Test Summary | |
Best Dry Braking: | Michelin CrossClimate SUV |
Best Dry Handling: | Michelin CrossClimate SUV |
Best Wet Braking: | Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV |
Best Wet Handling: | Continental AllSeasonContact |
Best Straight Aqua: | Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210 |
Best Snow Braking: | Nokian WeatherProof SUV |
Best Snow Handling: | Continental AllSeasonContact |
Best Noise: | Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV |
Best Price: | Gripmax Status AllClimate |
Best Rolling Resistance: | Continental AllSeasonContact |
As usual, all seven tire patterns were tested in the dry, wet and snow, and as a reference Auto Bild included a premium summer and winter tire.
As we've seen before, the balance of all season vs summer tires follows a general trend. Summer tires do the best in the wet and dry, but cannot perform in snowy conditions.
When it comes to comparing all season tires against winter tires, things get a little more muddled. In this test the unnamed premium winter tire only won the aquaplaning test. It was strong in the snow, but not the strongest on test, and while it was weaker in the dry and wet than most of the all season tires, it wasn't the worst. It just goes to show, the range of all season tires abilities can span from dry optimised, like the Michelin Crossclimate to a winter tire beating all season tire, like the Nokian Weatherproof.
The dry braking results yielded no big surprises, with the summer tire and Michelin CrossClimate leading the pack. The Continental was the best of the rest, with the winter bias Nokian Weatherproof struggling to stop the SUV in dry conditions.
The dry handling results were similar to the dry braking, with the summer and Michelin leading the pack.
During wet braking, the Vredestein and Continental were closest to the summer tires distances, just 0.1 meters off. The Nokian, Falken struggled compared to the best on test, and the budget GripMax was shockingly bad.
As with the dry handling results, the wet handling results showed a similar order to wet braking.
The straight aquaplaning results had the reference winter tire winning the test, with the summer in the middle of the all season tires.
The winter bias Nokian all season tire won snow braking, stopping in a shorter distance than even the full winter tire! Continental Did a great job of mixing dry, wet and snow results by finishing second.
The Continental and Nokian were again the strongest tires during snow handling, besting the full winter tire. The summer tire could not complete a lap of snow handling, so didn't set a time.
The Goodyear was the only tire to match the low noise of the summer tire.
The Continental and Michelin had the lowest rolling resistance on test, but were some of the most expensive tires to purchase at the time of test.
1st: Vredestein Quatrac 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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An excellent all season tire with great performance in all weather conditions. Good balance and precise steering, short wet and snow braking, well priced. None mentioned. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd: Michelin CrossClimate SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A strong allrounder with sport dynamic handling in the dry, and good in the snow and wet. Low rolling resistance. Expensive. Read Reviews Buy from £171.00 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd: Continental AllSeasonContact | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Excellent in the snow, dynamic wet handling, good comfort levels, low noise, best rolling resistance on test. Understeer in the dry. Read Reviews Buy from £143.30 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th: Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Short snow and wet braking distances, low noise, low rolling resistance. Average snow cornering, understeer in the dry. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th: Nokian WeatherProof SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Strong winter abilities, good aquaplaning result, low noise. Extended wet and dry braking, understeer in the dry. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6th: Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good aquaplaning result. Slow steering, understeer and long braking distances in the wet, average comfort. Read Reviews Buy from £133.45 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th: Gripmax Status AllClimate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Low rolling resistance, low price. Very poor grip in the wet and snow, very long wet braking distances, poor dry handling. Read Reviews |