These Tires Give You The Most Bang For Your Buck, According To Consumer Reports

One of the downsides of owning a car is that even if it's perfectly reliable, you still have to replace the tires when they wear out. That can be expensive, with some sets of tires costing more than $1,000. There are, of course, cheaper tires out there, but like with a lot of things, buying the cheapest thing you can will often cost you more in the long run. So how do you find the right tire for you?

Thankfully, our friends at Consumer Reports recently published a list of the tires it considers the best value based on its testing. You won't necessarily see the cheapest tires on this list, but they're all strong performers that, most importantly, are also likely much more affordable when you divide the cost by how long they'll last. Click through to see which tires made it.

With a score of 68, the Michelin Defender2 doesn't have the highest overall score on this list, but that's to be expected from a tire that can do it all. And while you can also find less-expensive tires, the Defender2 will last long enough that Consumer Reports estimates it works out to about 20 cents per 100 miles, making it the best bang-for-your-buck tire on this list.

If you just don't have the money to buy the Michelins, the Hankook Kinergy XP is an excellent alternative. The downside is that in the long run, it will end up being slightly more expensive at 22 cents per 100 miles.

If you have an SUV, the best-value tire is likely the Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3. Get the tires for $229 each, and that works out to about 27 cents per 100 miles. Compared to many of the tires on this list, that's still a fantastic deal.

Both the Pirelli on the last slide and the Michelin CrossClimate2 have the same lifetime cost of 27 cents per 100 miles, so if that's all you're worried about, go for the Pirelli because it's cheaper. The Michelin, on the other hand, will last longer, helping offset its higher initial price. It also scored higher in testing.

If you haven't bought tires for a sports car recently, it may be surprising to hear that all-season performance tires exist and aren't a giant scam. These Vredestein HyperTracs are a great choice and should only cost about 28 cents per 100 miles. They're also especially good if you live somewhere hydroplaning is common.

Like the Vredesteins, the BFGoodrich G-force Comp-2 A/S plus will also run you about 28 cents per 100 miles, so in a sense, it's a wash. On the other hand, the BFGoodrich offers better handling and braking performance while giving up a bit in terms of hydroplaning. So the best choice between the two is likely going to depend on where you live.

Summer performance tires are an easy way to spend a lot of money fast, but the General G-Max RS comes in at about $150 and should work out to about 43 cents per 100 miles. That's more than double the per-mile cost of the Michelin Defender2, but no one ever said performance cars were cheap to keep on the road.

The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S has been one of the most popular performance tires on the market since it was introduced even though it costs about 50 percent more than a set of Generals. It also performed better in testing, helping justify its higher 57-cent cost per 100 miles.

Like most other drivers, truck owners tend to prefer putting one tire on their truck and not swapping it until it needs to be replaced. Pick up a set of Continental TerrainContact H/Ts, and you should be able to do exactly that for a cost of about 31 cents per 100 miles.

If you just can't bring yourself to pay more than $200 for a tire, the General Grabber HTS60 is a solid, less-expensive option that should last long enough to keep its cost per 100 miles in line with the Continental. Still, it comes out slightly higher at 33 cents.

If you do a good bit of off-roading and don't mind the extra noise, a set of all-terrain tires may be exactly what your truck needs. Pick up a set of Vredestein Pinza ATs, and it probably won't break the bank, either. Ultimately, the cost works out to about 35 cents per 100 miles.

Like most other Michelins, the LTX A/T2 costs more upfront than some of the competition, but this time, we're talking close to $300 per tire. That's a lot of money for some fancy rubber, but they should also last long enough that the cost per 100 miles comes out to only 36 cents. You get better performance and tire life than the Vredesteins offer, but that initial bill is still going to be a doozy.