Best Tires for Toyota Sienna

1.Michelin CrossClimate 2

Ride Quality: 9 Noise Comfort: 7 Handling: 8 Traction: 10

When people buy a Toyota Sienna, all they want is dependability.  To add to the existing dependability, getting a proper set of all-weather tires isn’t that bad of an idea. A model that you can keep in mind is the Michelin CrossClimate 2.

The Michelin CrossClimate2 does everything you want from a tire. The sidewalls aren’t too tough nor too soft, striking a good balance between longitudinal grip and overall comfort. Snow grip is also remarkably good thanks to its 3PMSF certification, which only gets better seeing how the Toyota Sienna is quite heavy. The rubber compound is also a middle ground, being not too soft for warmer climates but not too hard either which works well in colder climates.

When we are looking at the tread pattern, we are seeing the classical V type tread pattern which features a good on-center feel along with adequate performance both in the dry and in the snow. The multiple sipes do a fantastic job at evacuation water locally, along with assisting in snow performance. This makes the Michelin cross climate too very good even in wet climates. The tire is also quite resistant to hydroplaning, thanks to its generous grooves. Overall, the Michelin CrossClimate2 does everything you could ever want from a winter or summer tire making it a good middle ground for the typical Toyota Sienna owner.

Where the tire doesn’t shine all that bright is regarding its wet braking performance. Tests have shown that the Michelin CrossClimate2 finds itself in the middle of the pack in that category. Noise generated is also quite significant, but not overly annoying or distracting. Another issue is price, this tire being one of the most expensive tires on the market.

2.Vredestein Quatrac Pro

Ride Quality: 9 Noise Comfort: 8 Handling: 8 Traction: 8

If you live in wetter climates, then equipping your Toyota Sienna with a set of Vredestein Quatrac Pro is probably your best bet. While fantastic in all regards, the Vredestein Quatrac Pro is one of the best tires on the market when a damp climate is concerned. Perfect for the owner who wants to be safe in the wet or that wants the best feeling all-weather tire available.

They’ve implemented a very clever compromise as far as the sidewalls are concerned by adding an extra polyamide reinforcement. Sidewall toughness should increase, at the very least close to the rim, while the top of the sidewall remains on the softer side, providing passengers with a mix of both worlds. This also means that the Vredestein Quatrac Pro is very competent in corners, not that you will push your Toyota Sienna down a mountain pass anytime soon.

There are a multitude of sipes and cuts installed to help with water and winter performance. The tread pattern itself isn’t all that spectacular, however, which in this case is preferred. By staying to its roots, the Vredestein Quatrac Pro feels surprisingly good in warmer climates, being very precise and composed on the road.  Its winter performance is certified by a 3PMSF tag, which means that it will fair significantly better than an M+S tire and should be more than enough for a milder winter.

Despite all this, the winter performance isn’t out of this world, the Michelin CrossClimate 2 is fairing significantly better in the winter department. While more comfortable than most tires on the market, this one is still somewhat stiff, especially seeing how we’re talking about a Sienna. Another small issue is the price, still high, but not as high as the CrossClimate 2.

1.Continental TrueContact Tour

Ride Quality: 9 Noise Comfort: 9 Handling: 10 Traction: 9

When we look at touring tires, we see tires that are significantly more specialized on something in particular and aren’t “master of all trades” like all-weather tires. Specialized in comfort, we have the Continental TrueContact Tour. A Toyota Sienna paired with a set of TrueContact Tours will feel like a small cloud on wheels.

The sidewalls are quite soft, being particularly capable of absorbing all kinds of rough roads and potholes, without affecting longitudinal grip all that much. When looking at the tread life, we’re greeted with an 80.000 mi warranty, translating into a heavy-duty tire that will ride for season upon end. Such a combination of factors isn’t particularly common, and they are something that the average Toyota Sienna owner will greatly enjoy. Noise generated is also kept to a minimum, a trait given by the insertion of an underlay behind the tread pattern that absorbs noise and all kinds of harshness.

Talking about tread pattern, it consists of many fine sipes, small grooves, and hefty channels. All these translate into great performance in the wet and sensible behavior when the cold finally hits. The rubber compound is enhanced with a Silane additive, further improving performance in the wet. Grip in dry conditions isn’t all that shabby either, thanks to a symmetrical tread pattern coupled with broad shoulders and a solid contact patch.

Tire loses some fair points when we are looking at winter performance, which is in fact quite poor. While longitudinal grip during acceleration is fine for a minivan like the Sienna, lateral grip is somewhat lacking, but it shouldn’t impact the drive all that much. The lack of longitudinal grip starts taking its toll when we’re looking at braking performance, which isn’t all that great.

2.Goodyear Assurance MaxLife

Ride Quality: 9 Noise Comfort: 7 Handling: 8 Traction: 9

Another tire built to rack up tens of thousands of miles is the Goodyear Assurance MaxLife. Goodyear employed a simple recipe, take a basic tire, make it as comfortable and grippy just from the tread pattern, and focus heavily on wear resistance. As such, the Assurance MaxLife was born, which suits the Toyota Sienna to a T.

The sidewalls are quite soft, but they’ll have to make it tougher for such a heavy load. Bump absorption is good, and the overall asphalt roughness is mostly absorbed. As stated before, the rubber compound is highly resilient, Goodyear offering a tread life warranty of 85.000 mi, which is nothing short of staggering. Apart from this, there’s nothing worth reporting on the tire’s inner design. It really is that simple.

