For most drivers of sedans, coupes, minivans, and crossovers, all-season tires make the most sense all the way around. They’re a versatile one-stop-shopping solution for most drivers’ needs; they deliver a quiet and refined ride, capable and predictable handling, stable road manners, great wear properties, and year-round performance in about every kind of condition other than heavy snow.

Drivers who drive sporty models, though, often find all-season or Grand Touring tires to not quite be up to the level of their vehicles’ performance. Ultra-high-performance tires are designed to deliver handling that’s a bit sharper than many all-season tires, with a lighter and quicker steering response and an internal structure designed for prolonged periods at high speeds. The downside of ultra-high-performance (UHP) tires is that their cornering and braking ability is partly due to a tread formulation that’s softer and “stickier” for great adhesion to the pavement. As grippy as that tread compound is, it also wears more quickly (which is why many UHP tires don’t have a limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty). UHP tires also tend to stiffen up and lose traction on colder days, so most manufacturers advise against using them if temperatures are below 40-45 degrees F. That means that when the weather turns colder, you must dismount those UHP tires, exchange them for a set of all-season or all-weather tires, and then figure out how and where to store them until spring.

The best of both worlds would be an all-season tire with the same kind of braking, cornering, handling, and all-around high-performance driving dynamics as a UHP tire…along with year-round traction. That’s where the Mastertrack M-Trac HP comes in at a surprisingly affordable price. Let’s go in and take a closer look at this product line review:

Features and Benefits

Here are some of the amazing features, benefits, and innovations that the Mastertrack M-Trac HP offers (and at a surprisingly affordable price):

• Advanced tread formulation is engineered for great wet-weather and dry-weather traction as well as long, even wear
• Solid center rib boosts straight-line stability and road manners as well as steering response
• A network of sipes multiplies the tread’s surface area and traction with hundreds of thin biting edges that slice through standing water or slush
• The shoulder is reinforced for extra rigidity, helping to enhance cornering and steering response
• A system of circumferential grooves and angled grooves is designed to direct water behind the tire’s contact patch to resist hydroplaning on wet roads
• Tread pitch is randomized and computer-tuned to help cancel certain frequencies and resonances, keeping road noise to a minimum
• Sipes also help to reinforce the tread face for extra rigidity and stability
• Covered by 50,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty

Pros and Cons

In the case of the Mastertrack M-Trac HP, this is a tire where the Pros outweigh the Cons:

PROS:

• Generous limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty coverage
• Very affordable price point
• Handling is nimble and predictable
• Dependable grip in all kinds of road conditions
• The ride is forgiving and quiet

CONS:

• Can be noisy on some pavement surfaces
• Not good in heavier snow

SimpleTire’s view on Mastertrack M-Trac HP tires

Are you familiar with SimpleTire’s SimpleScore system? SimpleScore is the method the SimpleTire team developed to give you a quick, at-a-glance idea of a tire’s strengths and weaknesses. We look at the tire’s specs, the manufacturer’s info, customer reviews, and other data points, then distill that information down to a 1-10 numerical score for the categories of traction, handling, and longevity, as well as an overall average SimpleScore. For the Mastertrack M-Trac HP, the SimpleScore numbers break down as follows:

Traction: 7.9 Handling: 8.5 Longevity: 8.4 Overall average SimpleScore: 8.2

Those would be great SimpleScore numbers for any tire, let alone an all-season tire that starts at $81.99 per tire.

The Mastertrac M-Trac HP delivers wet-weather traction that’s secure and confident, thanks to the all-season tread pattern and circumferential groove system that avoids hydroplaning by removing water from the tire’s contact patch. In light wintry conditions, the sipe network of the M-Trac HP digs into a claw and slices its way through snow and slush (no, the M-Trac HP doesn’t perform well in deeper snow, and most all-season tires don’t). Drivers note that the ride quality of the M-Trac HP is a little firm but controlled and composed even on irregular pavement surfaces, with little jolts and vibrations making their way to the driver and passengers.

On the twisty roads and interstate offramps, the M-Trac HP is confident and predictable, even when crowding the apex hard while going into a corner, with little evident tendency toward understeer or oversteer. It’s the kind of solid and neutral handling and cornering ability that you expect with UHP tires that cost far more, with a steering response that’s direct and nimble without ever being twitchy or overly sensitive. Thanks to that solid center rib, straight-line road manners and stability are dead-on without ever feeling numb and sluggish. A 50,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty is pretty admirable for any tire, regardless of price –that’s the kind of tread wear coverage that used to be rare only about 15 years ago. All in all, we’d have to say that the Mastertrack M-Trac HP is an excellent value and great performer in a UHP/all-season tire and punches far above its weight class, considering its affordable price. This would be a great tire for an older vehicle with plenty of good miles, but you don’t want to clean out a bank account to put some new rubber under it.

Vehicles The Mastertrack M-Trac HP is a good replacement tire for

While the Mastertrack M-Trac HP isn’t featured as original equipment from the factory on any vehicles, it would make a great replacement tire on sedans, coupes, minivans, and crossovers such as these:

• Buick Encore
• Chevrolet Sprint
• Chrysler Pacifica
• Dodge Caravan
• Fiat 500
• Ford Focus
• Honda Civic
• Honda Accord
• Honda Pilot
• Honda CR-V
• Toyota RAV4
• Kia Sephia
• Mazda 6
• Nissan Rogue
• Subaru Outback
• Toyota Camry
• Volkswagen Atlas
• Acura TSX
• Audi A6
• Buick Lacrosse
• Cadillac CT5
• Chevrolet Cruze
• Chrysler 200
• Ford Mustang
• Genesis G80
• Honda Accord
• Hyundai Sonata
• Kia K5
• Mazda3
• Nissan Altima
• Tesla Model 3
• Toyota Supra
• Volkswagen Passat
• Subaru Forester
• Kia Carnival
• Dodge Caravan
• Chrysler Town & Country
• Chrysler Pacifica
• Chevrolet Uplander
• Ford Escape
• Ford Escort
• Ford Edge