12 Of The Longest-Lasting Car Tires

Choosing a tire can feel like navigating a minefield. There are over a hundred options to choose from in a variety of categories, including summer tires, winter tires, touring, all-weather, and off-road. Each type has its pros, cons, and specific use cases. For example, Off-road tires have ply ratings for like sand, rocks, and mud whereas even the most durable summer tires are made with softer rubber compounds to help your car stick to pavement better in the summer but stiffen in the winter. Thanks to these various constructions and uses, treadwear can vary wildly between tire types. 

If you're shopping for a tire that'll last you a while, there are many things to consider, from tire type down to the bad habits people do that reduce their tire life. The good news is that you can avoid a lot of pitfalls by knowing what's up. For example, the aforementioned summer tires and their softer compounds don't last nearly as long as a standard touring tire. Off-road tires are built to avoid being popped by ground obstacles, but their treadwear life is fairly average at best. If you want to skip the line and just see the tires that should last the longest, all you need to do is scroll down.

For this list, we relied primarily on the uniform tire quality grading scale, otherwise known as UTQG. This rating is endorsed by the NHTSA as a standard for expected treadwear life on a tire, so it's the best place to start. The UTQG is determined by driving a car for 7,200 miles on a test track and measuring the tread wear. That is then compared to a base tire, which is UTGQ 100. If it's rated to last four times as long, it'll receive a UTGQ 400 rating.

Starting with the UTGQ ratings, we were able to eliminate a lot of contenders early. For instance, winter tires don't come with UTQG ratings, so they're out immediately. Approximately 81% of tires are rated between 200 and 600 UTQG, so all tires below around 600 UTQG or so were immediately removed too. That left us with about 19% of tires remaining and it's from that selection that we chose the list below. Since UTQG can be a little unreliable (7,200 miles isn't that long of a test), we cross-referenced each tire with Tire Rack's treadwear ratings to make sure there were no obvious discrepancies. Thus, we are reasonably confident the list below is accurate.

The Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive is a grand touring all-season tire, which the brand makes in one of its 12 facilities worldwide. Pirelli uses a proprietary polymer resin compound to make them last long and perform well in most types of weather, and they feature one of the most interesting tread designs of any tire on the list. That mixture of compounds and tread design helped earn Pirelli a Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rating, which means it's better in the snow than most all-season tires. 

Pirelli boasts a UTGQ 700 rating, which is above average for the segment. Pirelli backs this with a 60,000-mile warranty. As you'll read later, 60,000 miles is a little low for a UTQG 700 rating, but still far longer than many other tires. Tire Rack gives the tire's treadwear rating a 9.2 out of 10, which is among the highest of any tire on the list. Thus, we believe the tire will probably last longer than its rated warranty and it's a worthy inclusion on the list. In terms of performance, the Cinturato scores impressively across the board, making it one of the best overall tires we could find. 

The Kumho Solus TA11 has some good things going for it. It's a budget-oriented tire that you can snag for under $100, depending on the tire size. In general, it's a perfectly serviceable all-season tire for its price tag. It's designed primarily for subcompacts, sedans, minivans, and SUVs, so it benefits from having a wide availability.  Kumho boasts a carbon compound that helps the tires work reasonably well in most types of weather with an asymmetrical tread design that's supposed to help reduce vibration and noise. 

In terms of tread life, the Solus TA11 is above average with a 700 UTGQ rating. Kumho backs this up with a six-year, 75,000-mile warranty which is excellent for this class of tire. Tire Rack gives the tire an 8.3 out of 10 rating for treadwear, which indicates that you should be able to squeak out the advertised mileage if you're not too rough on the tires. In terms of performance, you get what you pay for here. Kumho makes pretty good tires for the price, but it won't match higher-end tires in the same segment. Even so, a 75,000-mile warranty is outstanding, so while they may not be the best, they should last you a good while. 

The Firestone Destination LE3 is a step up from the Kumho TA11. This all-season tire is primarily made for SUVs and crossovers (and yes, there is a difference). Firestone's big claim to fame with these tires is its full-depth tread features, which retain all of the various grooves and notches as the tread wears down, which helps it maintain consistent performance as the tread wears down. This no doubt helps with tread life as well as you'll be less inclined to buy new tires until the tire truly reaches its end of life. Like most all-season tires, it does well in the rain and pretty good in the snow. 

