Best Tires for the Lexus RC300H

I got these to replace the OE Bridgestones fitted to my Lexus RC300h. I tend to favor comfort over on-the-limit grip because a) I only drive on public roads, not race tracks, b) speed cameras, c) have you seen the size of the potholes? and d) the strange whining noise from the front passenger seat if I start to “press on” too enthusiastically.
From the word go, the rainsports were a night-and-day improvement over the Bridgestones. Dry grip s superb - maybe not track day superb but perfectly good for a tight exit slip road off the motorway taken a little too fast for comfort. Although these are classed as summer tires I ran them through a very cold November and December with temps below freezing at times and had no issues at all. Similarly, the wet weather performance is quite incredible. The confidence they inspire in the wet is excellent.
My one gripe is that the tires have no rim protection. Er, that’s it. Everything else is a 10/10 from me. There may be “better” tires but these do what I need them to do, they’re brilliant in the wet, good enough to use all year round, comfortable and priced very competitively. I’d get them again in a heartbeat.

I have used Vector 4 Season Gen 1 and now Gen 2 on my partners FWD Toyota Yaris. Also Michelin Cross Climates on a FWD Volvo and RWD MX5 and Cross Climate + on a RWD Lexus over the last 7 years. In the South of the UK and when i lived in Cumbria.

In past 9 months I bought a Lexus RC300H which was fitted with Bridgestones and was hugely annoyed to find that there was no all season tire available for the rear tire size (which are different to the front tire size). In winter specification you could only get rear tires of one compound / year and front tires of another compound / year with the same manufacturer so I was in a huge dilemma because although I live in the South in Oxfordshire I very frequently experience severe cold, icy and sometimes snowy roads due to the countryside location and also the height above sea level that I have to travel through every day to and from work. In fact where I live is often recorded as the coldest place in England .

So following lots of calculations / checks I decided on going from 265 to 255 on the rears and that enabled me to have a choice of all season tire that would be the same compound etc on all 4 wheels.

From personal experience of driving tens of thousands of miles on both brands I always felt that the Goodyear tires were better on snow and frosty inclines during severe weather compared to the Michelins. Although the Goodyears were on FWD cars with narrower tires which helps they 'felt' far better and even more noticable in the cold wet weather. I think this is because Michelin are a summer tire with winter capability whereas Goodyear are a winter tire with summer capability.

On this car my plan is to swap back to my Bridgestones for Spring and Summer so I did not need an all season tire that would work well during summer months so therefore opted for the Goodyear to get the best option for winter and i am so pleased that i did!

The Lexus RC300H while it has its 12V battery and more importantly Lithium battery packs at the rear below the boot it is known for being very tail happy in any cold / cold damp conditions. Well it has been completely the opposite with the Goodyears, I have now driven 2,000 miles on them since October through torrential downpours, muddy areas and extreme cold (this week been between -8 to +4 for 5 days so far) with lots of ice. I have been driving out on country roads from 06:30 @-4c to -8c and after 20:00 when it has been -2c to -5c each day and also at these times going up and down a private road that has a 1:6 slope with a hair pin bend and no gritting on it and it has been absolutely perfect. Not a single trigger of the LSD or other safety features has occurred, even more impressive is that I have witnessed two FWD cars one a Fiesta the other a Golf that I know have summer tires on them that have not been able to get up the slope at all during these temps.

In the crazy torrential rain that we have had they cut through the water so easily, you get a bit of noise from the water spraying out but it doesn't matter because you can feel it is sure footed and secure with no drift or aquaplaning ever experienced. I thought they would be good in the wet as the ones on my partner Yaris are superb.

Regarding noise in general use they are as quiet as the summer Bridgestones and so far they do not use anymore fuel in standard temperature either as I track / keep a spreadsheet of all fuel usage

My Michelins came a little unstuck on the slope mentioned above on my previous RWD Lexus and I sometimes had to park at top and walk down as otherwise could not get out in the morning but no such issue with the Goodyear Vector 4 Season Gen3. I have not been able to try them in anything other than very very light snow but am very confident they will be far superior to a summer tire.

They seem to be wearing evenly but I would expect this of a car not 5 years old and only 22,000 miles on the clock, although it is a very heavy coupe at 1,900kg.

I am so impressed with them that I am reconsidering if I will change back to the Bridgestones come Spring time. The only issue is those tires have only done 2,000 miles on them so I would rather swap to wear them out but once finished I think I will keep the Goodyears on all year around.