I'm a new/first time owner of a 2001 XC70, coming from having 7 redblock 940/960s, and older 7 series it's quite a jump. I always ran summer/snows and my non turbo 940, they were all wagons, with blizzaks were some of the best snow handling cars I've had. Go figure the Swedes got that one right.

But...I'm new to the XC world, and wondering what tires offer quality road ride, I'm on hilly back country CT roads, and highways, I have some Goodyears on it now, they seem to have a ton of road noise, almost akin to a truck tire, I don't like that.

Coming from owning motorocycles, and riding bicycles, I know Michelins are top notch, but if there's a tire that is less pricey and good quality I'd like to know. I would run toyos on my redblocks, but with the AWD now I'm not so sure. I'd spend a little extra for lower rolling resistence, but with the stock AWD I'm not so sure I want to get into keeping an extra set of wheels with snows on them, in the Northeast we're getting tons of snow here in the winter as the seasons are getting more extreme.

 

I'd still go with summer/winter tire change overs. Winter tires perform better when cold even on dry roads (different rubber compounds). I have had good luck with General Altimax Artics on my wife's Highlander - but also run Gislaved's on my 850T and Blizzaks on my S40... (lol my VW CC stays in the garage when it snows). You will get better braking and sturdy sidewalls in pothole season. Frankly I have not found an all season that is really great in the snow - although Nokians probably have the best rep. I use Tiresavings.com (out of Rhode Island so the deliver in 1-2 days to CT) and have my indy install and balance. Of the three, I think the Artics are the best value. If you want to stick with an all season, check out the reviews on the Pirelli P7 A/S plus and Goodyear Assurance Tripletred's. Both are pricey like the Mich's but get great reviews. If you do the change over, then you can get a wider choice on your summer wheels.