What are all-season tyres - and are they worth buying?

We Brits love to talk about the weather, because we're fascinated by the changeable and unpredictable nature of it in the UK. One day it can be warm, the next mild and wet — then we can wake up to frosty or even icy roads. That can be a challenge for the summer tyres that are fitted to most cars because they perform best in warmer conditions, and can struggle to grip when the temperature drops below zero. 

All-season tyres provide excellent grip in the summer, winter and at all temperatures in between, and perform well during the periods when summer and winter tyres are weakest. They have a different tread pattern to summer tyres and they’re made from softer materials so they remain more pliable below 7deg C when summer tyres can start to slip. 

If you want tyres that will give the best grip and braking in the most extreme weather conditions, you’re probably better off buying a set of winter tyres, but if you don’t live in the Highlands of Scotland or the remotest parts of Cumbria, all-season tyres are a good compromise because you can leave them on your car all year, without the hassle of having to swap tyres twice a year. 

What are all-season tyres? 

All-season tyres are designed to provide a compromise between summer and winter tyres. The provide the grip of summer tyres in warmer weather, and outperform them when the mercury drops. They’re designed to be effective in extremely hot temperatures, as well as in snowy, icy and flooded conditions. 

Similarly, they perform far better than winter tyres in warmer conditions.

The tread on them generally looks chunkier than that of summer tyres, and they have wider and deeper groves and more sipes, which are the smaller slits on the larger tread elements that help them dissipate water more effectively.  

The tread pattern is different from summer tyres: all-season tyres often have a V-shaped pattern and contain more diagonal grooves, which also help to get rid of water more effectively.  

They’re also made from a different rubber compound that maintains its flexibility below 7deg C — the temperature at which summer tyres start to stiffen up and lose some of their ability to grip. 

All of these elements improve traction in more extreme weather, and that means they’ll help prevent a car from skidding and help it stop sooner, reducing the risk of it being involved in a road accident. 

Should I buy all-season tyres? 

Summer tyres remain the default option for most cars in the UK, and 95% of UK motorists replace old summer tyres with new summer tyres — but all-season tyres are becoming a more popular choice. 

That’s because summer tyres are designed for warm weather and are the optimum choice for only 65% of a typical British year. They don’t grip as well as all-season or winter tyres when the temperature dips consistently below 7deg C. 

All-season tyres are designed to perform well at all temperatures between -10deg C and +30deg C. Although they won’t be as effective as winter tyres in deep snow or at very hot temperatures, they will be more reliable than summer tyres in the moderate winter conditions we mostly encounter in the UK.

Are all-season tyres safer? 

To get a snapshot view of the difference between the performance of summer and all-season tyres, we compared the Continental PremiumContact7 summer tyre and the Continental AllSeasonContact 2. We drove one car fitted with the summer tyres and another identical car with all-season tyres, and performed a wet braking test on a straight track, and steering and braking tests on a circular wet track. The temperature during our testing was 11deg C. 

On the straight track the summer and all-season tyres stopped the car in the same distance, showing that both were good at maintaining grip in wet conditions in a straight line. However, when we drove our test cars around the wet circle, the summer tyres lost traction at 23mph and the all-season ones held on to 25mph.

There was a noticeable difference in how gentle and controllable the slippage was between the two tyres, with the all-season tyre losing grip more gradually; they were also quicker to regain traction once the car slowed down. 

Our mini tyre test demonstrates that all-season tyres have additional grip on slippery conditions and also perform as well as summer tyres for straight line braking in the wet. 

The additional grip provided by all-season tyres in the wet would be amplified in colder weather and in icy or snowy conditions.

How do I know if my car’s tyres are all-season? 

There are a number of ways of checking if the tyres on your car are all-season. The first is to check their name; for example, Continental’s all-season tyre is called the AllSeasonContact 2. The name will be written on the tyre wall and you’ll be able to get more information on the tyre from the brand’s website. All tyres also have a tyre label, which should also provide this information. 

Another quick way to tell if tyres are all-season is to look for two small symbols on the tyre wall. The first is "M+S", which stands for mud and snow, denoting the tyre performs well on both of these surfaces. The second is the Alpine symbol, which is a three-peaked mountain with a snowflake in the middle. This tells you the tyre has passed a snow traction performance test. 

How much do all-season tyres cost? 

The cost of tyres can vary depending on their size and how many car models they can be fitted to. A more popular tyre is likely to be cheaper than one that only fits a few models. 

In general, all-season tyres are comparable in price to summer ones, with prices for a mid-range brand, such as Dunlop starting at £55 for a 14in tyre. 

We found a Continental PremiumContact7 R16 tyres online for around £70 each, and Continental AllSeasonContact2 in the same diameter for £75.  

How long do all-season tyres last? 

All-season tyres don't generally wear out quicker than summer or winter tyres. In fact, their deeper tread and the way they are engineered mean they may last even longer than summer tyres. 

According to the RAC, tyres on the front of a front-wheel drive car will last for around 20,000 miles and those on the back should last for 40,000 miles. However, there are a number of factors that can affect tyre life, including whether a tyre is over or under inflated. A tyre with too much air in it will wear out more quickly across the middle of the tread, and one without enough air will wear quicker on the edges of the tread.

This means it's well worth checking your tyre pressures regularly and investing in a tyre inflator. The tyres should be inflated to the car manufacturer's recommendations. Additionally, you should check the tread depth and general condition of the tyres. If they're worn or damaged, you should replace them.

Can I mix all-season and summer tyres?

You should never put a mixture of all-season and summer or winter tyres on your car because it's likely to hamper the performance of both types of tyre. Doing so can create an inbalance in the drop and braking performance of the tyres and that could lead to you losing control of your car. 

What is the best all-season tyre? 

When choosing an all-season tyre we recommend opting for a well-established tyre brand with a good reputation, such as Bridgestone, Continental, Michelin, Pirelli and Yokohama. That way you know the tyre will have undergone extensive testing in wet, dry and hot and cold conditions. 

FAQs

Is it worth having all-season tyres? 

While summer tyres are completely fine to use for much of the year, all-season tyres will give your car better grip and braking ability when the temperature falls below 7deg C. While the UK has fairly warm weather for much of the time, it can experience snow and icy conditions during the winter, and this is one time when all-season tyres will keep you safer on the road. They also provide better grip than summer tyres in very wet and flooded conditions. 

Do I need to swap all-season tyres for summer or winter tyres? 

If you fit all-season tyres to your car you can leave them on all year and don’t have to swap them for summer or winter tyres. You need to fit all-season tyres on every wheel including the spare wheel if your car has one. 

What are the disadvantages of fitting all-season tyres? 

There aren’t many disadvantages of buying all-season tyres, although they won’t grip quite as well as winter tyres in the most extreme winter weather, and they may be pricier to buy than summer tyres. 

What are the alternatives to all-season tyres? 

If you live in a region that gets heavy snow every winter, and you don’t mind swapping tyres twice a year, you could go for summer tyres in the warmer months and winter tyres for the coldest weather. 

Another option, if you’re travelling to a mountainous region or on roads leading to ski resorts in mainland Europe, is to buy and fit snow chains. In fact, in some countries fitting snow chains is a legal requirement on certain roads in the winter.   

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