2021 Auto Zeitung Summer UHP Tire Test

The 2021 summer tire test season is kicking off early, with the excellent team at Auto Zeitung publishing their 10 set 225/40 R18 summer tire test during February!

As this test is out so early in the season, it means the testing would have been completed in late 2020, which means it's missing the new Bridgestone Potenza Sport, but it's still an excellent start to the year as AZ always dig into the subjectiveness of the tires, covering dry handling, wet handling and comfort!

All testing was carried out using a Seat Leon FR, and the popular 225/40 R18 UHP tire size should cover many mid-sized sporty cars, including the ever popular VW Golf, the front of a BMW 1 Series, the Audi TT and many other vehicles.

Dry

It might be a new year, but it's not a new result for dry braking testing, with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 once again taking the top spot by a significant margin, over the Continental PremiumContact 6. Maxxis also had an impressive showing with the ever impressive Maxxis Victra Sport 5.

Dry handling played to the Continentals sharp steering, giving the German tire an impressive win during dry handling. Michelin, Maxxis, Goodyear and Hankook all followed closely in a tight group.

Subjective handling was also very close, with only Continental ahead of the tires that impressed during dry handling.

Wet

Goodyear and Continental lead the way during wet braking testing, with the Goodyear Asymmetric 5 taking its first win. Falken again impressed with the FK510.

Wet handling brought another new winner, this time Pirelli with the Pirelli P Zero PZ4. Goodyear and Continental, which did so well during wet braking, dropped down the order during wet handling.

Pirelli also proved to have the best subjective wet handling, with the testers reporting a neutral balance and impressive feedback.

Dunlop, which struggled in the dry, had the best aquaplaning resistance by a large margin.

Environment

Nexen was the standout of subjective comfort scoring with the N Fera Sport SU2.

The Nexen also proved to have the lowest external drive by noise.

The Dunlop won its second test, having the lowest rolling resistance on test. Falken, Nexen and in particular, Pirelli had significantly higher rolling resistance than the group.

Below is the price for a full set of tires in the local currency (Euros)

