Featured: 2022 Tire Reviews Winter Tire Test

For this year's Tire Reviews winter tire test, we've got nine sets of the most popular winter tires, half of which are brand new tires for this year!

As always I'll be testing in the snow, wet and dry, and looking at rolling resistance, noise and comfort, to ensure you get the best overview of all the new winter tires!

Featured: 2022 Tire Reviews All Season Tire Test

All season tires are trying to be one tire for every situation, but as we know no tire can excel in every category, meaning tire manufacturers often take away from one area to be better in another.

So, which all season tire is best for YOUR own needs? To find out Tire Reviews has ten of the most popular all season tires on the market, and will be testing them in the snow, dry and wet, noise, comfort and rolling resistance!

The tire size I'm testing is massively popular 225/45 R17, and while there might not be any new names in the test this year, a different size and different testing location means we're likely to get some interesting results! The Michelin Crossclimate 2 stormed to victory last year in 16", will this year be any different?

Featured: 2022 Tire Reviews All Terrain Tire Test

In this test we'll be testing nine of the most popular all terrain tires to see which has the most grip in the dry, wet, AND offroad, and also to see which uses the least gas, and which has the best comfort and lowest noise in the real world. Basically, everything you'll ever need to know about these all terrain tires!

Featured: 2022 Tire Reviews 17 Inch Summer Tire Test

The Michelin Pilot Sport 5 is new to market, but so is its main rival, the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6! 

To find out which of these new ultra high performance tires are best, I use a VW Golf GTI wearing 225/45 R17 tires and test the dry, wet, comfort, noise and rolling resistance of nine sets of performance tires, to see if the new PS5 or Asym 6 can retain their crowns, or whether another brand of tire will prove to be best!

Featured: What is ACTUALLY new with the Michelin Pilot Sport 5?

Michelin has just launched the new Michelin Pilot Sport 5, and it looks to be a very interesting, but perhaps not what we expected, update!

First up, some general information to clear up some confusion online. This tire is not a replacement for the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 AND 4S. The Michelin Pilot Sport 5 (PS5) directly replaces the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (PS4), and while there's been no official announcement about the replacement of the Pilot Sport 4 S (PS4S), it is likely this will be replaced at some point in the future.

The "non-S" version of the Pilot Sport summer tire range has always been aimed at smaller wheel sizes, and is slightly less performance orientated than the "S version". As an example, in Europe the Pilot Sport 4 was available from 16" to 22" wheel sizes, and aimed at the segment of cars and SUVs which need less ultimate performance, and a little more comfort.

This is the segment of user the PS5 is aimed at.

The Pilot Sport 4 S, in Europe at least, started in 19" for most of its life and went up to 23", offering slightly improved dry and wet grip and handling, at the expense of a little comfort and rolling resistance. The differences were small, but they existed.

North America is a slightly different market, and they had almost no sizes of the PS4 instead having the PS4S in 16" and above. According to the press releases it's likely that North America will have a little more availability of the PS5, especially while we're globally waiting for the replacement of the PS4S.

Tire Reviews will first be testing the PS5 in March against all it's premium rivals, including the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, but there are some key things we can learn from the press releases and data floating around online. Or more to the point, some of the lack of data...

Featured: 2022 Tire Reviews UUHP Summer Tire Test

It's the 2022 Tire Reviews Ultra-Ultra High Performance Summer Tire Test! You can watch the video here, or scroll down for the full write up and data!

In this tire test, I'll be testing ten of the most popular ultra-ultra high performance tires on the market to find out exactly what tire is best at what.

2022 ViBilagare Nordic SUV Winter Tire Test

We're going to let the test do the talking for this one. The excellent Swedish testers at ViBilagare have tested eight SUV studless friction winter tires, included the new Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 SUV and Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V3 using a Volvo V40 wearing 235/55 R18 tires. Fortunately, where the tire patterns match those in the Tire Reviews Nordic Winter Tire Test, the results are very similar!

2022 Studded Winter Tire Test

Sadly here at Tire Reviews we've not had time to do a studded tire test for 2022, but fortunately the excellent testers at the Nordic publication Vibilagare have tested eight sets of studded winter tires to show us which of the studded tires on the market are the best! While the test size is an SUV size (235/55 R18) and the test vehicle a Volvo XC40, these results should give you an idea of the balance between the tires in all sizes.

