Sumitomo Tires Reviews and Ratings

Updated 2/22/2020

When I first saw Sumitomo tires in ads, I thought they were some no-name brand -- with good reason, as their tires are priced rather affordably. After doing some research, I was stunned. You may be surprised to hear that Sumitomo is one of the largest tire manufacturers in the world! They either manufacture or have joint stakes in well known brands such as Dunlop, Goodyear, and Falken.

They also own subsidiaries like Doral and Sumic, which features the very affordable GT-A All-Season tire with great reviews and pricing on Amazon.

Sumitomo manufactures their own brand of car tires under the "HTR" model line, as well as SUV/light truck tires (HTR Sport). Read onward to get our take on their tires.

Sumitomo Tire Lineup for Cars:

Standard Touring All-Season

Sumitomo Touring LS T

3.6 out of 5 (110 driver reviews) as of 10/2/16. The Touring LS T is an inexpensive tire, ranking just below the middle of Tire Rack's survey results for the Touring category. The best Touring tire per the survey are the Continental TrueContact, Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus, Firestone Precision Touring, and the General Altimax RT43. For touring tires, we would pay a little more and buy a better tire, with our overall top pick being the Altimax RT43 when taking value into account. Comparison results of the Sumitomo Touring LS T vs. competitors Read Touring LS T reviews at the Tire Rack

Grand Touring All-Season

Sumitomo HTR Enhance L/X

4.3 out of 5 (19 driver reviews) as of 10/2/16. The HTR Enhance L/X is Sumitomo's Grand Touring tire for cars, cross-over vehicles and small SUVs. It ranks in the bottom of Tire Rack's survey results for the GT class, as well coming in last place in an in-depth, 4-way test in 2015. The best Grand Touring tires in the survey are the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus, Michelin Premier A/S, Kumho Solus TA71, Continental PureContact, and the General Altimax RT43. On a budget, we would recommend the Kumho Solus TA71 or Altimax RT43 at just a few dollars more per tire over the Sumitomo. HTR Enhance L/X (T-speed rating) - Read Reviews

Sumitomo Touring LS H

As with the Touring LS T, the LS H is the same tire with a higher speed rating (max. 130 mph). If you are considering this as a Grand Touring tire, there is really no reason to get this over the well reviewed General Altimax RT43 or Kumho Solus TA71. Touring LS H - Read Reviews at TireRack.com

Sumitomo Touring LS V

Same as the Touring LS T and LS H but with a higher speed rating (max. 149 mph). Touring LS V - Read Reviews at TireRack.com

High Performance All-Season

Sumitomo HTR A/S P02 The HTR A/S P02 currently ranks in the top 5 of this category, with the best tire being the Goodyear Eagle Sport All-Season. The P02 is a very affordable high performance all-season tire, with a high 5-year/65k mile warranty (H- and V- speed rating). Sumitomo also offers free 2-year roadside assistance and 1-year road hazard protection, which seems to be a welcome trend for drivers nowadays. The HTR A/S P02 is still somewhat new, so the ranking may change as more drivers review this tire. HTR A/S P02 (H & V-speed rated) - Read Reviews at TireRack.com

Sumitomo HTR A/S P01 HTR A/S P02 replaces this tire - see above. Link to reviews is provided below for research purposes. HTR A/S P01 (H & V-speed rated) - Read Reviews at TireRack.com

Ultra High Performance All-Season

Sumitomo HTR A/S P02

The HTR A/S P02 in the W-speed rated sizes rank above the median of this category, with the best tire being the BFGoodrich g-Force COMP-2 A/S. The P02 is a very affordable ultra high performance all-season tire, with a 4-year/45k mile warranty (W-speed rating). It scores very similar to the Kumho Ecsta 4X II, which beat out the HTR A/S P02 in Tire Rack's test for both dry and wet traction.

However, if you anticipate driving in snow and ice and can't or don't want to mount a separate set of winter tires, the HTR A/S P02 does fairly well. You should also consider the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06, which has the best snow and ice traction ratings in the category.

HTR A/S P02 (W speed rated) - Read Reviews at TireRack.com

Sumitomo HTR A/S P01 HTR A/S P02 replaces this tire - see above. Link to reviews is provided below for research purposes. HTR A/S P01 (W speed rated) - Read Reviews at TireRack.com

Ultra High Performance Summer

Sumitomo HTR Z The HTR Z ranks in the middle of this category in terms of its dry and wet traction and cornering scores. It has a UTQG treadwear rating of only 160, so it is likely stickier and will wear faster than the HTR Z II. If you can afford it, the BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2 is the winner in this category, which even has a UTQG of 340, though UTQG treadwear ratings between two different manufacturers is not a perfect comparison. HTR Z - Read Reviews at TireRack.com

Sumitomo HTR Z II The HTR Z II has a distinctive looking tread, actually similar to that of the Nexen N3000. It may be the reason for its better wet traction performance over the HTR Z, though nowhere near as good as the BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2. It does have a reasonable UTQG treadwear rating of 360, making it a good UHP tire on a budget. HTR Z II - Read Reviews at TireRack.com

Max Performance Summer

Sumitomo HTR Z III The HTR Z III ranks in the middle of the Max/Extreme performance category, but it is also the cheapest, with 17 and 18-inch sizes right around the $100 mark. It even scores higher than the Pirelli P Zero and some of Bridgestone's Potenza models. The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is the number one tire in this category, though at around twice the cost. HTR Z III - Read Reviews at TireRack.com

Sumitomo Tire Lineup for SUV/Light Trucks:

Pictured below is the Sumitomo Touring LS T tire on a Mazda3.

You may also want to check out these brands at similar price points: Cooper Douglas Falken Fuzion Hercules Kumho Milestar Nankang Nexen Primewell Westlake