Tire: Winter Sottozero
Category: Performance Winter / Snow
UTQG (treadwear): Not rated
One of the best (if not the best) snow tires on the market, the Pirelli Sottozero is a very versatile tire in the lineup. It's actually what they cal a 'dual-season' snow tire in that you can drive it in more mild temperatures and not worry about abnormal wear. They say anywhere from mid-fall to mid-spring, which if you live in a part of the country with four seasons, that would take up 6 months of the year, meaning you could run summer tires the rest of the time. There is a new version of this tire, the Sottozero II which actually offers a wider temperature range if that is important for you. Objectively though, this tire is superior to that one. Pirelli recommends that you only install these tires in sets of four.
Drivers back up the surveys on this tire, and I've seriously only heard a few complaints about this tire. It's a very solid choice for the winter season. In addition to the excellent snow and ice traction, and since this is a 'performance' winter tire. Many drivers have said this is one of the better performing winter tires when it comes to aggressive driving. Expect to get around 40,000 miles out of a set, which really does appear to be average for a quality winter tire. Of course many folks will want to replace earlier just to make sure they have the best winter traction, but these will give you solid performance throughout the tire life. Just a word to the wise, in case you're new to winter tires. They do tend to run on the loud side in terms of road noise.
