This Tire Brand Has The Lowest Customer Satisfaction Rating, According To Consumer Reports

Purchasing new tires for your car, truck, or SUV is rarely a satisfying event. One might even argue that it is one of the more frustrating undertakings a vehicle owner will endure, as purchasing tires from even one of the more trusted manufacturers in the game doesn't guarantee you're going to get the results you want. And yes, on top of that inherent risk, you'll likely be expected to pay an arm and a leg for a set of four new tires to boot. 

There are, of course, a few helpful tips and tricks you can follow to lessen the frustration of purchasing new tires. But you should also consult consumer ratings factions like Consumer Reports, which not only undertakes regular tests and rankings of various tire brands and models, but also conducts surveys with real customers about each. In the latter case, CR recently sought to rank several major tire brands via one of the more potentially damning market metrics — customer satisfaction.

Per Consumer Reports, the aspects of new tires prized most by shoppers are their ability to grip the road in inclement weather, overall smoothness and handling, and the lifespan of their tread. If you're in the market for a satisfying All-Season tire, Uniroyal appears to be the brand that you need to avoid the most, as it's rated dead last in terms of satisfaction. To that end, you should also avoid All-Season tires from Sumitomo, Kelly, Dunlop, and a few other budget brands.   

Yes, Uniroyal was rated at the bottom of Consumer Reports' recent ranking of the most satisfying All-Season tire brands, though several other budget offerings were also listed in the red for the same category. Unfortunately for the Michelin-owned tire maker, it also landed last in customer satisfaction when it comes to its Winter/Snow tire offerings. Sumitomo, Kelly, Hercules, GT Radial, Dunlop, and, surprisingly, BF Goodrich were also rated red by unsatisfied customers in that category.

In the Summer tire category, Sumitomo was the worst rated tires for customer satisfaction, with the budget brand making the unfortunate claim of being at, or very near the bottom of the list in all four categories surveyed for the Consumer Reports rankings. The last of those lists is the All-Terrain category, which also saw Sumitomo earn the lowest marks for customer satisfaction. On aggregate, that would seem to make the budget Japanese brand the least-loved of those surveyed for the CR report, signaling that any satisfaction you might feel regarding the price of Sumitomo tires at the point of purchase may erode with a quickness once you're on the road.

If you're curious about which brand fared best on the Consumer Reports satisfaction list, Michelin Tires earned the highest rating of light green in all four categories surveyed. It was the only manufacturer to claim that honor. However, the European tire brand Vredestein was also rated well in all categories, earning light green marks in the All-Season, Winter/Snow, and Summer tire categories, and a dark green rating in the All-Terrain sector.