As you would hope, the tires have been tested in the dry, wet, snow and ice. Which is of course the reason studded tires exist.

The data is interesting, and in full below, but as we saw in the Tire Reviews Studless Winter Tire Test there is a pretty clear inversion between the tires which priorities wet performance, and the tires which priorities ice performance.

2022 UHP All Season Tire Test

In this mini test I compare the plus version of the best ultra high performance all season tires on the market, the Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS+, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus, the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 and the Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus in the dry, wet and snow to see which is the best tire overall! Can the current champion, the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 retain it's lead? Only one way to find out!

2022 Sport Auto All Season Tire Test

The testing heros at Sport Auto have answered a question we've all wanted to know the answer to! Just how good are all season tires in large wheel sizes on a performance vehicle?

To answer this, Sport Auto have tested six of the best all season tires, and included a NAMED summer and winter tire, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport UUHP summer tire, and the test winning Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 winter tire.

It's a good test.

2022 Tire Reviews Studless Winter Tire Test

Snow tires, studless friction tires, extreme winter tires, nordic winter tires. This category of tire goes by many names, and they have one design goal, to be the very best on snow and ice for harsh winter climates, where studded tires aren't appropriate, or for people who don't want studs.

To find out which is the best, Tire Reviews has taken 7 of the most popular tires available to both the North American and Nordic markets, and will be putting them through a full range of tests, including ice, snow, wet and dry testing to find out which is best at what. Also, to help you understand where these tires fit in the market, I'm also including the very best of the central european and studded winter tires, the Continental WinterContact TS870 and the studded Nokian Happapelliita 10.

2022 Auto Bild Winter Tire Test

Following on from the fifty six winter tire braking shootout, these are the top twenty winter tires in the full Auto Bild Full Winter Tire Test! 

As with the Auto Bild All Season tire test, Auto Bild have performed one of the best winter tire tests of the year, and have even tested wear! Overall the results are going to cause a little confusion, as the Michelin Alpin 6 wins this test overall, after performing relatively poorly in the 2022/23 Tire Reviews Winter Tire Test.

While the test sizes are similar, both 17" wheels, it's important to note that the Tire Reviews test was 225/45 R17 and this test 215/55 R17. This result for the Alpin 6 is far more in line with the norm for the French winter tire, which makes us further believe there was a problem with the tires we tested this year. In short, there's no need to avoid the Michelin Alpin 6!

2022 Auto Bild SUV Winter Tire Test

The 2022 Auto Bild SUV tire test has tested ten sets of performance suv winter tires in the popular 225/45 R19 size using a BMW X1, and included a reference summer tire so we can compare the differences.

2022 Auto Bild All Season Tire Test

Auto Bild tests are always amongst the best in the industry, and this year Auto Bild have taken things a step further. Not only did Auto Bild start with 25 all season tires in the popular 195/55 R16 size and test them in dry and wet braking to get the best 15 for the full test below, they've also tested things Tire Reviews was unable to test in the Tire Reviews 2022 all season tire test, including real world fuel use, the all important wear test, and new for this year, they tracked the abrasion of the tires to see which tire gives off the least particulates to the environment, which is separate from projected tire life!

2022 All Season Tire Market Overview

Once a year, the wonderful people at the German publication Auto Bild take a huge number of all season tires through a wet and dry braking, to find the very best to include in their full test.

Fortunately, this year is no different, and below you'll find the wet and dry braking results of thirty five all season tires, and a summer and winter reference tire, with the top fifteen going through to the full test which will be on the site next week.

2022 Auto Zeitung Winter Tire Test

The 2022 Auto Zeitung performance winter tire test has tested eight popular winter tires in 225/45 R17.

Continental, Bridgestone and Michelin all perform well, with the Continental WinterContact TS870 taking another win in 2022 winter tire tests thanks to a well balanced performance in all conditions, the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 performing extremely well in the dry and wet, and the Michelin Alpin 6 offering good grip in all conditions.

2022 AMS Winter Tire Test

The first winter tire test for 2022 is here, and it's the Auto Motor Und Sport UHP winter tire test! This year AMS tested eight patterns in 245/45 R19 using an Audi A6 test vehicle.

There's almost nothing surprising about this test, it's nice when a test makes sense. At the front we have the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 and Continental WinterContact TS870P (two of Tire Reviews favorite UHP Winter tires), with the wet masters Vredestein and Bridgestone following them up in third and fourth places overall.

