I have been looking at new tires and had pretty much decided on the Energy Saver A/S for their low road noise, LRR, and acceptable price-to-treadwear ratio and braking. But I live in Los Angeles and I never drive on snow, and only rarely in rain. Is there an advantage to my trying to find a summer tire? It seems like most of the recommendations I've seen from Consumer Reports and Tire Rack are steering me towards an A/S tire. I'm most interested in low noise, LRR, and value per mile. I drive conservatively so anything with reasonable braking and handling would be fine. (This is for a 2013 prius; P195/65R15).
A true lrr summer tread is the right tool for the job and should provide better mpg but I only know of a few obsolete treads that would fit
There's a Michelin Energy Saver without the A/S suffix. Billed as Summer Touring by Michelin. Michelin Energy Saver Tires | Michelin Canada My 2 cents: it seems like "summer" tires are going extinct, supplanted by all-seasons. Probably for the best.
It also seems like summer tires are only made for performance vehicles. There are fewer and fewer passenger or "touring" summer tires. I guess there will be advantages in dry grip, dry cornering, wet grip and wet cornering. (The grip will also help with braking)