Results

View Results as a single table and adjust the score weighting

1st: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
225/40 R18 92Y EU Label: E/A/71	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 4th +0.8 M 97.72% Dry Handling 4th +0.3 s 99.57% Subj. Dry Handling 2nd -1 Points 90% Wet Braking 1st 100% Wet Handling 7th +0.8 s 98.74% Subj. Wet Handling 3rd -2 Points 80% Straight Aqua 3rd -1.8 Km/H 97.54% Subj. Comfort 2nd -1 Points 88.89% Noise 5th +1.9 dB 97.32% Price 7th +90 76.92% Rolling Resistance 3rd +0.22 kg / t 97.44% Top marks in the wet and dry, plus low rolling resistance means the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 wins this test. Read Reviews    Buy from £78.39
2nd: Continental Premium Contact 6
225/40 R18 92Y EU Label: C/A/72	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 2nd +0.4 M 98.85% Dry Handling 1st 100% Subj. Dry Handling 1st 100% Wet Braking 2nd +0.2 M 99.52% Wet Handling 9th +1.1 s 98.27% Subj. Wet Handling 9th -5 Points 50% Straight Aqua 2nd -1.6 Km/H 97.82% Subj. Comfort 2nd -1 Points 88.89% Noise 9th +2.3 dB 96.78% Price 9th +110 73.17% Rolling Resistance 7th +0.5 kg / t 94.37% The PremiumContact 6 is strong in the dry, but not quite up to the best in the wet. Read Reviews    Buy from £87.49
3rd: Pirelli P Zero PZ4
225/40 R18 92Y EU Label: E/A/68	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 5th +0.9 M 97.44% Dry Handling 6th +0.4 s 99.42% Subj. Dry Handling 2nd -1 Points 90% Wet Braking 5th +3.2 M 92.9% Wet Handling 1st 100% Subj. Wet Handling 1st 100% Straight Aqua 10th -5.1 Km/H 93.04% Subj. Comfort 5th -2 Points 77.78% Noise 2nd +0.7 dB 99% Price 5th +60 83.33% Rolling Resistance 10th +1.61 kg / t 83.88% The Pirelli PZero PZ4 has a strong balance wet handling performance, propelling it to third overall. Read Reviews
4th: Michelin Pilot Sport 4
225/40 R18 92Y EU Label: C/A/71	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 1st 100% Dry Handling 2nd +0.2 s 99.71% Subj. Dry Handling 2nd -1 Points 90% Wet Braking 4th +2.9 M 93.53% Wet Handling 3rd +0.5 s 99.21% Subj. Wet Handling 6th -4 Points 60% Straight Aqua 5th -2.9 Km/H 96.04% Subj. Comfort 5th -2 Points 77.78% Noise 7th +2 dB 97.19% Price 10th +140 68.18% Rolling Resistance 4th +0.26 kg / t 96.99% Read Reviews    Buy from £90.99
5th: Falken Azenis FK510
225/40 R18 92Y EU Label: E/A/69	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 6th +1.1 M 96.89% Dry Handling 9th +0.8 s 98.85% Subj. Dry Handling 9th -5 Points 50% Wet Braking 3rd +0.9 M 97.9% Wet Handling 8th +0.9 s 98.58% Subj. Wet Handling 5th -3 Points 70% Straight Aqua 4th -2.7 Km/H 96.32% Subj. Comfort 5th -2 Points 77.78% Noise 4th +1.3 dB 98.15% Price 3rd +40 88.24% Rolling Resistance 8th +0.85 kg / t 90.79% Read Reviews    Buy from £71.99
6th: Nokian PowerProof
225/40 R18 92Y EU Label: C/A/69	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 6th +1.1 M 96.89% Dry Handling 6th +0.4 s 99.42% Subj. Dry Handling 6th -2 Points 80% Wet Braking 6th +4.7 M 89.91% Wet Handling 2nd +0.3 s 99.52% Subj. Wet Handling 2nd -1 Points 90% Straight Aqua 6th -3.4 Km/H 95.36% Subj. Comfort 5th -2 Points 77.78% Noise 10th +2.8 dB 96.11% Price 2nd +10 96.77% Rolling Resistance 5th +0.28 kg / t 96.77% Read Reviews    Buy from £69.99
7th: Maxxis Victra Sport 5
225/40 R18 92Y EU Label: C/A/72	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 3rd +0.5 M 98.56% Dry Handling 2nd +0.2 s 99.71% Subj. Dry Handling 2nd -1 Points 90% Wet Braking 8th +7.8 M 84.31% Wet Handling 4th +0.6 s 99.05% Subj. Wet Handling 3rd -2 Points 80% Straight Aqua 9th -3.8 Km/H 94.82% Subj. Comfort 5th -2 Points 77.78% Noise 5th +1.9 dB 97.32% Price 6th +70 81.08% Rolling Resistance 6th +0.4 kg / t 95.44% Read Reviews    Buy from £79.00
8th: Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2
225/40 R18 92Y EU Label: C/A/68	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 10th +1.9 M 94.75% Dry Handling 10th +0.9 s 98.71% Subj. Dry Handling 10th -6 Points 40% Wet Braking 7th +6.8 M 86.04% Wet Handling 5th +0.7 s 98.89% Subj. Wet Handling 6th -4 Points 60% Straight Aqua 1st 100% Subj. Comfort 2nd -1 Points 88.89% Noise 2nd +0.7 dB 99% Price 8th +100 75% Rolling Resistance 1st 100% Read Reviews    Buy from £77.79
9th: Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3
225/40 R18 92Y EU Label: E/A/72	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 8th +1.2 M 96.62% Dry Handling 4th +0.3 s 99.57% Subj. Dry Handling 7th -3 Points 70% Wet Braking 10th +8.7 M 82.81% Wet Handling 5th +0.7 s 98.89% Subj. Wet Handling 6th -4 Points 60% Straight Aqua 7th -3.5 Km/H 95.23% Subj. Comfort 10th -3 Points 66.67% Noise 8th +2.1 dB 97.05% Price 4th +50 85.71% Rolling Resistance 2nd +0.12 kg / t 98.59% Read Reviews    Buy from £75.39
10th: Nexen N Fera Sport SU2
225/40 R18 92Y EU Label: E/A/71	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 8th +1.2 M 96.62% Dry Handling 8th +0.6 s 99.14% Subj. Dry Handling 8th -4 Points 60% Wet Braking 9th +8.2 M 83.63% Wet Handling 10th +2.3 s 96.46% Subj. Wet Handling 10th -7 Points 30% Straight Aqua 8th -3.6 Km/H 95.09% Subj. Comfort 1st 100% Noise 1st 100% Price 1st 100% Rolling Resistance 9th +0.89 kg / t 90.4% Read Reviews    Buy from £78.39