Firestone All Season Review: Good, But Far from Exceptional

As a company, Firestone had its fair share of a bad reputation over the years. After the tire-degrading controversy on the Ford Explorer, buyers had a hard time believing in the brand. However, today things are different. The American company, now under Bridgestone, produces safe and reliable tires at lower price points than the premium competition.

And the lowest point of entry into the brand is the dull-named Firestone All Season. Firestone might have wanted to give the product a better name, sure. However, buyers in this category don’t care about names – they care about getting a safe and long-lasting tire at the lowest price possible. And, in terms of pricing, the Firestone All Season sits in the middle of the category.

The tire competes directly with the likes of Goodyear Assurance All-Season, and Dunlop Enasave 01 A/S, but also the Cooper Evolution Tour and General Altimax RT43. In Firestone’s family of tires, the All-Season inherits the FR710, which was very popular among drivers. The new model brings several improvements to the board, namely in traction levels.

Moreover, the Firestone All Season belongs to the lowest-level passenger-car all-season category. This means that the tire is designed for regular daily driving in various weather conditions. Besides, thanks to the availability of many popular sizes, the tire fits many popular vehicles on the road today. These include sub-compact cars, such as Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, and Toyota Yaris.

Furthermore, you can fit the Firestone All Season on compact cars, such as Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, and Kia Forte. You can also fit the tire on mid-size sedans, such as Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, and Toyota Camry, minivans, such as Honda Odyssey, Kia Sedona, Toyota Sienna, and Chrysler Pacifica. The Firestone All Season can even fit some crossovers and executive sedans!

However, while the tire may fit most vehicles on the road today, is it any good? I’ve tried many tires in my career that promise outstanding performance in all conditions, only to fall short somewhere. Cheaper tires usually perform worse in rainy conditions and especially on snow-covered roads, so it will be interesting to see how the Firestone All Season fares.

To give you a definitive answer, I found how this tire performs in various conditions, including dry pavement, rainy weather, and snowy conditions. Moreover, I’ll also try to answer how comfortable this tire is, including ride quality and quietness. Ultimately, we will talk about the treadlife and treadwear warranty of the tire. At the end of the Firestone All Season tire review, I’ll give you my final thoughts and tell you if it’s any good.

Before we jump to conclusions, though, let’s see what features Firestone employed in the tire to make it stand out from the crowd.

What are the features of the Firestone All Season?

According to Firestone, the All-Season is a tire that delivers quality, value, and dependability. These are broad terms that don’t tell us a lot about the tires, mind you. Fortunately, the company shares some details about the tire that tells us more about its characteristics.

The first thing that the company boasts about is the deep sipes across the tread of the tire. These should increase traction in rainy conditions and also improve the hydroplaning resistance. Also, the deep sipes improve traction on snow-covered roads, thanks to the higher number of biting edges compared to other tires.

Meanwhile, Firestone carefully designed the tread pattern to provide performance in dry, wet, and snowy conditions. In other words, this tire should provide you with good traction throughout the year, thus the all-season moniker.

Furthermore, Firestone focused on improving the overall comfort of the All-Season, without damaging the handling and responsiveness.

The American tiremaker also utilized an advanced silica-enhanced tread compound. The rubber is molded into a symmetric tread pattern designed for even wear throughout the life of the tire. Like most all-season passenger tires, the Firestone features four circumferential grooves for increased water evacuation.

The internal construction of the Firestone All Season is pretty standard for the category, though. Depending on the size, the company utilized one-ply or two-ply polyester body casing, beneath two wide steel belts. These are further strengthened by spirally-wrapped nylon reinforcement for added high-speed capability, smoother ride quality, and increased durability.

What are the maintenance indicators?

Given the fact that the Firestone All Season is a low-cost tire, you won’t see any fancy maintenance indicators here. To get that, you’ll need to pay a bit more for the Continental TrueContact Tour. That tire has QuickView Indicators, which can help the driver monitor the tread depth with much greater precision.

Instead, Firestone utilized the industry-standard tread wear indicators, or TWI’s. These can only show you when the tread is fully worn out, but not precisely how much tread you have left. The TWI’s are narrow rubber bars built into the circumferential grooves of the tire, which are heavily recessed into the tread.

However, as the tread wears down, the bars become more visible. When the tread of the Firestone All Season reaches 2/32-inch, the TWI’s will be completely flush with the surface of the tread. This is when you must replace your tires with a new set.

The 2/32-inch depth is the minimum legal requirement. That’s because, without sufficient tread depth, your tires won’t be able to channel water out of the tread. Consequently, you will lose wet traction, grip, and braking. Also, snow traction will be worse even sooner than that.

For all these reasons, I recommend replacing your tires even sooner. Never wait for the indicators to be flush with the tread since your tires will already have lower traction on slippery surfaces.

Fortunately, the Firestone All Season is a very durable tire, especially in terms of tread life. According to Consumer Reports, this tire has a projected tread life of 60,000-miles, which is excellent for the category and price.

Besides, Firestone provides an excellent treadwear warranty on its cheapest tire. For sizes that fit normal vehicles, the company provides a 65,000-mile treadwear warranty, while for crossover (CUV) sizes, they provide a 55,000-mile warranty.

How does it behave on a dry tarmac?

Overall, you can’t find too many faults in how the Firestone All Season handles daily driving situations. It behaves safely and doesn’t surprise you with anything negative. Moreover, the tire is responsive enough for the category, while also the driver with a good feel for the road.

Besides, the responsiveness is accompanied by good traction for acceleration. The All-Season also impresses in the corners, where it produces a good level of grip. The braking distances are also not very long and are actually very good for a tire in this category.

How is it over wet and slippery roads?

Well, it’s not bad. However, I expected more from Firestone in this department. That’s especially true for the handling, which leaves a lot to be desired. The Firestone simply doesn’t feel glued to the road as a premium tire would. The behavior is not erratic, sure, but there is still more understeer than I would’ve liked.

When it comes to braking, the Firestone All Season fares better. The distances aren’t competitive with the best in the category, but they are still fine for an inexpensive tire. Also, you shouldn’t have an issue with acceleration traction – it’s ample enough.

With that being said, how is it on snowy roads?

I would never recommend an all-season tire for serious snow driving, and the Firestone All Season only confirms my thoughts. The traction levels are below average for the category, rendering the tire almost unusable on snow-covered roads. Besides, the Firestone doesn’t posses enough traction on ice, where it slides like a sled. If you need a set of tires for the winter, this is not the model for you.

Is it suitable for off-road driving?

Although you can fit the Firestone All Season on some crossovers (CUVs), that doesn’t mean you can go off-road. The tire should be good on hardpacked surfaces in terms of traction, provided the terrain doesn’t have many inclines. However, larger rocks, mud, and sand are out of the question. Besides, this tire doesn’t have any protection against cuts, chips, and punctures.

Is it comfortable and refined?

Fortunately, the All-Season redeems itself in the comfort department. The ride quality is very smooth – the tire successfully irons out smaller and larger imperfections. Moreover, there is not a lot of noise on the highway.

Should I buy the Firestone All Season tires?

Well, you should at least think about purchasing it. Overall, there are better options in the category. The Continental TrueContact Tour, for example, costs a tad more but offers much better performance overall.

However, if you want to save money and buy an American product, the Firestone All Season should serve you well. It drives excellently on dry roads, safely enough on wet roads, and lasts for a really long time. It is also very comfortable, which might appeal to family buyers.