Most people don’t pay much attention when buying replacement tires. They think that whatever the Toyota dealership will recommend will undoubtedly be the best pair for their Prius. After all, they think, all tires look the same so their characteristics won’t be any different, right? Wrong.
As you pay some attention to the properties of tires – as our experts do while recommending the best pair to our readers, you’d see that the high-end tires provide better traction, steering response, and fuel economy than their low-end counterparts.
In other words, if you choose the best tires for Toyota Prius, not only will you have enjoyable and comfortable riding experience but the average fuel consumption of your model will also decrease. That means that you’d be enjoying the best of both worlds.
Scroll down to get the best Prius tires recommended and buying guide.
Best All-Season Tires for Toyota Prius
General Altimax RT43
The General Altimax RT43 is a budget tire that provides all-season traction, comfort, and extended tread life. Also, since this tire is available in multiple sizes, you can install it in almost all Prius models.
Features
The presence of Low Surface Abrasion Technology has done wonders to the performance of this tire. It makes sure that the tire experiences less tread distortion while rolling on the road, thereby decreasing the surface abrasion which the tire has to offer and increasing its tread life.
Moreover, the twin silica compound which makes this tire’s tread has two layers. The upper layer is a high-density one which allows the RT43 to provide better traction in all seasons. As for the one on the bottom, its low density helps the tire absorb vibrations, thereby providing you a comfortable ride.
Though the low-density layer is far from being the only one responsible for making your journey seamless. Equal credit has to be given to the independent tread blocks and the continuous center rib. Both of them have molded the tread into an asymmetric design to enhance its ability to absorb road bumps.
Furthermore, since the RT43 has been equipped with sound-wave suppression technology, you won’t be hearing many road noises with closed windows. Provided you aren’t the one on the driving seat, this technology, therefore, will let you doze off during the long journeys if you want.
On top of everything else, you get four visual indicators with this tire. They include a replacement tire monitor (RTM) – which would keep on reminding you about the tire’s status, a visual alignment indicator (VAM) – whose name betrays its function, and tread wear indicator bars.
Pros
- Noise-free riding
- Absorbs vibrations
- Competitively priced
Cons
- Not to be driven on snowy roads
Michelin Defender T+H
Provided you won’t take your tire for a ride on snow-laden roads or off-road terrain, the Michelin Defender T+H tires might be an option worth considering.
Features
The plethora of technologies that help take the performance of the Defender T+H to the next level is what impressed us the most. Foremost among them is Michelin’s ‘Comfort Control Technology’. We can vouch for how this technology increased this tire’s road grip to make our ride a comfortable one.
Comfort isn’t the only thing that the ‘Intellisipe Technology’ takes care of. It consists of biting edges which not only increase the tire’s grip (comfort is taken care of) but all improve its all-season traction to make sure that on wet surfaces, there is no danger of the skidding.
Then comes the ‘Maxtouch Technology’ which will save you money in the long run. It will do that because this technology’s main function is to evenly distribute this model’s contact forces on the road. As it does that, the tire’s stress points are lowered. As a result, its tread is empowered to last longer.
Michelin has provided this tire with high silica content to ensure its grip on slippery surfaces. The same role is played by the zigzag sipes which join their forces with the above-mentioned Intellisipe technology to help the tire maintain a grip on extra-slippery surfaces.
Lastly, hydroplaning is a dangerous event that happens when the wheel stops responding to the steering after a water layer removes its contact with the road. The circumferential grooves of the Defender T+H, which channel the water from beneath the tire’s surface, prevent it from happening.
Pros
- Maintains grip on extra-slippery surfaces
- Circumferential grooves prevent hydroplaning
- Quiet and comfortable ride
Cons
- Not for off-road terrain
Continental TrueContact
Most of us want OEM tires for our Prius to get that extra level of performance. Most of us, however, can’t afford to pay its asking price that will end up blowing a hole in our pocket. Thankfully, the Continental TrueContact is an exception as it gives us the best of both worlds.
