Touring tires are great for drivers of passenger vehicles—like sedans, minivans, or SUVs—who want the traction of all-season tires with the balanced handling of performance tires.

Finding the best tire match for your vehicle can often be overwhelming—especially given the multitude of options available. With choices ranging from performance and touring tires to passenger and all-season tires, it’s easy to get confused about what your vehicle really needs.

Here to help you navigate which tire decision is the right one for your car is

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and broker app

Jerry

. We’ll go through everything you need to know about touring tires—from what they are to how they might enhance your drive.

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What are touring tires?

Touring tires, sometimes called grand touring tires, are meant to give you a comfortable and quiet ride while also enhancing reliability and responsiveness on the road. Their wide, asymmetrical tread pattern gives them better surface contact for more balanced handling and better traction in wet and dry conditions.

Touring tires vs. performance tires

Since touring tires and performance tires are both designed with better grip to optimize handling, it can be easy to confuse the two.

Generally, however, performance tires are created with sports trims in mind—they are more responsive than touring tires, but also manufactured to perform better on dry roads.

Therefore, if you’re looking for good handling in versatile weather conditions, and are more interested in a leisure ride than a track race—touring tires may be a better fit.

Touring tires vs. all-season tires

Typically, touring tires in North America are all-season tires—but the higher-end, performance-focused option. They offer year-round traction and grip, but they also feature reduced vibration and road noise for a more luxurious driving experience.

Standard all-season tires, on the other hand, have treads that better direct snow and water away from the contact patch—meaning they can handle winter driving conditions a little better. Touring tires tend to be designed with sportier sizes in mind, which gives them a smaller sidewall to direct these elements away as efficiently.

How many miles will touring tires last?

In terms of durability, touring tires will outlive their performance counterparts. This is because they have a wider and thicker tread, which allows them to last longer.

The total miles you will get with touring tires depends on several factors, however—like weather and road conditions, daily usage, and vehicle load.

You can generally expect the average tire to last around 40,000 miles, whereas a performance tire only lasts about 20,000 miles. As a hybrid of both all-season versatility and performance handling, the touring tire will probably land somewhere in between that range.

Will touring tires decrease fuel efficiency?

Yes—when tires have wider treads like touring tires do, they have more surface contact and better traction but worse fuel efficiency.

Because of this, it’s also true that touring tires have better fuel efficiency than performance tires.

MORE:

The top 10 cheapest luxury cars to insure

Are touring tires worth it?

If you’re someone who frequently drives and you don’t mind spending a little extra for a quieter, more comfortable ride—touring tires might be a good fit for you.

Touring tires combine the balanced handling of performance tires while also maintaining the higher traction of all-season tires.

If you live in a climate where snow is a given, you may want to consider switching out to winter tires for the season.

But, if you’re mostly looking at wet and dry roads, and you enjoy going for a smooth joy ride, the traction and wide tread of the touring tire will be worth it for you.

Key Takeaway Touring tires are worth it if you want a more comfortable ride, but you might need winter tires if you plan on driving in the snow.

How much should you pay for touring tires?

Touring tires are essentially an amped-up, performance-oriented version of all-season tires. Therefore, they tend to cost just a little more than their all-season counterparts.

You can generally expect to pay between $50 and $200 per all-season tire, with the average price ranging from $80 to $150. Touring tires will therefore linger around that higher limit.

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What type of tires does your car need?

Trying to find the right tires for your car, your climate, and your driving preferences can be daunting. Depending on what tire you choose, you may find that more factors are affected than you originally thought, too—such as your gas mileage, your road safety, and your overall ride quality.

To help direct you in your decision, here’s a rundown of the functions and costs of some of the most common tire types:

Type of tire	Average cost	Best-served vehicles	Best-served driving conditions	Average lifespan
All-season tires	$80 to $150	Passenger vehicles—cars, SUVs, or minivans	Climates above 45° F	60,000 miles
Summer tires	$150 to $300	Passenger vehicles—sports cars, especially	Racing and warmer weather conditions	30,000 miles
Snow tires	$80 to $200	Any	Winter weather—snow, ice, slush	30,000 miles or 4 winter seasons
Highway tires	$100 to $300	Passenger vehicles—cars, SUVs, or minivans	Long commutes in moderate weather	60,000 miles
All-terrain tires	$150 to $300	Trucks and SUVs	Combo of highway and off-road driving	40,000 miles

MORE: Winter tires vs. all-season tires: Which is better?

How to find affordable car insurance

No matter which tires you opt for, you’ll want to protect yourself on your ride with good

car insurance

. Luckily,

Jerry

can help find the most affordable rates available.

The app is free to use and offers custom quotes from over 50 top insurance companies to track down the lowest premium for your coverage needs. It takes under a minute to sign up and start shopping plans. Then once you decide on a policy you like, Jerry can help cancel your old plan for you to get your savings started seamlessly.

The average user ends up saving $887 a year on car insurance so it’s definitely worth a look to keep some extra cash in your wallet for the road ahead!

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had a super simple app that was easy to navigate. And their terrific customer service made everything even easier. Plus I saved $700 in a single year.” —Lucia M

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FAQs

Can I use touring tires all year?

Yes—just like all-season tires, touring tires are intended to be used year-round. That said, if you endure a lot of snow in your winters, you may want to switch over to winter tires for the season as they are better equipped to handle these conditions.

Are touring tires good for highway driving?

They are! Touring tires are designed with performance in mind. Therefore, they have wider treads, better traction, and greater grip, which can make a long highway commute quieter and more comfortable.

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