Firestone has a UTQG 700 tread life rating on these tires, which is on the high end of good. The tire maker backs this up with a 70,000-mile tread life warranty, so at the very worst, the tires are rated to go that far. Tire Rack gives the tire an 8.7 out of 10 rating, which indicates that the treadwear should match the manufacturer's claims. Despite its long life, it still does just about everything well from wet and dry traction to ride quality and noise levels. There isn't much to complain about with this tire. 

Vredestein may not be a household name like Michelin, but it's still one of the better tire brands on the market. For this list, we'll be talking about the Vredestein Pinza HT. It's a highway all-season tire that Vredestein sells in a ton of sizes. Unlike most tires on the list, the brand doesn't use a lot of flowery language for its tires, which we appreciate. Essentially, it made the tire compound to last as long as it can and the treads are staggered to help get water out of the way. Otherwise, it's just a good tire. 

Vredestein's UTQG rating for this tire is a little unique. It's 700 across most tire sizes. However, some sizes don't have a rating because light truck tires (along with winter, spare, trailer, and tires under 12 inches) aren't required to have a UTQG rating. Per Vredestein, some of the smaller options are UTQG 300 or 400, so not all sizes have the same treadwear rating. Tire Rack rates the treadwear at a 9.0 out of 10 and Vredestein backs these tires with a 70,000-mile warranty. So, despite the weird numbers, we're pretty confident that Vredestein tires will go the distance. 

The Kumho Crugen HT51 is mostly made for larger vehicles like light duty trucks, SUVs, CUVs, and minivans. Much like Vredestein, it doesn't use a lot of complex language when describing its tire. The brand formulates its tire compounds to last as long as possible, while also designing the tread to eject as much water as it can for optimal wet weather traction. It also has the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake, indicating that it's certified for snow use, although its review metrics in that arena are only pretty good and not very good. 

With the Crugen HT51, we depart the UTQG 700 group. This tire's rating is UTQG 720, although some sizes don't have a rating due to being made for light trucks. Kumho backs the tire with a 70,000-mile warranty, which is interesting because Solus TA11 above has a 700 rating and a 75,000-mile warranty. This is a perfect example of how UTQG ratings can't always be taken at face value, which is why more than one measurement is usually recommended. In any case, Tire Rack gives treadwear an 8.6 out of 10, indicating that it'll probably reach life expectancy barring any weird problems or aggressive driving habits. 

Continental is one of the biggest tire makers in the world, and part of that is because it makes good tires. The TerrainContact H/T is the first one we'll talk about today. Continental makes this tire primarily for SUVs and light trucks. Otherwise, it's more of the same for tires on this list. Continental puts additives into the compound to help it last longer and wear evening, helping in overall tread life. Since it is an all-season tire, Continental has also put work into making it quiet while also making it reasonably good in most elements. Continental boasts a 70,000-mile warranty with this one, which is average for tires in this category. 

In terms of treadwear ratings, Continental isn't like the other tires we've talked about so far. Some sizes, like 245-width tires, they are rated at UTQG 800 while some other sizes, like the 225-width tires, are UTQG 720 while the light truck tires aren't rated at all. Fortunately, Tire Rack gives the tire a 9.1 out of 10 anyway for treadwear, so at least performance should be consistent with each tire size's rating. Continental does well in all areas with this tire, scoring high marks everywhere, so it's a great overall tire. 

Yokohama's Avid Ascend LX is the brand's longest lasting tire, at least by its own marketing. This all-season tire is designed to work well in nearly all scenarios and last for a pretty long time. It does this the same way as most tire makers, which is by formulating the tire rubber to last as long as possible while still delivering a reasonable drive. Yokohama uses the brand's L-2 compound, which is supposed to deliver even treadwear over a ton of miles. Yokohama backs up its mileage with a warranty that lasts for 85,000 miles, which is higher than average. 

The Avid Ascend LX has a UTQG 800 rating, which it retains across all sizes unlike the Continental tires above. Tire Rack gives the tire an 8.7 out of 10 rating, which means it should hit its rated mileage without much trouble. Other than tread life, the tire performs well in most metrics, being reasonably quiet and comfortable while being quite good rainy or dry conditions. The only knock against it is winter conditions, where the tire is merely above average. It should fit most sedans, coupes, crossovers, and minivans, but you'll want something bigger if you're shopping for a truck.

The Goodyear Wrangler Steadfast HT tires are the second highest rated tire from Goodyear when it comes to treadwear. It gets its long life from a variety of little tricks from the compounds Goodyear uses to the introduction of DuPont Kevlar into the treads for increased resilience to the elements. The tire is also designed for even treadwear, helping its longevity even more. Goodyear backs up its tire with a 70,000-mile warranty, which is about average for this segment, but the brand does include a wear gauge in the tread so you can take easy tread depth readings. 

