For most drivers of sedans, minivans, and crossovers, all-season tires make an ideal, versatile choice. There are all kinds of reasons why they make good sense: great wear properties with lengthy limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty coverage, year-round performance, capable handling, solid and composed road manners, low noise, and accommodating ride comfort. Not surprisingly, all-season tires are on the market at every price point you can imagine, from spendy premium-brand tires down to budget-priced tires from lesser-known brands.

The Travelstar UN106 is one of the more affordable all-season tires that’s available today. While many all-season tires have design features and construction that are pretty similar to each other, the Travelstar UN106 has some innovative design points that make it stand out a bit in the world of all-season tires. Let’s get in and take a closer look at what it has to offer with this Travelstar UN106 tire review:

Features and Benefits

Here are some of the innovative design features and details that make the Travelstar UN106 a standout performer and great value in the arena of all-season tires:

• The advanced silica-infused tread compound is designed for excellent wear properties and dependable traction on wet or dry roads
• Stylish 1” whitewall design
• M+S rated for winter conditions
• Internal construction details include a polyester casing with two steel belts and a nylon cap ply for stability
• Four wide circumferential grooves form a system with transverse grooves to enhance wet-weather performance and mitigate hydroplaning by efficiently routing water from the tire’s contact patch
• Continuous center rib is designed for confident straight-line stability and road manners as well as quick and light steering response
• Tread pitch is randomized and computer-tuned to keep road noise muted and disrupt certain frequencies and overtones

Pros and Cons

PROS:

• Very affordable price point
• Handling and cornering are steady and consistent
• Road manners are stable and sedate
• M+S rated for winter conditions

CONS:

• No limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty
• Not good in heavier snow
• Pattern noise can be louder on some pavement surfaces

SimpleTire’s view on Travelstar UN106 tires

Here at the SimpleTire team, the Travelstar UN106 has made a pretty good impression on us. In our opinion, this is a budget-priced tire that offers features and performance that far outweigh its low price.

Are you acquainted with SimpleScore? SimpleScore is a rating system that our team developed to assign a numerical value for the categories of handling, traction, and longevity, as well as an overall average SimpleScore for any given tire. We look at specs, review information and other data points, and then distill that down to a numerical score to give you a quick overview. For the Travelstar UN106, the SimpleScore numbers are:

Travelstar UN106

• Traction: 7.7
• Handling: 7.8
• Longevity: 7.6
• Overall average SimpleScore: 7.5

The Travelstar UN106 is a tire that has a lot to like. Handling is controlled and precise even when pushed close to the limit, with few vices and little apparent tendencies toward understeer or oversteer. At highway speed, straight-line stability is secure and steady, and steering response and driver feedback are quick and accurate without being overly sensitive or twitchy. In wet road conditions, the Travelstar UN106 feels confident and capable; its braking performance and handling aren’t compromised much from what you’d experience on dry pavement.

Cornering ability might not be up to the standards you’d expect from a performance tire, but it’s certainly competent and precise. This indeed is tire doesn’t perform well in heavier snow, but that’s not what a tire like the Travelstar UN106 was designed for. We also should mention here that this tire doesn’t come with a limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty for mileage, and that’s not unusual for a tire at this price point.

Even on rough or uneven pavement surfaces, ride quality is soft and composed and the Travelstar UN106 would be a great choice for an affordable all-season tire, one that would make a great replacement tire for an older vehicle, one where you need tires but don’t want to empty out a bank account to do it. SimpleTire’s price on the Travelstar UN106 starts at $53.99 per tire.

Vehicles the Travelstar UN106 is a good replacement tire for

While the Travelstar UN106 isn’t featured as the OEM tire for any new vehicles, it would be a great fit for cars and crossovers like these:

• Buick Encore
• Honda CR-V
• Nissan Pathfinder
• Hyundai Tucson
• Kia Telluride
• Mitsubishi Montero
• Chevrolet Sprint
• Chrysler Pacifica
• Dodge Caravan
• Fiat 500
• Ford Focus
• Nissan Rogue
• Subaru Outback
• Toyota Camry
• Volkswagen Atlas
• Acura TSX
• Audi A6
• Tesla Model 3