Not Michelin, Not Continental: This All-Season Tire Took First Place In A 2026 Tire Test

For a lot of drivers around the world, the all-season tire is the default choice for their vehicle, and likewise, one of the most common tires you'll find installed as factory equipment on new cars.  Though not without their drawbacks, the versatility and year-round performance of all-season tires are their big selling points, and the segment is an extremely competitive one for tire makers. 

As the name implies, a good all-season tire needs to excel in several different areas, including on dry pavement, wet pavement, and in the snow. Tyre Reviews recently shared the results of a comprehensive Auto Bild comparison test of 15 different European market all-season tires, and for some people, the winner might be surprising. While the test included the latest all-season offerings from Michelin, Continental, and Bridgestone, and other big names, it was a Goodyear tire that finished on top.

The winning tire was the new Goodyear Vector All Season 4, which beat out some of the top all-season tires in the industry thanks to its well-rounded scores that include excellent grip in snowy conditions, great stability in the wet, and fantastic performance on a dry handling course. Let's take a closer look at the Vector All Season 4 and see which tire models it beat out.

While Goodyear has a huge presence in North America, the Vector All Season 4 is a tire that comes from the company's European lineup. Released in the spring of 2026, Goodyear says its mandate for the Vector All Season 4 was to "eliminate trade-offs" that inherently come with all-season tires. While that's easy to say with marketing-speak, the real-world performance of the tire so far seems to back up that claim. 

In the Auto Bild tire test, the Vector All Season 4 was not the top finisher in every one of the individual performance categories, but it also had no major weak areas either, and that's exactly what drivers are looking at when choosing an all-season tire. The test judged tires in 17 different categories, and in nearly all of them the Goodyear was ranked in the top five. Notably, the Vector All Season 4 simultaneously delivered the best snow traction of the group and the second-best dry handling, showing just how balanced it is. 

Behind the new Goodyear tire, second place in the test was a tie between the Vredestein Quatrac Pro 2, which excelled in the snow, and the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3, which earned the nod for those in milder climates. Finishing in fourth was the Michelin CrossClimate 3, which gave up some performance in wet conditions and also had a higher running cost.

The only two areas where the Goodyear lagged behind the competition were in the noise category, where it was the 11th loudest out of the 15 tires tested, and in the value category, where it was ranked 12th out of 15. Given its excellent results in the other categories, though, neither of these was enough to set it back in the overall rankings.

It wasn't just in the Auto Bild test that the Vector All Season 4 performed well, either. In an all-season tire comparison video from the Tyre Reviews YouTube channel, the Goodyear also took the number one spot, beating out both the Michelin CrossClimate 3 Sport and the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 by a narrow margin. 

While the performance of Vector All Season 4 seems to speak for itself, the primary issue for those in North America is that, right now at least, this particular tire is not sold in the United States or Canada. However, while the Goodyear Vector line is primarily marketed toward European markets, the older, third-generation Vector 4 Seasons tire is available from some American retailers. Knowing that, it seems possible that this new, very well-regarded Goodyear tire could make its way to North America at some point in the future. For those who need something more than an all-season, further adding to Goodyear's recent accomplishments is the excellent performance of its UltraGrip Performance 3 winter tire.