Features
What do you think the term ‘TrueContact’ in the name of this tire implies? Well, now that we have used this tire, we can tell you that the term signifies all-season traction and grip, while also providing quiet and smooth riding experience on highways.
These are two contradictory features – all-season traction and smooth riding experience on highways. So how does the TrueContact offer both? Because of the simple fact that the tread compound of this model is equipped with temperature-controlled polymers.
What these polymers do is expand/contract the tire’s rubber with the change of the seasons. For instance, when it will be cold out there, they’d expand the tire to make sure it provides a better grip on the slippery surface, before contracting it back to its original shape once the sun is shining again.
Does it seem like a thing straight out of science fiction novels? That’s exactly what we think about the function of Continental’s Comfort Ride Technology. It has reinforced the tread by supplementing its rear side with a rubberized underlay, thereby reducing the likelihood of vibrations reaching inside the cabin.
Finally, just like the Defender T+H, we saw above, the TrueContact also comes with circumferential grooves which keep hydroplaning at bay. This tire also has innumerable biting edges which would help you get through muddy and (light)snow conditions without skidding.
Pros
- Vibrations-free riding experience
- Affordable option
- Better grip on wet surfaces
Cons
- Tread life isn’t the best
Michelin Energy Saver All-Season
Michelin claims that due to their unique tread design and several high-end technologies, the Energy Saver All-Season tires are up to eight percent more fuel-efficient than their standard counterparts. To check whether there is any truth behind this claim, let’s look at this tire’s features.
Features
To save you from the trouble of scrolling down, we have mentioned two features there which have the ability to make tires having them fuel-efficient. They include low rolling resistance and ability to stay cool under pressure. Guess what, the Michelin Energy Saver All-Season has both these features.
In case you are wondering, it’s the silica-based tire compound that is responsible for providing this tire with both these features, though it isn’t the only one that deserves the credit for the same. The GreenX technology of this tire plays an equally important part in making these tires weigh lightly on your pocket.
Furthermore, the utility of the silica-based tire compound doesn’t stop at making the tire more fuel-efficient. Instead, thanks to the flexibility it imparts to the Energy Saver, it also helps this tire provide better traction on wet and winter conditions.
Additionally, this tire’s Comfort Control Technology has provided it with an optimized tread design which helps bring down the level of road noise and vibrations. Its MaxTouch construction, meanwhile, prevents uneven wear to extend the treadlife of this model.
Their durability is yet another area where these tires won’t disappoint you. With internal steel belts reinforcing the sturdiness and external tread design keeping vibrations at bay, you can make sure that these tires outlast their 65,000-mile warranty by driving less aggressively.
Pros
- Fuel-efficient tire
- Rolls smoothly over bumps
- Works well in light snow
Cons
- Not the cheapest option on the market
Best Touring All-Season Tires for Toyota Prius
Michelin Premier A/S
The Michelin Premier A/S season combines the traction of the all-season tire with the sturdiness of touring models to provide your Prius with a vibration-free, quiet and safe driving experience.
Features
Ever heard of the use of sunflower oil besides the preparation of food? Alongside silica compound, Michelin has used the sunflower oil to create the tread of the Premier A/S. This combination gives the Premier A/S the best of both worlds by making it sturdy yet flexible.
The silica compound plays a huge role, alongside the twin internal steel belts of this model, to make it sturdy. Sunflower oil, on the other hand, makes the tire flexible to ensure that its traction doesn’t nosedive in cold weather conditions. Hence the reason why the riders of this tire value this combo as much.
Whether you save fuel by driving slowly or don’t care much about the economy, the two-speed ratings of the various versions of this tire (H and V) mean it provides an option for you. However, as there are models in this review that provide three-speed ratings, so the Premier AS could have done better.
On the flip side, you can count on the Comfort Control Technology of this tire to help it outlast its 60,000 miles warranty. Together with the EverGrip technology – which widens the tire’s tread grooves to ensure maximum traction, the Comfort Control Technology helps the tire offer a smooth driving experience.