Goodyear's rating for this is UTQG 800, which is similar to Yokohama. We debated whether to put Yokohama higher than Goodyear on the list. What swayed us was Tire Rack, which rated Goodyear's tires a 9.1 out of 10 for treadwear. So, Yokohama has the better warranty, but Goodyear has the better Tire Rack ratings and Goodyear sells these for light trucks. If you want to flip flop the two in your head, we won't be upset. In our minds, they are about equal in terms of expected longevity, with Goodyear inching out a win here thanks to its wider compatibility. 

It's not every day that you see a tire manufacturer go all-in on just one metric, but that's precisely what Goodyear did with the Assurance MaxLife tires. Basically everything that Goodyear does with this tire is designed to help it last as long as humanly possible. It's designed to be a safe tire as well, but Goodyear dedicates multiple parts of its product page into bragging about the tire's longevity. It's also backed by an 85,000-mile warranty.

Let's get to the brass tacks. The Goodyear Assurance MaxLife sports a UTQG 820 rating, which is the highest of any tire on the list so far, and that rating applies to all sizes. Tire Rack rates the tire's treadwear as 8.6 out of 10, which is high marks there as well. Combine that with the long warranty, and this tire will almost certainly last you a while unless you get a nail stuck in it. The only downside is that the emphasis on longevity puts a damper on the tire's other performance metrics. It's not as good in wet or wintry conditions as most of the other tires on this list and even its ride quality take a small hit for the sake of keeping the tread going as long as possible. 

Continental's TrueContact Tour 54 is the brand's longest lasting tire, at least according to the ratings. The brand says that the tires are made with Tg-F polymers, which should help decrease wear over the long term. Otherwise, it's much the same as the other tires on the list. It's designed to be as good as it can be in wet and dry conditions while also keeping the tread alive as long as possible. Continental backs up its claims with an 80,000-mile warranty, which is above average overall, but about average for tires rated to last this long.

The TrueContact Tour 54 tires have a UTQG rating of 840 while the non-Tour 54 versions sit right at 800. That is exceptionally good and some of the highest ratings we could find in any consumer-level tire. Continental doesn't skimp on the other stuff either, as the Tour 54 tires are among the highest rated tires on Tire Rack, both in terms of treadwear and general performance. It could maybe be a little better in the winter, but it does better than similar max-life tires like the aforementioned Goodyears, which is impressive all things considered. It should fit on most cars, SUVs, and minivans as well. 

The Michelin Defender series of tires is among the best when it comes to tread life. Michelin doesn't reveal its special sauce to make it this way, but it's genuinely impressive. For tread life, the Defender2 sits at the top of the Defender pyramid, but if we wanted to pad out this list, the Defender T+H, Defender LTX M/S2, and the Defender LTX M/S would all be on this list as all of them have a UTQG rating of 800 or higher. It's only out of fairness that this list isn't half Michelin. The tire giant backs up its claims with an 80,000-mile warranty as well. 

The Defender2 has a UTGQ rating of 840, making it higher than all the tires before it, including the other tires in the Defender lineup. Tire Rack agrees with this assessment, giving the Defender2 a 9.3 out of 10 rating in treadwear, which is the highest we saw on the website. Much like the Continental tires above, it also performs well in virtually every other metric, with winter being the only one where it's merely above average. We gave the win to Michelin because of its higher treadwear and Tire Rack ratings, but the two competitors are neck and neck in virtually all metrics. 

The Hankook Kinergy PT is, as far as we can tell, the tire with the highest tread wear rating on the market. There is a lot to unpack, however. The Kinergy PT comes in three ratings. The H and T-rated tires are rated for up to 130 mph and 118 mph, respectively, and they are also the longest lasting. There is another set of Kinergy PT with a V rating, which is up to 149 mph, and those aren't quite as strong as the others. The H and T models come with a 90,000-mile warranty, which tops our list. For the V-rated version, its warranty is still a very respectable 75,000 miles. 

We'll focus on the H and T tires moving forward. They have a UTQG rating of 860, which is the highest rating we could find. Unfortunately, Tire Rack hasn't reviewed the Kinergy PT yet, so we don't have scores from them, but even without its authority, 90,000 miles for a warranty is kind of absurd given that most competitors sit much lower than that. User reviews say the tires perform quite well, and seem to be able to maintain their tread life without sacrificing too much in the way of noise and wet performance.