Daily driving
Grand touring
Everyday-tier power and daily driving is grand-touring territory: strong wet grip and comfort without paying for grip you'll never use.
The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid AWD is a all-wheel drive hybrid SUV with 163 kW and a kerb weight of 1,700 kg. That’s 96 kW per tonne, in the everyday tier. Mainstream hatches, sedans and SUVs. Enough power to notice good tyres in the wet.
96kW/t
Under the P-plate limit. Comfortably under the 130 kW/t limit for P-platers in NSW, Victoria and Queensland (under-25s). Engine modifications or a banned listing can still rule a car out. P-plate rules
For a mild, wet climate. Cold and snowy climates are further down.
Daily driving
Everyday-tier power and daily driving is grand-touring territory: strong wet grip and comfort without paying for grip you'll never use.
Gravel & off-road
For gravel and dirt, an all-terrain's tougher carcass matters more than outright grip.
Also consider: if you rarely leave the bitumen, touring.
Estimates from power and weight. The tyre placard on the driver’s door jamb is the legal minimum.
Grand touring: character
Cold winters, little snow
Your tyre: All-season / all-weather
Michelin CrossClimate 2 · Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 · Continental AllSeasonContact 2
If you'd rather run summer tyres: Grand touring
Bridgestone Alenza 001 · Continental PremiumContact 7 · Bridgestone Turanza 6
Snow and ice
Summer set: Grand touring
Bridgestone Alenza 001 · Continental PremiumContact 7 · Bridgestone Turanza 6
Winter set: Winter
Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 · Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 · Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
If you want one set: All-season / all-weather
Michelin CrossClimate 2 · Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 · Continental AllSeasonContact 2
All-wheel drive: replace all four
Keep all four tyres the same make, model and near-identical tread depth. Many AWD systems tolerate only 2–3 mm of difference before the centre coupling or diff is strained, so a single damaged tyre can mean replacing the set, or shaving a new one to match.
Hybrid
Rolling resistance shows up directly in fuel use on a hybrid. Check the tyre's efficiency grade on its label; the gap between the best and worst can be several percent.
SUV
Choose the SUV or 4x4 version of a tyre where one exists: it has a stronger carcass for the extra weight and higher centre of gravity. Match or exceed the placard load index.
Buying only two?
On AWD, avoid it. On other cars, put the new pair on the rear axle: grippy rears keep the car stable when braking or cornering in the wet.
96 kW per tonne (129 hp per tonne), from 163 kW and a 1,700 kg kerb weight. That puts it in ratio's Everyday tier.
For everyday driving, grand touring tyres. Good options include the Bridgestone Alenza 001, Continental PremiumContact 7, Bridgestone Turanza 6. Always match or exceed the load index and speed rating on the car's tyre placard.
On power-to-weight, yes: at 96 kW per tonne it is under the 130 kW/t limit for P-platers in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Engine modifications can still make a car off-limits.
Cars in the Everyday tier typically run H or V-rated tyres. The legal minimum is whatever your placard, on the driver's door jamb, specifies.