The tread pattern is however a tad more complicated, showcasing a symmetrical pattern composed of 3 long rubber ribs, cut across by sipes both long and short. The center rib is more distinct, being cut across by tiny channels, however completely continuous, providing the small bit of on-center feel the tire deeply needs. Overall, the tire should perform adequately in wet and dry conditions alike, thanks to a generous contact patch given by these 3 ribs.

To develop such a long-lasting tire, Goodyear had to make the tire blocks quite tall, which promptly translates into a squirmy feeling tire and quite numb in the process. Another fault is that the performance in wintery months exists only for cold dry days, ice and snow being an enemy to this tire for the most part. Another issue reported by owners is that the tire is somewhat noisy, but the Toyota Sienna’s NVH treatment should absorb it right up.

1.Continental CrossContact LX25

Ride Quality: 9 Noise Comfort: 8 Handling: 7 Traction: 9

Even if it’s designed for crossovers and small SUVs, the Toyota Sienna shares its platform with the Toyota RAV4, which we all know is a small SUV. As such, using the Continental CrossContact LX25 on the Sienna isn’t as far-fetched as it may seem, especially seeing how it’s quite a capable all-season tire that can actually work in light snow.

We can describe the sidewalls as having moderate toughness, being very similar to those found on the CrossClimate2, but ever so slightly leaning on the soft side. On the Sienna, you’re getting an impressive 70,000 mi tread life warranty, meaning that you can get quite a bit of use from a robust tire. Similar to the TrueContact Tour, the CrossContact LX25 also features the same absorption layer placed just behind the tread pattern, installed to absorb most of the noise generated by the tire.

From a glance, the tread pattern looks quite similar to that of the TrueContact Tour, but it has quite a few very important distinctions. On one hand, the cuts are significantly wider and longer, along with the fact that the sipes aren’t curved or angular. Dry performance is surprisingly good for a tire designed for CUVs, while snow performance is quite satisfactory. All those angular cuts give the snow something to grip to, providing it with all that necessary snow-to-snow traction.

Its major downside is that thanks to its generous tread life warranty, Continental had to make the tread blocks quite tall, which when coupled with the slight sidewall softness results in just enough give to make the tire feel somewhat mushy. Another issue regarding this tire is that the wet braking characteristics are quite poor. These sipes don’t do a fantastic job with breaking on wet asphalt.

1.Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2

Ride Quality: 9 Noise Comfort: 8 Handling: 9 Traction: 10

A lot of engineering has been sunk into the Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 in an attempt to make the tire as capable on the ice as it could ever be. For the Toyota Sienna owner who has to regularly drive on icy roads or asphalt due to a variety of reasons, then the Blizzak DM-V2 is a fantastic choice. Using the same logic as before, the Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 was designed for CUVs and SUVs, but the Sienna shares its platform with the Toyota RAV4, so the tire fits surprisingly well.

Ice isn’t the only focus of the tire. Bridgestone also thought of the heaviest of winters, and in an attempt to provide buyers with the safest experience on the market they made the sidewalls quite soft and plush. That choice has been done to help the tire flex even when the weather turns for the harshest, allowing users to keep their mobility even when outside is so cold that rocks start to crack.

The tread pattern is heavily specialized for snow and ice usage. The blocks are highly angular and placed in such a way to give the snow all the room it could possibly take and enough surfaces to grip to, providing copious amounts of snow-to-snow traction. Along with this, Bridgestone employed a special compound that features a so-called Multicell technology. The rubber contains small bite particles which helps the tire grip to ice, providing users with ice traction worthy of comparison to studded tires.

A significant downside is that, for one, this tire is only fantastic in severe winters with cold temperatures. Milder ones will wear the tire noticeably fast. Another downfall of the tire is that this special compound spans only for half of the tread pattern’s thickness, the other half being Bridgestone’s best winter compound. The issue is that after the tire is somewhat worn down, you will be left with only the best winter tire Bridgestone can offer but half worn down. Also, this tire doesn’t like to be pushed all that hard.

2.Continental VikingContact 7

Ride Quality: 7 Noise Comfort: 7 Handling: 9 Traction: 8

On the other hand, we have a tire very capable in harsh winters, both dry and snowy. The Continental VikingContact 7 is designed for that and does its job spectacularly. Not only that but the Continental VikingContact 7 performs really well against slush and puddles too.

On a firmness scale, we can give this tire a grade of compliant, sufficient for winter temperatures and adequate for the warmer temperatures found in Fall. During the Fall, the tire performs quite respectfully and is generally enough. This means that winter won’t ever catch you unprepared. Despite the lack of a tread life warranty, buyers have stated that this tire is quite resistant for a full-blown winter tire.

The tread pattern design is a versatile V-type, employed to provide good snow-to-snow traction and sensible asphalt grip. Local water evacuation is quite good, the tire blocks presenting many sipes which help with exactly that. Even the shoulders present these sipes, while the side grooves are quite slim in an attempt to keep the tire composed on dry asphalt. Overall, this is all you would ever need on your Toyota Sienna if you don’t see ice during the winter times.

Problems are a few and far between. On one hand, while wet performance is good, pushing through puddles is somewhat ill-advised because water can easily get trapped in the intricate tread pattern and cause your car to float on the water. Performance in warm weather is also poor, downright shredding the tire if pushed hard. This tire is also quite noisy and squirmy, but in the grand scheme of things, we’re talking about a winter tire.