Vehicles using the 235/50R17 tire size:

• Audi A6
• Buick Regal
• Buick LaCrosse
• Cadillac STS
• Chevrolet Colorado
• Dodge Intrepid
• Dodge Grand Caravan
• Ford Fusion
• Ford Thunderbird
• Honda CR-V
• Honda Odyssey
• Hyundai Kona
• Hyundai Sonata
• Jaguar S-Type
• Kia K5
• Kia Optima
• Kia Seltos
• Porsche Boxster
• Porsche Cayman
• Subaru Outback
• Subaru Forester
• Volkswagen Passat

1. Goodyear Assurance MaxLife - Best All-Season Tire

We’ll kick things off with an incredibly versatile and capable tire, one you can count on for solid performance and year-round grip – the Assurance MaxLife from Goodyear. For over a century now, the Goodyear brand has been associated with value and quality, and the Goodyear Assurance MaxLife is a tire that carries that torch into the 2000s. The Assurance MaxLife also delivers on its model name; it’s designed for long, even wear with its tough internal construction and durable rubber compound. Thanks to their TredLife technology package, Goodyear covers the Assurance MaxLife from the factory with a best-in-class 85,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty, which was all we needed to give this tire an outstanding SimpleScore of 9.9 for longevity. Straight-line road manners and steering response are enhanced with a semi-solid center rib. A combination of semi-closed shoulders, a sticky tread formula, and a polyamide reinforcement layer enhance cornering, braking performance, and responsiveness, adding up to a SimpleScore of 9.5 for handling. When the weather turns rainy or snowy, a pattern of sipes is designed for dependable grip, and a system of circumferential grooves angled. Lateral grooves all interlock together to resist hydroplaning by cutting through any film of standing water. Any time a tire can give you that confidence for dependable cornering and braking in wet or dry weather, we figure that’s enough for a SimpleScore of 9.7 for traction.

2. Yokohama Avid Ascend LX - Great All-Season Tire

Rounding things out, we’ve got the Avid Ascend LX from Yokohama. For a long time, almost everything in the Yokohama product line has made a great impression on us, and the Avid Ascend LX is no exception. The Avid Ascend LX is designed to deliver excellent grip year-round and gets a SimpleScore of 8.6 for traction; it’s equipped with a system of circumferential grooves, lateral grooves, and angled grooves. Treadwear properties are also notable with the Avid Ascend LX; it’s engineered to encourage long, even treadwear with a wider, flatter footprint that encourages improved distribution of vehicle weight and Yokohama’s L-2 polymer blend tread compound for wear resistance. It’s hard to beat an 85,000 mile warranty for any tire and brand – we give the Avid Ascend LX a 9.7 for longevity. Those tread features (along with large, reinforced shoulder blocks and a solid center rib) all work together for confident cornering, short braking distances, and steering response that’s crisp and sharp – we give the Avid Ascend LX a SimpleScore of 8.7 for traction.

3. Bridgestone Weatherpeak - Best All-Weather

Next up is one of our favorite picks for an all-weather tire in the 235/50R17 size, the Weatherpeak from Bridgestone. Anyone driving in deep, sticky snow and slush knows you can’t depend on all-season tires to capably get the job done for you. All-weather tires are designed similarly to all-season models but focus on better snow, slush, and ice performance. With that in mind, Bridgestone infused the Weatherpeak’s tread with a dense pattern of sipes, the hair-thin slits that add hundreds of extra biting edges that give you an advantage in traction and control as they slice their way through snow and slush. Sipes have been around for a long time, but Bridgestone’s sipes are pretty innovative; these are a full-depth 3D design that continues to boost your winter traction even as the tire’s tread depth gets shallower. That’s along with Bridgestone’s “snow vices” that pack and retain snow in the tread for snow-to-snow friction and better grip. The Bridgestone Weatherpeak has the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service, and testing has shown its braking distances are as much as 30 feet shorter than the competition in winter conditions. With that all taken into account, we gave the Bridgestone Weatherpeak a SimpleScore of 9.7 for traction. Steering response and cornering are similarly strong; the Weatherpeak’s SimpleScore of 9.5 for handling comes from its rubber formulation and tread features that prioritize top-notch road manners, steering response, and cornering ability. Bridgestone backs the Weatherpeak with a 70,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty, a best-in-class warranty that’s enough to inspire a SimpleScore of 9.8 for longevity.

4. Pirelli W240 SottoZero Serie II - Best Winter Tire

For a topnotch winter tire in the 235/50R17 size, our pick is the Pirelli W240 SottoZero Serie II. The W240 SottoZero Serie II has Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rating for severe winter service, with Pirelli’s innovative “brickwork pattern” network of sipes that multiply surface area and contact to dig in and chew through heavy snow and slush. Its tread compound is also designed with Temperature Dynamic Compound Technology, enhancing winter grip by keeping the tread compound supple and flexible at subfreezing temperatures – we give this tire a SimpleScore of 9.9 for traction. Pirelli also emphasized this tire’s braking, cornering, and steering performance, with a reinforced design of twin steel belts and a temp-stable polyamide layer for stability; it pulls in another SimpleScore of 9.9 for handling. That robust internal design is also key to our SimpleScore of 8.5 for longevity. It’s worth remembering that winter tires all use a softer, stickier tread compound that delivers great traction in snow and slush but will wear prematurely in warmer weather. Tire manufacturers advise against using winter tires if temperatures exceed 45 degrees.

5. Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 PLUS - Best Ultra-High Performance Tire

Next up is a tire that gives you the versatility of year-round traction along with the kind of cornering, braking, and steering response you’d expect from a UHP tire – the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 PLUS. The ExtremeContact DWS06 PLUS is designed to give drivers confident performance in all conditions, including consistent traction in wet, dry, or light wintry weather, paired with the kind of road manners and overall handling that can meet spirited driving demands. That’s an even bigger set of benefits when you bear in mind that UHP and summer tires have to be dismounted and replaced with all-season or all-weather tires in colder weather due to their softer tread compound that hardens and loses traction in the cold. The ExtremeContact DWS06 PLUS is an upgrade on the successful track record of the popular, proven ExtremeContact DWS06 in almost every category. Its cornering ability, braking, and steering response are significantly improved thanks to the tire’s reinforced 2-ply sidewalls and macroblocks in the tread. After reviewing all the reviews and data points, the ExtremeContact DWS06 PLUS gets an unbeatableSimpleScore of 9.9 for handling. Wear properties and great wet-weather traction are also in the plus column for the DWS06 PLUS, with its sweeping lateral grooves, circumferential grooves, and X-sipes for rainy roads or light snowy conditions and a silica-infused tread compound. SimpleScore for traction: 9.8. Longevity is also hard to beat, with a 9.2 SimpleScore, and the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus is covered by a 60,000 mile manufacturer’s treadwear warranty.

Buy 235/50R17 Size Tires Online

Here at SimpleTire, we know that the tire buying process can be maddening and frustrating, with so many choices on the market at so many price points and features to sort through. We want to make that experience a little simpler and less stressful for you, and we hope that this list of suggestions for premium all-season, all-weather, winter, and all-terrain tires in the 235/50R17 tire size will help you make an informed decision.