My review is for the Sumitomo HTR A/S P03, and my opinions are based on the price point, not as a comparison against all available tires regardless of cost. Other tires, such as the Michelin CrossClimate2, are better in many respects, but also $100+ more per tire, so it doesn't make much sense to compare a $150 All-Season tire against a $275+ 3PMSF (Three-peak mountain snowflake) certified tire. 3PMSF are categorized as All-Weather and are generally more expensive.
SimpleTire's review of this tire is pretty spot on, so I would suggest starting there in your evaluation.
My opinion is that Sumitomo is an underrated brand that makes some terrific tires at a fair price. Sumitomo is one of those brands that most have not heard of, or that many would consider to be a "cheap" or "a value focused" brand. The reality is that Sumitomo is a Japanese tire (along the lines of Nitto and Toyo), are extremely good, poorly marketed, and thus priced well. They seem to follow the Cooper brand in that they get more out of word-of-mouth advertising than TV spots, and pass those savings on to you, the consumer. Like Cooper, Sumitomo does not have a broad portfolio of tires. They only have a few different designs and even then, generally do not have all possible size combinations available.
These tires, the HTR A/S P03, perform exceptionally well, especially in regard to wet weather handling. I've had these tires on minivans, sedans, "hot hatches", and the performance characteristics are the same, regardless of vehicle type. Some tires I've had seem to exhibit certain vehicle preferences, whether that be heavier, lighter or all-wheel drive. The HTR's don't behave differently based on vehicle type, which points to a reliable and trustworthy design.
Most tires perform well in dry conditions, and splitting hairs over maximum lateral grip, or one to two feet of braking distance is kind of silly for a midrange priced tire. What stands out to me the most is the wet performance. These tires, simply put, are great in wet weather. This includes wet braking, wet handling and hydroplane resistance. Most midrange tires are unable to perform well in all three wet weather characteristics, especially hydroplane resistance. It doesn't seem to matter that I'm driving a 5,000 pound Honda Odyssey minivan or a 3,100 pound Acura Integra hatchback, both vehicle types had the same stability and breaking characteristics in wet weather. Lighter vehicles tend to be more prone to hydroplaning, so the fact that the performance is consistent across vehicle types speaks well to the tire design.
Where the tire design falls a bit short is on Snow and Ice traction. At best, it's "OK", certainly not great. It provides just enough traction for very light snow (less than 1 inch of packed snow). Depending on winter driving conditions, you are more likely to experience slushy road surfaces, where the tire performance is significantly better. General advice with these tires is to wait until the plows get rolling and/or road treatments have begun. Ice is ice, and I don't care what anyone thinks, there isn't an all-season design around that I would call good in icy conditions. If the roads are icy, it will be dangerous. If you expect to regularly drive on deep snow, deep snowpack, or ice, you should be looking for dedicated winter tires (preferred) or 3PMS tires, at a minimum. In my opinion, this category is where the greatest compromises were made. The general winter performance result is at the lower end of acceptable for an all-season, and nowhere near as competent as 3PMS or dedicated snow tires.
General noise levels are probably above average, but certainly not class leading. You may pick up some droning at highway speed, depending on the acoustic characteristics of your vehicle. I notice a bit more noise in my Integra than in the TLX or Odyssey, both of which have more sound deadening materials (and thus are much heavier). Nothing offensive or distracting, but it isn't going to be as quiet as a tire designed for noise reduction. I also experience some annoying resonance on certain surface types, such as grooved concrete roadways. I would say these tires are fairly quiet across most road surfaces and are generally acceptable across all conditions. Again, as an all-season tire, there will be compromises.
Comfort was a pleasant surprise. I really didn't expect a lot out of midrange all-seasons for comfort, but across several vehicle types, these tires have proven capable of dampening large bumps and potholes far better than expected. Coarse pavement, steel plates, steel grid, grooved concrete, cobblestone and other road surface types are dampened fairly well. Obviously, you'll still feel them, but it isn't punishing the same way that run-flats or stiff sidewall performance tires would be. I would grade these tires towards the upper end for comfort in this price range.
Feel and communication of these tires are pretty good. Again, towards the higher end for the price range. At the top end of the performance envelope, you lose some feel, and it can be difficult to gauge exactly where the limit is when cornering due to sidewall flex, but again....all-seasons, so there are compromises. From 0-80% of the performance range, these tires are communicative, provide good lateral traction and response, offer nice feel under breaking and inspire plenty of confidence. At the fringe, things start getting kind of muddled and squishy, but you aren't looking at these tires for the track, so to me this is more than acceptable and I'm very pleased with them.
Warranty is average. But to anyone that has ever tried to make a claim on tire manufacturer warranties, it really isn't of much value. You typically get prorated refunds, so I honestly don't ever consider tire warranty. I use them as a yardstick to measure expected tire lifespan. With that said, tread life is pretty good, especially for softer compound, high speed rated tires. I've driven on hard compound H-rated tires that lasted forever, but offered no grip, no feel, and generally poor all around performance. These tires offer a good blend of performance, comfort, noise isolation and tread life. I tend to be a little hard on tires, and across several vehicles, these tires have given me about 40-45k miles before tread wear starts compromising performance.
I tend to replace tires a bit earlier than most folk, which is why I particularly like these tires. They offer strong performance characteristics, especially in wet weather driving, which I feel is a primary safety concern. Because of the reasonable price of these tires, I don't mind replacing a set when there is still 4/32" of tread left, so I never have a set of tires on a vehicle where safety is a concern.
In closing, if set your expectations based on the price range, you will find that these tires are actually one of the best in the class, especially if you prioritize wet weather handling. If winter driving is your primary concern, you may want to look for a value branded 3PMS tire, or shop at a different price point.