Having established that these tires perform brilliantly on dry tarmac, what do we have to say about their wet-surface performance? One word: outstanding! That’s due to their hidden and expanding grooves and high-grip rubber compound which not only prevent hydroplaning but also keep slippage at bay.
Pros
- 60,000 miles warranty
- Excellent traction on wet surfaces
- Vibrations-free driving experience
Cons
- Not designed to be driven on heavy snow
Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring
You might have noticed by looking at its brand name that the Cooper CS5 doesn’t belong to a world-famous tire manufacturer. However, if you aren’t highly brand conscious, there is nothing to worry about as its high-end features and budget price more than makes up for this ‘shortcoming’.
Features
Nearly every tire you see on the market claims to keep treadwear at bay. The Cooper CS5 belongs to the minority which upholds this claim. Its tread consists of 3D grooves that interlock with each other to maximize the tread contact with the road, hence decreasing the rate of treadwear.
Apart from doing that, the 3D grooves provide two additional benefits. First, as the tire’s surface area of the tire, which remains in contact with the road, increases, so does its grip. Second, and this benefit stems from the first, you can count on these tires to be reliable in winter conditions.
Most of us are aware that every tire wears down with usage. Apart from delaying the treadwear (see the first paragraph), Cooper has equipped the CS5 with features that a) improve its wear performance and b) gives its drivers the tools to measure the tire wear.
Cooper has made sure of the former by allowing these tires to boast more siping at half worn. The latter feature, meanwhile, comes in the shape of a visual wear indicator, one which changes its shape to indicate you of the remaining tread life of the CS5.
Lastly, on close inspection, you might notice that each tire has inner and outer ‘Wear Square’ – one of which faces the road whereas the other faces the car’s body. If you determine that both of them are at different levels, it’s the signal to have your wheel (s) realigned.
Pros
- 3D siping stabilizes the tread
- Comes with a visual wear indicator
- Has alignment indicators
Cons
- Not for winter
Best High-Performance Tires for Toyota Prius
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3
Michelin has never shied away from making its tires audacious and the Pilot Sport A/S is an epitome of the same principle. Such is the performance of these tires that we can say with certainty about its ability to edge out some of the best summer tires as well.
Features
In the Pilot Sport A/S 3, Michelin has done away with the directional tread you see in age-old tires. It has replaced it with an asymmetric design, one which contains more rubber on the outside, and whose outer tread blocks are more rigid than that of the competition.
This bold move on the part of Michelin has done wonders for the performance of this tire. Not only does it provide more stability and lateral grip on tough surfaces, but the Sport A/S 3 is also quiet. Also, the extra external coating of rubber has also reduced their rolling resistance.
While we also saw it with the Pilot Super Sport, which had borrowed it from ALMS racing tires, the Variable Contact Patch 2.0 you get with the Sport A/S 3 has been improved over its predecessor. It has made the tread blocks more angled to provide better braking, cornering and accelerating performance.
To provide these tires with the combination of strength and flexibility, Michelin has gone for the combination of extreme silica technology and helio compound. The former reinforces the internal steel belts to make the tire sturdy whereas the latter increases its flexibility to increase cold-weather grip.
On top of everything else, these tires have also been made capable to hold their own in light snow. Inside their circumferential grooves is a pattern for small edges that act as biting edges to provide excellent traction on snow and ice conditions. What more do you want!
Pros
- Outstanding wet traction
- Stability and cornering grip
- Excellent steering response
Cons
- Not the most comfortable tire
Continental ExtremeContact DWS06
Though not as great as the Super Sport A/S 3 we saw above, the performance of the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 still does enough to make it one of the best UHP tires on the market.
Features
Most people won’t be able to guess that the each letter of the ‘DWS’ signifies something important about the performance of this tire. For instance, the ‘D’ in the word means that this tire has an asymmetric tread pattern, one whose chamfered edges and grooves provide excellent grip on dry tarmac.
As for ‘W’, it stands for wet performance. This tire comes with Continental’s Sport Plus technology which joins its forces with its advanced silica tread compound and +Silane additives to provide it with extreme stability and steering response on wet roads. In other words, it won’t slip when it’s wet out there.