Pirelli Cinturato and Scorpion WeatherActive Launched

Pirelli has just launched their first North American market "all weather" tires, the Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive and Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive.

As these tires are both Three Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol marked (3PMS), these tires promise improved winter performance when compared to North American "all season tires" (which are different from European all season tires) while still offering outstanding grip in the wet and a 60,000 mile treadwear warranty!

Bridgestone Turanza 6 - First Details

The Bridgestone Turanza 6 has just been announced as the successor to the popular Bridgestone Turanza T005! The T005 is a multiple test winning tire, often leading in the wet, and the new Turanza 6 promises to improve the wet performance further, while lowering the rolling resistance which should be good news for both IC and EV drivers.

The only details we currently have are from the press release below, but thanks to Bridgestone having the tire tested by the independent test body TUV, we have some initial data.

TUV tested the tire in 245/45 R18 using a BMW 5 Series against the Continental PremiumContact 6, Michelin Primacy 4+ and Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2.

2022 Auto Bild SUV All Season Tire Test

The 2022 Auto Bild SUV all season tire test has tested eleven popular all season tires in 225/50 R18 tire size and included a summer and winter tire as comparison references! 225/50 R18 is a small sidewalled tire for an SUV,  this is aimed at the more compact crossover SUV all season tire market, with Auto Bild using a BMW X2 for the testing.

2022 Auto Express Summer Tire Test

The 2022 Auto Express summer tire test is here! For 2022 Auto Express tested seven ultra high performance summer tires in the popular 225/40 R18 tire size!

As always, we will steer you towards the Auto Express website to see the full details of the test, but we do have a few comments to make.

2021 EVO Summer Tire Test

For 2021 EVO magazine tested nine sets of UHP / UUHP tires in the popular 225/40 R18 size. That size in particular offers some interesting issues as companies like Bridgestone and Goodyear offer their UUHP products in that size, but companies like Continental and Michelin do not.  

The test was conducted using an Audi S3 which has a haldex type based four wheel drive system, which is fairly uncommon in tire testing. EVO spend a lot of time rating the subjective handling, noise and comfort of  the tires on the road and track, which means they put more score weighting on subjective data than any other publication. This makes the results really interesting for those of us who enjoy driving.

The Porsche N Rating for OE tires is Changing for the Better

If you're lucky enough to own a Porsche vehicle, you're likely aware of the N rating tire program, and just how confusing tire buying outside of a Porsche dealer can be.

Fortunately, thanks to a smart update to the N rating system, tire shopping is about to get a whole lot easier!

Continental PremiumContact 7 - Press Release

If you're a regular reader of Tire Reviews you'll know we're a big fan of the Continental PremiumContact 6's dynamic handling qualities, so we're super excited to announce the first sizes of the Continental PremiumContact 7 will be launched in the coming months! The only details we have so far can be found in the press release for the PC7 below, but rest assured Tire Reviews is working on being the first to independently test the new PremiumContact 7.

2022 Auto Express SUV Tire Test

Auto Express tested seven sets of 235/55 R18 SUV tires for their 2022 summer tire test.

All New Pirelli Scorpion Range - Launched

The Pirelli Scorpion range of tires is synonymous with SUV vehicles, and with the market growing faster than any other type of vehicle, it's big news that Pirelli have just released three new products for the segment.

Pirelli is the leading brand in terms of SUV homologations, with 40% more SUVs leaving the factories on Pirelli tires than any other tire brand. This means that the starting point for the new Scorpion range of tires was already at a high place, yet Pirelli have managed to extend the performance of these tires in all key areas, without sacrificing any aspect of the tire.

Bridgestone WeatherPeak - Launched

The new Bridgestone WeatherPeak is Bridgestones first attempt at an all weather tire for the North American market, and if the initial data is correct, it could be the first tire to knock the dominant Michelin CrossClimate 2 from its top spot!

2022 Track Day Tire Test

With 2022 seeing the launch of the track day specific Bridgestone Potenza Race, the German publication Auto Bild have decided to see how the new Bridgestone fairs up against its key rivals in the segment, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Connect, Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R, and Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport R.

As usual with Auto Bild tests they have been extremely thorough, not just testing the dry track performance of the tire, but also looking at long run wear, wet grip, and dry and wet braking performance of the track specific rubber.

Hankook Ventus iON S - Launched

Hankook are one of the tire manufacturers leading the charge developing specific ranges of EV (electric vehicle) tires, with the culmination of their work being the new iON range.

