This also has to do with the fact that all-season tires are officially qualified to be used in the wintertime, which is signified by the 3-peak mountain pictogram with a snowflake. When you see the 3PMSF pictogram on your all-season tires, this means that you can travel on these tires to countries where winter tires are mandatory.

In addition, the all-season tires are a great opportunity to forget about standing in lines in the tire service twice a year waiting to have your winter or summer tires replaced, which will save you not only time and money but your nervous system as well.

But then again, one shouldn’t forget that all-season tires are nothing but a successful compromise. For the winter road conditions, winter tires will still probably be the best choice, while for the rest of the year summer tires will still do the best.

Our today’s article is addressed to the car owners who insist on making their choice in favor of all-season models. Based on 10 comparative tests of all-season tires conducted in 2018, we determined the best tires to be used all-year round.

The leaders

The list of the test-winning leaders is topped by the premium brand models. Despite its previous policy of dedicated winter and summer designs, Continental produced an all-season tire in 2017. It took the company a few years to develop Continental AllSeasonContact, a tire with a running life of four seasons, but the result was worth the effort: as soon as it was released it began to oust the hitherto absolute leader of the tests, Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2.

Now the tires of these two manufacturers go practically body to body in the top lines of the test-based rankings, giving us no opportunity to say with certainty which of the two is more worthy of the "Best Tires 2018" title.

Continental AllSeasonContact

In the category of SUV all-season tires, however, Goodyear is still holding its position. The title of "Best SUV All-season Tires 2018" is held so far by the Vector 4Seasons SUV Gen-2 model.

Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2

The followers

After making a smashing debut in 2017, when it won two golds and one silver, only one year later the Michelin CrossClimate+ tire began going down in the charts, which directly had to do with the release of an all-season model from Continental.

And, while initially the testers would speak delightfully about the balance of the model’s performance in any weather conditions,  and later everyone noted that this tire was ultimately better suited for the summer season, and, if you are planning a skiing vacation in the Alps, for example, this tire will be definitely the wrong choice.

Michelin CrossClimate+

We will also mention the second place won by the Michelin CrossClimate SUV tire in the only test of all-season tires performed in 2018, where it fell short of winning the gold only because of the comparatively long braking distance on snow.

A similar situation has formed for the “all-weather” Nokian Weatherproof. Scoring two quick victories in the tests of 2015, later on it lost the battle for its place in the sun to stronger competitors. Nevertheless, even four years later it was able to score three victories: in the GTÜ/ACE/ARBÖ and Autozurnal (two second places), and at Auto Bild tests, where the all-season Nokian tire occupied the third position in the final charts.

Nokian Weatherproof SUV also left a positive impression. Anyway, this Finnish tire maker does have a few things to be proud of.

Nokian Weatherproof SUV

“Upper intermediate” or “when something is missing”

Now it’s time to look at the models that one way or another got shortlisted in the comparative tests of all-season tires 2018 but generally are nothing to rave over.

We will begin with the model Nexen N’Blue 4Season, whose size 175/65 R14 won the ADAC test, getting ahead of such premium brand tires as Continental AllSeason Contact, Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2 and Nokian Weatherproof. In addition to scoring the highest points for its outstanding grip on ice, the all-season Nexen tire demonstrated excellent performance on wet asphalt.

However, in all the other tests of all-season tires 2018, this model of the Korean brand never came close to such performance, still getting a solid “C” in the tests conducted by such reputable German magazines as Auto Bild and Auto Motor und Sport.

Nexen N’Blue 4Season

Thanks to its great performance on snow, short braking distances, and outstanding grip on wet asphalt, the Vredestein Quatrac 5 won the bronze prize at 2018 Auto Bild SUV All Season Tire Test in the size of 235/60 R18. However, the smaller sizes of this tire only demonstrated a modest performance and got such experts’ overall verdicts as “average” or “conditionally recommended”.

Vredestein Quatrac 5

Looking at the test results of the debutant model Pirelli Cinturato All Season Plus, one gets a mixed impression because of the large gap between the second place in the Italian Quattroruote tire test and the ninth place in Germany’s Auto Bild. At the same time, paradoxically, the experts of both magazines hold a similar opinion: the weak side of Pirelli all-season tires is wet asphalt, while when it comes to driving on snow or dry surfaces, they demonstrate a well-balanced performance.

Pirelli Cinturato All Season Plus

The independent testers of 2018 were very interested in the operational properties of Hankook tires. And, while the testers of Auto Bild were somehow able to lay their hands on the brand-new all-season Kinergy 4S2 H750, all the others had to content themselves with testing its predecessor Kinergy 4S Н740.

The H750 tire started its career from the fifth position in the rankings but, what’s peculiar, the Н740 model faired along almost as successfully.

Kinergy 4S2 H750

Inexpensive Alternative

There are a few medium-segment all-season tires that are also worth mentioning in this article. They are no great shakes but they still provide an adequate traction and handling during the year-round operation. These are the models Falken EuroAll Season AS200, Fulda MultiControl, Firestone Multiseason, Kleber Quadraxer 2, which has a clone model of BFGoodrich g-Grip All Season 2, as well as Maxxis AllSeason AP2 from the Taiwan tire maker Cheng Shin Rubber.

Outside the category of the best all-season tires

Topping the preliminary shortlist of the 2018 Auto Bild All Season Tire Test for the 195/65 R15 size, the model Bridgestone Weather Control A005 was offering hope that finally this Japanese brand would blow the competition away. However, after the results of the final round of the test were announced, it became clear that the miracle would not happen. The tenth out of the ten possible positions and the “not recommended” overall verdict spoiled the first impression of the tire that just entered the market.

Bridgestone Weather Control A005

We will note at this point that the previous generation tires, Bridgestone Weather Control A001, did not stand out against the overall background of the tires of this brand and also occupied the final position in the test conducted by the Slovakian magazine Autozurnal.

In a nutshell

The conclusion

In spite of the fact that this article mentions relatively inexpensive models such as Fulda, Firestone, Kleber, Falken and Maxxis as the best all-season tires 2018, the leading chart positions are still occupied by the premium segment. And this ultimately goes to show that even if you do opt for the all-season tires, you still will not be able to save a lot of money because if you care about real safety you will have to dip into your pocket.