| Test Summary | |
| Wet Braking |
Michelin CrossClimate |
| Dry Braking |
Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 |
| Wet Handling |
Nankang N607 |
| Wear |
Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 Michelin CrossClimate |
| Rolling Resistance |
Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 Pirelli Cinturato AllSeason |
| Noise |
Pirelli Cinturato AllSeason Vredestein Quatrac 5 Hankook Kinergy 4S |
| Snow Braking |
Michelin CrossClimate |
| Snow Handling |
Nokian WeatherProof |
| Ice Braking |
Hankook Kinergy 4S |
This year Auto Bild put ten all season tires, plus a summer and winter reference tire, through the usual series of dry, wet, snow, NVH and rolling resistance tests. The snow and ice tests were were done in the arctic circle at below freezing conditions, while the dry and wet testing were done at a rather toasty 25c.
The New Tires
Michelins entry into this market segment was a surprise, and the new CrossClimate tire doesn't like to be called an "all season" tire, but a summer tire with winter capabilities. This has left us wondering whether it's the perfect tire for the UK climate, as traditional all season tires overly focus on snow and ice performance, instead of the wet grip we need for the UK winters.
Goodyear have ruled the all season market with the Vector 4Season, which has always had an extremely strong snow performance. While the original Vector 4Season was usually near best in category in the wet, it never really got close enough to the summer reference tire to be classed as a true all season tire, until now. With the gen-2 Vector 4Season tire, Goodyear seem to have followed the same path as Michelin, and traded a little snow performance for wet grip.
So which of the two tires is best for the UK? That depends on your preference. The Michelin and the Goodyear trade blows in the wet and dry, with the Goodyear narrowly beating the Michelin in the wet, and the Michelin being slightly stronger in the dry. The dog fight continues with the rest of the tests - the Michelin is slightly quieter, the Goodyear has slightly better rolling resistance, the Michelin does more miles, but then the Goodyear is slightly cheaper so the price per mile is almost identical. In the end, the snow performance of the Goodyear wins it for Auto Bild overall, but either tire would be a fine choice for the UK. The magazine negates to touch on the subjective differences of the tires, something we're looking into in the next few weeks.
Other tires
The Auto Express test winning Nokian WeatherProof could only manage fifth place, struggling with dry handling and finishing last in the dry lap, and the Pirelli Cinturato All Season which only managed fifth in Auto Express, finished third with a very balanced wet and dry performance.
The other new tire in the test, the Hankook Kinergy 4S offered the best value (mileage divided by price) but was slightly weaker than the best in the wet.
The Results
Below are the full results. As usual, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the page with your questions and thoughts