As you would expect, the new iON range of EV specific tires focus on less energy usage, enabling the driver to go further on a single charge, lower noise levels, with Hankooks sound absorber material inside the tire, all while keeping excellent performances in the dry and wet.

The new Hankook Ventus iON S and SX (for SUVs) covers the summer range and is available to buy now, with the winter Hankook Winter i*cept iON due later this year. There is also an all season tire specifically for North America, more on that in the near future.

At time of writing there has been no chance to test the new iON tire, so instead you can read the press release below, and keep an eye on the site for when Tire Reviews gets chance to get the new range of tires.

Hankook Ventus iON S: new summer tire for e-cars to join global tire family ­

• ­Greater range per battery charge and a quieter drive
• Efficient, redeveloped product available in sizes 18 to 22 inches
• TÜV SÜD* certified: conflict of objectives successfully managed­­ ­ ­

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S vs Cup 2 vs Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar 3 vs 3R vs Toyo R888R

It doesn't take much to make me happy, but a Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE at Nelson Ledges with five sets of tires ranging from treadwear 300 to treadwear 100... well that's a very easy place to be happy.

The reason for this test was to see if a lower treadwear value, which is a number the American Uniform Tire Quality Grade (UTQG) standards body assign to a tire based on a basic wear test, really does mean more grip, but it turned out to be a fascinating insight into some of the big hitting tires used on track in North America.

Watch the video below for the full details.

Everything you need to know about the Michelin CrossClimate 2 SUV

Michelin have just announced the successor to the hugely popular Michelin CrossClimate SUV all season / all weather tire, the new Michelin CrossClimate 2 SUV!

As with the CrossClimate 2 launch, Michelin are heavily focused on the overall performance of the new SUV four season tire, claiming to be the leader in braking on snow covered, dry and wet roads, and being the leader in longevity.

The New Bridgestone Potenza Race Looks to be an Excellent Track Tire!

Bridgestone have just released their new Bridgestone Potenza Race road-legal semi slick, and according to initial data, it looks to be an exceptional dry weather tire!

New semi-slick track day tires are a rare occurrence, with the last major release being the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport R in 2019 and the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Connect in 2020, so the new Bridgestone has a few years on the existing products. Even considering that advantage, the data looks good!

The independent testing organisation TUV tested the new Potenza Race against the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport R, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Connect and Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R in 245/35 R19 using a Mercedes AMG A45S using the (extremely long) Nardo handling circuit.

The average lap time of three laps was: Bridgestone Potenza Race - 2:35.39,  Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R - 2:37.62, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Connect - 2:37.87, and Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport R - 2:37.89

The Bridgestone Potenza RE-71RS is coming to North America

In 2021 Tire Reviews tested eight sets of 200tw track day tires, but sadly due to the Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R being discontinued and the replacement RE-71RS not being available in North America at the time, Bridgestone were missing from the test. Many people questioned the omission in the comments, as the RE71R was a much loved tire, and were disappointed to find out it was no longer available.

Fortunately, Bridgestone have answered all our prayers and have just announced they are bringing the Bridgestone Potenza RE-71RS to North America! Initially it will be available in 38 sizes in the US and Canada, ranging from smaller 15 inch wheels, all the way to 20 inches!

2022 ViBilagare Eco vs Normal Tire Test

If like me you've been wondering exactly how low rolling resistance / eco / EV tires differ from their regular counterparts, this is the test for you!

The wonderful people at the Swedish publication ViBilagare have tested ten sets of tires in the popular 205/55 R16 size, and included "normal" AND "eco / EV" tires from Continental, Michelin and Nokian. This means we have the Continental PremiumContact 6 vs EcoContact 6, Michelin Primacy 4 vs e.Primacy and Nokian Hakka Blue 3 vs Green 3 (these are the Nordic specific versions of the Nokian WetProof.)

Why no eco / low rolling resistance / EV tires from Goodyear and Bridgestone? This test highlights the different approaches of certain tire manufacturers, and while Tire Reviews isn't sure on Bridgestones philosophy, Goodyear firmly believe that EV specific tires aren't needed if you make all your tires EV Ready, by focusing on low fuel consumption and excellent grip in all conditions for every tire.

2022 AutoBild 19 Inch Summer UHP Tire Test

For AutoBild's third summer tire test for 2022, the German publication tested ten sets of 245/40 R19 tires using a BMW 5 Series.

