Budget, Mid-Range or Premium Tyres? The Pros and Cons Explained.

When it comes to replacing your tyres, we're often confronted with a wide choice of different prices and brands. Like fingerprints, each tyre model has its own identity - Different levels of grip, rolling resistance, cost, and longevity. It can be tricky selecting the right tyre! It's important you're getting the right tyre for the right price, and we're here to help you with that!

Tyres commonly come in 3 different price brackets: Budget, mid-range and premium. Each has their own pros and cons not just for your vehicle, but what you use your car for. It's important to select the right tyre to suit your needs.

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Budget Tyres

At one end of the scale, we have budget tyres. These will always be the cheapest option to buy, and are more than capable of getting you from A to B.

A common misconception is that budget tyres are cheaper because they compromise safety and handling. While they might not use the same quality ingredients when compared to that of mid-range and premium brands, they do the job on the road just fine. If you're only doing small mileage per year (we tend to say up to 6/7k miles a year) - around town, to the parents house once a week for example, then budgets will be more than fine. For those with caravans, you may well know that due to the incredibly small mileage they do, regardless of the brand you'll be changing the tyres due to age before they've had a chance to wear down.

Common budget tyre brands include Triangle, Mazzini, Royal, I-LINK, Landsail and Churchill. (In reality there are hundreds, if not thousands of budget brands out there!).

Premium Tyres

At the other end of the scale we have premium (or in other words, "branded") tyres. This is where you will find your well known tyre brands including Michelin, Continental, Goodyear, Pirelli, Bridgestone and Hankook.

Premium tyres are best for the keen driver. The uprated grip, performance, fuel efficiency and cornering give a much better driving experience, these companies are spending billions developing the "perfect tyre" for the job.

Using the highest quality premium compounds, expert knowledge and an extensive history, Premium tyres combine this to offer the ultimate tyres for any situation. They also typically last a lot longer than budget tyres due to the special compounds they are made from. This means that while they can be expensive to buy in the first place, they can save you money elsewhere!

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Mid-Range Tyres

As with everything in life, there is a happy medium. Mid-range Tyres try to offer a balance between the performance of premium tyres with the affordability of budget tyres. Mid-Range tyres are an excellent choice for if you want some level of sporty driving without breaking the bank. Common brands I the price bracket include Falken, GT Radial, Nexen and Maxxis.

What's Best for Me?

It really comes down to you! Different drivers and vehicles need different tyres for different needs! There is no correct answer to "which tyre is the best?". It's important to compare the pros and cons of each tyre and decide which is best for you, your vehicle, and your wallet!

For instance, if you use your car for short journeys across town on the weekends, or just to commute to work down the road, a premium tyre wouldn't be the best value for money. You simply wouldn't be getting your money's worth. A budget tyre will do the job here perfectly!

If driving is your passion and want to enjoy it, consider spending that little bit more on premium tyres. They make a difference to the way your car handles and can even improve safety due to better grip and braking distances. They also last longer so are good for long-range driving.

For the more seasoned commuter, or if you spend a lot of time on the motorway, a mid-range tyre would be best. We appreciate that not everyone is a keen driver, but at the same time it's a sensible idea to have a tyre that's best to last.