For most drivers of sedans, coupes, minivans, SUVs, and crossovers, all-season tires are what make the most sense all the way around. You can count on premium all-season tires for great road manners and driver feedback, year-round performance in every kind of condition but heavy snow, a quiet and refined ride, great wear properties, and handling that’s capable and consistent. All-season tires make a great do-all solution for all those reasons, so it’s no surprise that there are all-season tires at every point on the price spectrum and at all levels of quality and performance.

With the Ironman RB Metric, we’ve found a budget-priced all-season tire that meets the kind of expectations you might have for a premium all-season model. It’s a tire that punches far above its weight class in that regard and beats expectations, offering the performance and value you might expect from a premium all-season tire that costs much more. Let’s go in and get a closer look at this Ironman RB Metric review:

Features and Benefits

Here are some of the design features and innovations you can look for with the Ironman RB Metric:

• Four wide circumferential grooves work as a system with angled grooves to resist hydroplaning, efficiently diverting water away from the tire’s contact patch on wet roads
• Tread pitch is randomized and computer-tuned to keep road noise to a minimum by canceling certain frequencies and harmonics for a quiet ride
• Advanced rubber compound fends off premature wear and helps enhance wet-weather performance
• Dense network of strategically placed sipes multiplies the tread’s surface area and grip with hundreds of thin biting edges that slice through snow, slush, and standing water
• Continuous center rib delivers solid road manners and stability as well as quick, direct steering response
• Reinforced shoulder blocks enhance cornering ability by resisting flex and tread deformation during hard maneuvers
• Outlined white letter sidewall (OWL) looks great on a wide variety of vehicles

Pros and Cons

PROS:

• Reasonable price point
• Handling and road manners are capable and composed
• Tread pitch is tuned for a quiet ride
• Looks attractive
• Great wet weather performance

CONS:

• Not good in heavier winter weather
• Ride can be a little firm on some pavement surfaces
• No limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty

SimpleTire’s view on Ironman RB Metric tires

Are you familiar with SimpleScore? SimpleScore is the rating system for tires that the SimpleTire team developed, giving you a quick at-a-glance idea of any tire’s strengths and weaknesses. We look at technical details, the tire’s specs, manufacturer information, customer reviews, and other data points, then process all that to a 1-10 numerical value for the categories of traction, handling, and longevity, along with an overall average SimpleScore. For the Ironman RB Metric, the SimpleScore numbers look like this:

Ironman RB Metric:

• Handling: 7.5
• Traction: 7.8
• Longevity: 7.2
• Overall average SimpleScore: 7.5

In the case of the RB Metric, the Ironman Noise Vibration Harshness (NVH) team definitely put several hours on this tire, resulting in remarkably refined and controlled ride quality with very little in the way of pavement irregularities making it through to the cabin. The RB Metric also keeps its composure over rough or broken pavement or railroad tracks, with a solid, reassuring feeling of control for the driver.

Straight-line stability and road manners are also dead-on with the Assurance All-Season; it stays pointed right down the highway with little need for corrections and tweaks, but it’s never sluggish. Road feel and steering response are crisp and light without being overly jittery or sensitive. While taking a corner or going into an interstate offramp at higher speeds, the Ironman RB Metric is confident and predictable with little tendency toward understeer, although cornering and handling might not quite be up to the expectations you’d have with a summer or UHP tire.

The grip on wet pavement is secure and safe, and on dry pavement, the Ironman is practically glued to the road. We’ll concede that the Ironman doesn’t perform well in deeper snow or slush, but then again that’s not what a tire like this is really intended for. In lighter snow, the Assurance All-Season’s braking and control are capable thanks to its dense network of sipes that easily chew and slice their way through snow, slush, and standing water.

At SimpleTire, we found the Ironman RB Metric to be a tire that delivers good value and performance for a wide range of vehicles. It offers the kind of grip, handling, road manners, and ride that will make it a great choice for long interstate road trips or day-to-day errands and commutes, and at a surprisingly low price point.

Vehicles the Ironman RB Metric is a good replacement tire for

The Ironman RB Metric would make a great replacement tire for vehicles such as:

• Ford Flex
• Chevrolet Equinox
• Kia Sephia
• Dodge Charger
• Chrysler 300
• Hyundai Sonata
• Toyota Camry
• Nissan Pathfinder
• Honda Odyssey
• Dodge Caravan
• Chrysler Pacifica
• Toyota Sienna
• Acura TSX
• Ford Fusion
• Chevrolet Camaro
• Mazda6