Three peak symbol on tires
 

Has anyone tried the year round tires with the new three peak symbol for snow performance? Michelin CrossClimate is one example. TireRack had a test of them, but I'd like to hear from an actual buyer. These tires are advertised to be better than M+S tires but not quite as good as dedicated winter tires in snow/ice. The plus is being able to run them year 'round and still have decent tread life. I have a 2017 A4 allroad. Thanks.

I knew a Michigan State Trooper that had them on his SUV (K-9 Unit). I think they were Nokians. He said they were OK. Not great in summer, better than all season in winter, good in rain, but were noisy and definitely lacking when pushing it at higher speeds. I do know that the Michigan State Police extensively test equipment before approving specifications. So they must have decided that rather than switch out wheels (require a lot of maintenance hours and expense of extra wheels) and given the high demand in the snowy climate (especially SW MI where white out and pile ups are a weekly event on I-94), it was a fair compromise. Especially on a SUV.

... bottom line, there si no such thing as a all season tire. You always have compromises in dry and warm conditions vs. ice, snow and wet. They are often called "no-season tires". But if you drive fairly conservative in summer, or live in a climate like the pacific NW, of the Northeast without a real summer or a very ,very short one, it is probably a much better option than all season tires.

EE, this is a new class of tire referred to as "all-weather". I think 6 tire mfrs are producing them now. Some of these tires are supposed to be better performing than some dedicated snow tires.

FYI:
 

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...1490735457.jpg

The 3PMSF (three peak mountain snow flake) symbol has been around for quite some time, and is a certified standard for winter tyres in terms of grip levels in extreme conditions. It is not specific to all-season tyres, and most would not reach this level of certification.

There is no certification standard for M&S. In the EU, it has been mandatory for trucks to use 3PMSF tyres on the drive axle in winter since 2011. Germany has made it mandatory for passenger cars since 2017, M&S is no longer enough.

Whilst I share the view of others here that dedicated summer and winter tyres is preferable, I would not get an all-season tyre without the 3PMSF symbol if I lived in a place where it snows. The CrossClimate seems a decent example of these newer all-seasons which should provide better winter performance, based on the review below. These guys run a website that consolidates tyre reviews around the web, which I find a very useful resource. They also do their own reviews on occasion:

Nice video. Is that A3 FWD?

Yes, FWD TDI. They mentioned it within the comments section on YouTube, plus no quattro badge on the front grill.

I should have added for the OP that those guys have recently done a video rating a number of all-season tyres. Whilst some of these may not be available in the US, it is an excellent report because it discusses (and graphs) the various compromises between tyre types. Also discussing braking distances, which for me is an important consideration: