great highway performance. It’s ideal for work trucks that need good all-season tires to deal with harsh weather conditions and light off-road use.
It’s a great tire design for those that need a tire that can just perform extremely well all the time all season long and do so without issue.
Review
Customer feedback is extremely good with the worst feedback being grip in snow and slush. This is still exceptional and proves this tire is an incredibly good pick.
Dry and wet conditions are where this tire performs best. But it’s also extremely comfortable and lasts and has a very long tread life according to customers.
It isn’t quite as good as the others on this list, but that’s an impressive feat to rank third among these top performers.
#4 BFGoodrich Advantage T/A Sport LT
View Manufacturer’s Product Page
- Overall Score: 8.62 of 10
- Snow Traction: 8.2 of 10
- Treadwear: 660-740
- Traction: B
- Temperature: A
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake: Yes
Treadwear Mileage Warranty: 60,000-65,000Description
Popular tire brand BFGoodrich is a sister company to Michelin and produces excellent tires. The Advantage T/A Sport LT is a shining example and an excellent choice for your large SUV or truck.
High-speed stability is good with this tire and is likely helped but its continuous center rib design gives it excellent traction.
This tire meets the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake standard and has the emblem molded into the sidewall. While this isn’t a perfect measurement, it does say a lot about a tire’s ability on ice and deeper snow situations.
All-season tires will never beat out winter tires for winter performance, but as a tire that can be used all year, it is very good.
Review
Customer feedback lags in ride quality and winter traction, but only slightly. Overall this tire gets very high marks from customers across the board, especially on wet roads, and outstanding traction on dry pavement.
It has an exceptional treadwear warranty and based on customer feedback, it likely won’t need to be cashed in on since this tire gets extremely high marks for tread life.
The previously mentioned tires are slightly better all around but that doesn’t mean this is anywhere close to a bad tire. It performs extremely well and is worth your consideration.
#5 Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3*
View Manufacturer’s Product Page
- Overall Score: 9.24 of 10
- Snow Traction: 8.6 of 10
- Treadwear: 800
- Traction: A
- Temperature: A
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake: No
Treadwear Mileage Warranty: 70,000Description
The Scorpion AS Plus 3 is an incredible example of a tire that isn’t 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake certified but outperforms most of the competition that does have that emblem molded into their sidewall.
Pirelli seems to have figured out how to shockingly good traction from a rather traditional-looking tread pattern. The pattern is highly tuned for use as an excellent all-season highway tire and supports the extra loads of heavy trucks and SUVs.
The tread compound surely has a lot to do with the increased traction and grip, especially on packed snow and ice.
Pirelli is an extremely well-regarded tire manufacturer and they’ve really hit a home run with this tire.
Review
Customer feedback is through the roof for this tire. It scores a rating of excellent in every category with its lowest score coming from snow performance.
Dry grip and treadwear are the highest rated categories by customers. The 70,000-mile treadwear warranty backs this up.
The only reason this tire is this far down the list is the lack of certification but the numbers and customers don’t lie. This is an epic tire and worth considering instead of some of the higher-rated light truck tires on this list.
#6 Firestone Destination LE3*
View Manufacturer’s Product Page
- Overall Score: 9.08 of 10
- Snow Traction: 8.6 of 10
- Treadwear: 700
- Traction: A
- Temperature: B
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake: No
Treadwear Mileage Warranty: 70,000Description
Another tire that doesn’t meet the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake standard, but performs better in the real world than most of the ones that do.
It’s optimized to reduce hydroplaning during heavy rain in addition to being great on hot, dry asphalt as well as frozen ice and packed snow.
Firestone should be quite proud of how well this tire holds up to some fierce competition, and I’m sure they are.
Review
The Firestone Destination LE3 is a very close runner-up to the Pirelli. It comes just shy of most of the same ratings and has equally good traction in snow, which are both the lowest scores each received.
It’s a tenth or two down on the other ratings which brings down its overall rating slightly, but not enough to be a huge determining factor between this tire or the Scorpion.
If you’re deciding between these two tires I’d go with the cheaper tires unless you want the cool-looking scorpion logo on the side of your tires. 😉
Review Process
It’s nearly impossible to collect every available tire on the market and measure their performance under the exact same conditions. UTQG attempts to do this but it’s an old methodology and needs updating, but it still provides some valuable insight.
A better metric for measuring tire performance is a large sample of customer feedback specifically answering questions about individual performance characteristics.
With a large enough pool of customer comments and grades, a reasonably accurate ranking can be made for how well you will find a tire to work for you in a given situation.
Third-party customer feedback is compiled and averaged across multiple performance metrics and averaged to provide an overall score and each tire is ranked based on these criteria.
Customer feedback is broken down into the following:
- Wet Traction
- Dry Traction
- Comfort
- Treadwear
In this case, the tires were also ranked specifically on customer feedback regarding snow performance.
Unfortunately, not every tire has the sales volume to collect a sizable enough database of feedback from real-world customers. This means you won’t find lesser-known brands and shorter-run models in our reviews.
However, when manufacturers that may not be household names hit a home run, the tire will become popular and eventually rise to the attention of enough customers that enough data will be collected to allow for a reasonable ranking of it versus the competition.
Over time this article will be updated and as new designs come to the market that pushes the performance envelope further and set a new bar, you’ll find them here.
Resources
Below are some links you may find helpful when learning about tires
- Are all-season tires okay in the snow? – LesSchwab.com
- Comparing winter & snow tires vs. all-season tires – Bridgestone
Final Thoughts
The best all-season tires for snow for you and your needs depend on many factors, but there should be at least one tire that meets your requirements that will perform amazingly well on snow.
Keep in mind that there are no all-season tires that can match winter tires when it comes to traction on snow and ice. If you live in a winter wonderland for a large part of the year you should consider getting dedicated winter tires and swap them out when warm weather rolls around.
* = Not 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake
