You can get a good all weather tire with 3PMSF rating for less than the CC2s. See Vredestein Quadtrac Pro, Falken Aklimate, and Altimax 365AW. All of these will be cheaper than the Michelins but will provide long tread life and good performance in snow + cold temps. I put the Quadtrac Pros on my mom's Impreza a couple years ago (Chicagoland area) and they've been great. So much better than the Firestone FT140s it came with from the factory.
On the truck I have some Vredestein Pinza AT tires which are quite beefy and snow tire rated but also pretty smooth on the highway.
Vredestein Wintrac Pros on OZ racing wheels. Under 2k for the set. Fun when it's dry with a 170+ top speed rating. And grippy on ice and snow. I run it 99-98 percent of the time.
I like em. And they ride way better than stock. Didn't have problems last winter but granted it's been a while since a true blizzard.
Oh, I'm also on my third set of tires. If you are looking for longevity for your tires, buy the Vredestein tires. They are the only tire I buy now and they are on all of my cars.
Fahre seit 15 Jahren eigentlich nur noch Vredestein, Sommer wie Winter. Gut und günstig. Haben mir immer um die 80-90.000km gehalten!
I had the Vredestein Sportrac 5 previously.
Positives:
+ Quiet and smooth ride
+ Very reliable on flooded highways
Negatives:
- Soft sides, tires looked deflated at the recommended pressure (2.2/1.9 bar - if the car is not loaded, which is most of the time). If I inflate more the drive gets extreme hard and uncomfortable.
I have not driven a lot of tires but wonder if that soft side somehow dampens accuracy?
- Surprisingly bad at braking on the dry, even at low speed in the city, they slide.
I have nankang econex on my 2006 twingo. But since i barely drive it, it's just fine.
I bought 2025 Mini Cooper S a month ago and I already have flat tire incident third time. I am a new driver so did hit a pothole at 20ish mph but nothing at a high speed.
My initial impression of the Vredesteins was, "Holy cow, the rear end is going to swap places with the front." The car wagged and bobbed all over the road. It was scary. After a short 5-mile drive home, I adjusted the tire pressure to 41 psi in the rear (they were at 40 and 45 left/right) and drove around a bit more to break in the tires. Once broken in, they drove much better.
Going straight they're fine and don't notice too much difference between the old EP500s and the new Vredesteins. Maybe the ride is slightly better due to the Vredesteins’ softer sidewall. Noise is about the same—they’re quiet tires.
We get a lot of rain here, and the Vredesteins are great in the wet. They’re better than the stock EP500s, likely due to their less aggressive tread pattern and greater tread depth.
However, corners are where it all falls apart. The initial turn-in is great because the front EP500s, despite their poor tire life, handle well. But there’s a slight delay as the rear wobbles into the corner. You can feel the car load up, and you have to counter-steer slightly to keep the car in line as the rear flops over. While the Vredesteins have good grip, the side/slip angle is so large during aggressive driving that the traction control freaks out in fast corners. When you straighten out, the rear flops back and wobbles a bit.
My wife texted me on her way to work this morning, saying, "The car is wiggling so much I think I might throw up."
Any type of turning has the rear bobbling and wagging around. Bumps in the road will also cause it to bounce around. It's just not a pleasant experience whatsoever.
After driving on them for a while, I’m considering whether running Vredesteins on the front as well might correct some of the handling issues.
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