2018 Auto Bild 15 inch Summer Tire Test

It's worth keeping in mind, the twenty tires chosen for this test have been through a 51 tire wet and dry braking pretest. This means the tires included in this test are some of the best tires available on the market, had Auto Bild included some of the worst tires in the pretest, the gap between the best and the worst tires overall would have been much larger.

Dry

In the dry the Hankook dominated, winning both dry braking and dry handling tests. Firestone, which is a midrange brand developed by Bridgestone, beat its parent company to finish second in both dry tests, and the Maxxis Premitra HP5 was third best overall. 

Wet

While Bridgestone couldn't match its subrange Firestone in the dry, it dominates in the wet. The first showing of the new Turanza T005 proves Bridgestone have finally got on top of their wet weather issues, and win both wet braking and wet handling tests.

Uniroyal, a brand well known for their wet weather performance manages second during wet braking but struggles during the wet handling test, probably due to it's extremely soft sidewalls affecting the handling, while Hankook proves you can make a tire which works in both the wet and dry with the Prime 3 finishing third place in both wet braking and wet handling.

What the Uniroyal lacked in wet handling, it makes up for during aquaplaning testing, finishing a long way ahead of the second and third placed Avon and Goodyear.

Environment

The new brand, Giti prove to have the lowest fuel use on test by a significant margin, where Bridgestone blends low fuel use and wet performance better than any other tire.

Cost

While the Infinity and Maxxis are some of the cheapest tires on test (see third chart below), the Maxxis in particular proves to be very poor value due to having the highest wear.

The Fulda has the second lowest purchase price and the best projected wear, meaning the cost per 1000km is by far the best.

Results

The magazine scoring and testers notes below. As always, you can check out the Auto Bild website for the full details (in German)

1^st

Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Test winner with excellent all round driving qualities. Strong in the wet and wet with precise steering and short wet and dry braking. Good comfort, good value for money.

Average aquaplaning result.

Total: 40

Dry 9

Wet 7

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 7

Wear 5

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

2^nd

Continental Premium Contact 5

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Excellent premium tire without fault. Good steering and balance in the wet, short wet and dry braking. Quiet.

Expensive.

Total: 37

Dry 7

Wet 7

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 5

Noise 7

Wear 5

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

3^rd

Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Excellent aquaplaning safety, good steering precision and stable handling in the dry. Short wet and dry braking. Low wear.

Relatively high rolling resistance.

Total: 39

Dry 7

Wet 6

Comfort 7

Rolling Resistance 4

Noise 7

Wear 8

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

4^th

Firestone RoadHawk

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

A well priced summer tire with excellent handling, good steering precision and short braking in both the dry and wet. Good comfort.

Noisy.

Total: 36

Dry 8

Wet 7

Comfort 7

Rolling Resistance 5

Noise 4

Wear 5

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

5^th

Michelin Energy Saver

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Lowest wear and excellent rolling resistance. Short braking distances and precise handling in the dry.

Poor curved aquaplaning, high purchase price.

Total: 42

Dry 7

Wet 5

Comfort 5

Rolling Resistance 8

Noise 7

Wear 10

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

6^th

Pirelli Cinturato P1 Verde

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

A well balanced premium tire with safe handling in all conditions. Short wet and dry braking distances, good mileage.

Poor curved aquaplaning.

Total: 36

Dry 7

Wet 6

Comfort 5

Rolling Resistance 5

Noise 6

Wear 7

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

7^th

Bridgestone Turanza T005

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Top wet result, short wet and dry braking distance, stable dry handling, low wear and ow fuel use.

Average aquaplaning result, high price.

Total: 43

Dry 7

Wet 8

Comfort 8

Rolling Resistance 8

Noise 5

Wear 7

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

8^th

Fulda EcoControl HP

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Very good aquaplaning, good handling and excellent steering in the dry, lowest wear on test and lowest price.

Average wet braking.

Total: 42

Dry 7

Wet 5

Comfort 8

Rolling Resistance 5

Noise 7

Wear 10

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

9^th

Vredestein Sportrac 5

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Balance performance in the dry and wet, short dry braking distances, low noise, low wear.

Average aquaplaning result.

Total: 42

Dry 6

Wet 6

Comfort 8

Rolling Resistance 7

Noise 8

Wear 7

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

10^th

Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Best curved aquaplaning result, stable handling in the wet and dry.

Average fuel use, average mileage.

Total: 38

Dry 7

Wet 7

Comfort 7

Rolling Resistance 7

Noise 6

Wear 4

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

11^th

Dunlop Sport BluResponse

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Good aquaplaning result, stable handling in the wet and dry.

Average fuel use, average mileage.

Total: 36

Dry 7

Wet 6

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 7

Wear 4

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

12^th

Uniroyal RainExpert 3

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Best straight aquaplaning result, short wet braking distances.

High levels of understeer in the wet and dry.

Total: 34

Dry 4

Wet 7

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 5

Noise 6

Wear 6

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

13^th

Infinity Ecosis

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Stable dry handling, low noise, low price.

Average aquaplaning result, average mileage.

Total: 33

Dry 6

Wet 5

Comfort 4

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 8

Wear 4

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

14^th

Avon ZV7

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Good aquaplaning result, good comfort.

Understeer in the dry, average price.

Total: 31

Dry 4

Wet 6

Comfort 8

Rolling Resistance 3

Noise 6

Wear 4

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

15^th

BFGoodrich gGrip

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

VEry low wear, low rolling resistance, low fuel use.

Poor wet grip.

Total: 36

Dry 5

Wet 4

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 6

Wear 9

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

16^th

Cooper Zeon CS8

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Balance performance in the wet, good comfort.

Understeer in the dry, average wear, high rolling resistance.

Total: 29

Dry 4

Wet 6

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 2

Noise 7

Wear 4

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

17^th

Giti GitiSynergy E1

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Good comfort, good wear, lowest fuel use in test.

High understeer in the dry.

Total: 38

Dry 5

Wet 4

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 10

Noise 7

Wear 6

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

18^th

Kleber Dynaxer HP 3

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Low wear, good comfort, good value for money.

Limited wet grip, long dry braking.

Total: 34

Dry 4

Wet 4

Comfort 7

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 6

Wear 7

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

19^th

Nokian Line

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Short braking in the dry, low rolling resistance, good comfort levels.

Poor curved aquaplaning result, high wear.

Total: 30

Dry 5

Wet 5

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 6

Wear 2

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts

20^th

Maxxis Premitra HP5

195/65 R15

• 3PMSF: no

Short dry braking, balance wet performance.

Very high wear making the tire the worst value on test. Average comfort.

Total: 32

Dry 8

Wet 6

Comfort 4

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 7

Wear 1

Read Reviews Test Results Results Table Test Charts