As this is the first test with both the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 AND Continental SportContact 7, it makes for a very interesting test!

The new Goodyear wins overall thanks to excelling in nearly every test, other than aquaplaning (though strangely Auto Bild still said the tire has good aquaplaning reserves, we're not sure why.)

The SportContact 7 was the fastest tire in the dry and had the best dry braking, however it couldn't match the stellar wet performance we found in the Tire Reviews 2022 UUHP Tire Test.

2022 AutoBild SUV 4x4 Summer Tire Test

Autobild are at it again, with the best SUV / mild 4x4 summer tire test you'll see all year (Tire Reviews sadly isn't doing one)! The German publication have tested ten leading SUV tires in the popular 235/55 R18 tire size using a VW Tiguan, and have managed to test the tires in the usual range of tests covering the dry and wet performance of the tires, but also test them on grass, dirt, gravel and even sand!

To add even more awesomeness Autobild included the multiple award winning Goodyear Vector 4Season Gen 3 all season tire. There's been a number of driver reviews on Tire Reviews claiming that an all season tire is actually pretty cabible in certain offroad conditions, and now we get to see!

2022 AutoBild Sports Cars UHP Summer Tire Test

The 2022 Autobild Sportscars summer tire test has tested eleven 225/45 R18 sizes using a BMW 3 Series, but has also tested four of the SAME sets in a staggered 225/45 R18 front and 255/4 R18 rear size to compare the two different options.

First up, the main test. Sadly the test was missing Goodyear and Pirelli, and interestingly the testers found the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 not only to be the best, but also to have the sportiest handling, something we're don't see often.

Even more surprising was that the Vredestein Ultrac Vorti+ finished joint first, beating every tire in the wet handling test and ending up with enough points to match the Pilot Sport 4.

It was the test of ties, with the Falken FK510 and Toyo Proxes Sport A finishing joint third and the Bridgestone Potenza Sport and Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3 finishing joint fifth.

2022 Auto Bild Summer Tire Test

The 2022 AutoBild summer tire is here! As usual, the test started out as a wet and dry braking test of fifty sets of tires in the popular 215/55 R17 size, with the best twenty one moving through to this full test. Not only have AutoBild managed to test the new Hankook Ventus Prime 4 and Kumho Ecsta HS52, they've also put all twenty one sets of tires through a wear test, and included an (unnamed) all season tire as a reference in the grip tests!

The Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 won the test by combining good grip in the dry and wet, very low rolling resistance and the best wear on test. Even though it wasn't the cheapest tire, when AutoBild divided the purchase price by the projected mileage it also proved to be the best value tire on test, a very impressive showing from Goodyear.

2022 Sport Auto UHP, UUHP and Semi Slick Tire Test

For summer 2022, Sport Auto tested four sets of UHP tires, three sets of UUHP and three semi set of slick track day tires, all in the popular 235/35 R19 size! This is of course very interesting, and in parts a little confusing! 

As the Tire Reviews database doesn't yet have the ability to deal with different types of tires in the same test gracefully, we'll run over the results below before presenting all the data.

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 - Press Release

Here at Tire Reviews we're always excited about new tires, and you can always guarantee a new tire in Goodyear's much loved Asymmetric range peaks our excitement.

The Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 was a multiple test winning tire, including the 2021 Tire Reviews UHP tire test, so to learn that the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 promises to improve the outgoing model in the dry and wet, while also lowering the rolling resistance so the tire is "EV ready" sounds almost too good to be true.

Rest assured, we're working flat out to perform one of the first tests of the new Asymmetric 6 early next year, and for now you can read the press release below. It will be available for purchase January 2022 in popular 17 and 18 inch wheel sides, with more coming across the first half of the year.

2022 is going to be another exciting year for tire testing.

Michelin CrossClimate 2 - Available Sizes

As you're probably aware, the Michelin CrossClimate 2 launched in Europe this month, and is a big improvement over the outgoing Michelin CrossClimate+ (you can see our review of the Michelin CrossClimate 2 vs CrossClimate+ here!) 

The most common question we've had since the tire launched has been "Is the CrossClimate 2 available in my size?" 

To answer this, here's a list of all sizes the Michelin CrossClimate 2 is available in Europe. There's a few more sizes due later this year, and a further expansion in 2022, however this is a really impressive launch list.