You might not need us telling you that the ‘S’ stands for snow. It is there to nudge your attention towards the traction grooves of this model. Supplemented by circumferential grooves (which prevent hydroplaning), the traction grooves increase this tire’s biting power on snowy and icy roads.
However, since it isn’t a dedicated winter tire, the ExtremeContact DWS06 has a limit to how much snow it can handle. To make you aware of that limit, the ‘S’ indicator comes into play. You can keep on driving the tire in snow as long as ‘S’ remains visible, but you shouldn’t go ahead if it hides in layers of snow.
What is more, unlike other high-performance tires, the DWS06 won’t isn’t noisy. Even when we were driving it close to its speed rating, we found this tire incredibly quiet. Though it does wear quickly if you aren’t fond of going slowly.
Pros
- Superior snow performance
- Ultra-quiet ride
- Brilliant handling
Cons
- Wears quickly
Best Summer Tires for Toyota Prius
Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport
As long as you have no plans of going in the snow, the Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport will provide great steering response, adequate traction, and cornering in both dry and wet conditions.
Features
First things first, there are two features of this tire which not only protect it but also equip it with stability at high speeds. It has a special sidewall design which shields the RE760 Sport from accidental curb damages when you’re driving at a higher speeds
As for its high-speed stability, that’s where its O-Bead structure comes into play. It does the same by making sure that even under pressure, the original shape of the tire doesn’t get deformed too much. Veteran drivers might tell you that this property makes this tire dependable at high speeds.
While most people demand high-speed performance, only a few would go for a tire that offers the same but at a cost of tread life. Thankfully, the RE760 Sport won’t force you to choose between the two as its L.L. Carbon structure plays a crucial part in elongating this model’s tread life.
Furthermore, while this is a dedicated winter tire, nobody can predict when a quick shower might make its way into your part of the woods. In such a scenario, the wide tread grooves of the RE670 Sport will disperse the water from beneath its footprint to make your ride slippage-free.
Pros
- Resists hydroplaning
- Has high-speed stability
- Provides precise steering response
Cons
- Not for cold weather
Best Winter Tires for Toyota Prius
Bridgestone Blizzak Winter Radial Tire
Without forcing you to use those inconvenient studs, the new hydrophilic coating of the Bridgestone Blizzak Winter Radial Tire makes it an excellent option for winter conditions.
Features
Starting with a glance at technologies that Bridgestone used to make this tire, and its Next-Gen Tube Multicell Compound stands out from the crowd. It contains voids and a hydrophilic (water-loving) coating which empowers the voids to consume more water, hence increasing the tire’s grip.
While Bridgestone has refused to name them, the microscopic bite particles in this tire’s tread help it maintain a grip on sheer ice. Then there are the 3D zigzag sipes that give multiple biting edges to the tire’s surface to help it claw its way to stability in the snow.
To decrease ‘squishiness’ and wear, the 3D topology of the siping cut makes sure that the tread block doesn’t flex more than necessary. Also, by keeping the angle between the tread blocks’ internal band and spin of the tire at 45-degree, these tires have been able to provide excellent lateral snow grip.
Finally, the smaller shoulder blocks of the WS80 not only increase its lug channels but also increase the blocks’ biting edges by as much as 20 percent. Bridgestone is of the view that this arrangement increases grip by up to 10 percent, and having used these tires, we have no reason to doubt this claim.
Pros
- Better grip on sheer ice
- Impressive later stability
- Wet and slush grip
Cons
- Cornering isn’t that good on dry pavement
Advantages of Best Tires for Prius
Fitting your Toyota Prius with the best tires, like those on our list, will provide you many advantages such as:
- Save time and money: Since these tires come with market-high treadlife warranty, you won’t have to replace them anytime soon, meaning you’d save both time and money.
- Better driving response: Thanks to their high-end tread compound and road-specific features, these tires provide better handling and traction.
