Best tires for the Pontiac Torrent
Top picks across four categories for the Pontiac Torrent, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 235/65R16. Every recommendation is selected from our 22,000-tire catalog by ranking on UTQG treadwear, mileage warranty, cabin-noise rating, and season class; no commission-weighted reordering.
Daily driver
Best all-season touring
Long warranty, low noise, balanced ride. The one-tire compromise that works for 80% of owners.
Michelin
Defender 2
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Pontiac Torrent owners.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
UTQG 800 with a 90,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Pontiac Torrent owners.
Falken
Sincera SN201 A/S
Reinforced sidewall all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Bridgestone
Blizzak WS90
Touring-tuned winter compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
Continental
TrueContact tour
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
800 UTQG with a 90,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Michelin
Defender 2
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Yokohama
AVID ascend LX
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Lowest cabin noise
Best quiet
Tread patterns engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning. Pick this if you commute long highway distances daily.
Michelin
Defender 2
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Bridgestone
Blizzak WS90
71 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; well below the segment median. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cold-weather grip
Best winter
Dedicated winter or all-weather compounds that stay pliable below 7 °C. Necessary for >5 snow days a year.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Michelin Defender 2 | Best budget Continental TrueContact Tour | Best winter Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 800 | 800 | - |
| Mileage warranty | 80,000 mi | - | - |
| Cabin noise | 68 dB | - | 71 dB |
| Season class | all-season | - | winter |
| Type | touring | - | passenger |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the pontiac torrent use?
Recommendations on this page are anchored to the latest model-year's OEM size. Confirm yours against the driver-door placard before purchase.
| Year | OEM size | |
|---|---|---|
| 2006–2007 | 235/65R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2008–2009 | 235/50R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the pontiac torrent
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 235/65R16; and filtered our catalog of 22,000+ tires to those offered in that exact size. From there, four parallel rankings:
- Best all-season ranks on a weighted score: tire type matches passenger car segment, season is "all-season", premium brand bonus (Michelin / Continental / Bridgestone / Pirelli / Goodyear / Nokian).
- Best budget ranks on cost-per-warranty-mile; the lower the better. Premium brands get no bonus here.
- Best quiet ranks on the EU tire-label dB rating; lower is quieter.
- Best winter filters to tires marked 3PMSF severe-snow rated or all-weather class, with a small premium-brand bonus because winter-compound R&D is capital-intensive.
For sedans and compacts, the all-season touring tire below is the best default; long warranty, low cabin noise, reasonable cost per mile. Switch to the quiet pick if highway droning is a deal-breaker; switch to the winter pick if you see significant snow each year. Use the side-by-side comparison above to weigh the trade-offs against your specific driving; highway-heavy, winter-state, performance-oriented, or budget-constrained.
NHTSA-reported issues for pontiac torrent
Top issue category: TPMS
Reported across: 2009 – 2009 (1 year)
What owners described
Tread or belt separation is the most common description, in 13% of these reports. Percentages are shares of the 8 reports covering every model year of the Pontiac Torrent that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread or belt separation | 13% | 13% | 0.9× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 13% | 8% | 1.5× |
| Premature or uneven wear | 13% | 1% | 9.6× |
Mileage at failure
6 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 80,000 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 36,982 and 164,039 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Pontiac Torrent. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
I HAD TO REPLACE MY TIRES VERY EARLY ON DUE TO PREMATURE WEAR (I THINK ABOUT 35K MILES) SO THAT IS THE FIRST ISSUE. AFTER CHANGING MY TIRES, I NOTICED THE VEHICLE'S TRACTION CONTROL SEEMS TO FAIL. I WILL BE AT A DEAD STOP AND GO TO ACCELERATE WHEN MY TIRES SLIP AND THE TRACTION FLASHES. I HAD MY TIRES LOOKED AT AND THEY WERE DEEMED TO BE FINE. NOW THAT IT IS SNOWING, IT WAS AT ITS WORST TODAY. IT WAS FISHTAILING WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON SNOW/ICY ROADS AND THE TIRES WON'T GRIP THE ROAD AT ALL FOR THE FIRST 400 FEET OR SO EVERY SINGLE TIME I GO FROM A STOP. THIS IS RIDICULOUS AND I SHOULDN'T BE AFRAID TO DRIVE MY VEHICLE. I FELT MORE COMFORTABLE DRIVING MY PONTIAC VIBE OR GRAND AM IN SNOW THAN THIS AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE TRACTION CONTROL!! NOBODY IS TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY, BUT I SEE OTHER REPORTS. THERE SHOULD BE AN IMMEDIATE RECALL!!!
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 PONTIAC TORRENT EQUIPPED WITH DUNLAP SIGNATURE 2 TIRES, SIZE 235-65R16 AND DOT NUMBER TJ46JU1R3512. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FOUR TIRES FAILED PREMATURELY. THE TIRE TREAD SEPARATED AND CAUSED THE TIRES TO BECOME FLAT. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE TIRES WERE REPLACED. THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 164,039. THE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Pontiac Torrent →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Pontiac Torrent?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Pontiac Torrent?
Does the Pontiac Torrent need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Pontiac Torrent?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.