- Less fuel consumption: One of the main reasons why people agree to pay a little higher for these models is because their low rolling resistance results in fuel-efficiency in the long run.
- No slippage on wet roads: Most Prius tires recommended in this review have lateral circumferential grooves that prevent the tire from slipping on wet roads.
How to Choose the Best Tires for Toyota Prius?
In contrast to what many of you might believe, the best tires for Toyota Prius don’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Since they have to compete with other tires, these models can’t afford to be anything but competitively priced. That means that you should NOT overpay for their offerings.
With the price talk out of the way, let’s look at other factors which you should bear in mind:
Tire Size
As a proud driver of Prius, you might be aware that the car isn’t a one-trick pony. It is available in many models, namely, Prius Base, C, V, Plug-In Advanced, Plug-In Base, Persona Series, One, Two, Three, Four and Five, Touring and SE models.
Regardless of which of these models you drive, you can find out more about its compatible tire size by looking at the placard located on your (driver’s) door. Apart from other information, it will contain a string of numbers like P175/65R15, which indicates the tire size of your vehicle.
Below mentioned is a list of tire sizes which fit almost all models of Toyota Prius:
- P175/65R15
- P185/65R15
- P195/65R15
- P195/50R16
- P205/60R16
- P195/55R16
- P215/45R17
- P215/50R17
Weather
When it comes to weather, almost all the best Prius tires fall into three categories: all-season tires, summer tires, and winter tires.
Summer Tires
The main reason why most Prius owners prefer summer tires is that this lift-back is designed to be driven on city roads. And with their high-speed ratings, huge load index, and excellent grip in warm weather conditions, that’s where the summer tires excel.
Having said that, these tires aren’t built for all-year durability. As long as the sun is shining and the temperature is high, they’ll perform at their best. However, the moment the mercury drops, their performance level (and that of your tire) will suffer.
Winter Tires
Most Prius owners aren’t fans of winter tires. That’s because, in their quest to provide better traction in cold conditions, their thick tread compound poses some rolling resistance, thereby bringing down the much-famed fuel economy of your Prius.
That doesn’t mean, however, that you should skip this option altogether. Provided you live in an area where there’s snow for most of the winter months, you should sacrifice fuel economy savings for the increased traction and biting power that these tires provide over layers of snow.
All-Season Tires
Having gone through the pros and cons of both the summer and winter tires, you might have realized that all-season tires are the best option for most people. That is, because, from searing hot summer to moderately cold winter conditions, the all-season tires will offer better traction, fuel economy and comfort on highways and city-tracks.
Fuel Economy and Comfort
When choosing the replacement tires for your hybrid, make sure you don’t end up with options that ask you to choose between fuel economy and comfort. Instead, you should insist on having both these ‘luxuries’ in a budget price tag.
Fuel Economy
While your driving style undoubtedly plays a crucial role in determining your vehicle’s fuel economy, the following two features of your tire also have an important role to play. They include:
- Low rolling resistance: According to the US Department of Energy, low rolling resistance tires improve the fuel efficiency of an average vehicle between 5 and 15%. You can measure your tire’s rolling resistance by searching for the term ‘rolling resistance coefficient’ in its specs, with tires that have a lower coefficient will use less energy to travel.
- Dissipate heat: Tires that are better at dissipating heat have traditionally found to be particularly miser when it comes to their fuel consumption.
Comfort
Unfortunately, unlike rolling resistance, there’s no indicator which you can look at (and compare with that of other tires) to gauge whether the option you’re looking at will offer you a smooth driving experience or otherwise.
However, that doesn’t mean that you should leave this factor to chance. When you have narrowed down your list of potential options, look at their reviews left by people who are already using these tires. You might want to select tires whose users have no complaints about its noise and vibrations.
Conclusion
Your Toyota Prius gives you everything you want in terms of fuel economy and comfortable riding experience. Wouldn’t it be great if you repay the favor? One way you could do just that is by installing the best Toyota Prius tires which won’t only supplement your Hybrid’s fuel economy but would also increase its performance on so many other counts.