The 2020 ADAC SUV All season tire test has tested seven all season tires in the popular 235/55 R17, and include a summer tire in the dry and wet, and a winter tire during snow and ice testing.
ADAC usually hides all their data and just gives numeric scores, but this year have released braking distances for all four braking tests. This might be to back up their conclusion from this test, which is even the best all season tires are deficient compared to a summer and winter tire combination.
The other thing worth noting, ADAC gives 30% of the score weighting to snow and ice performance, which is ideal for the colder European climates, but less ideal for climates like the UK which see snow once every few years. As always, dig into the data yourself, as according to these results, the last placed Bridgestone might just be a better all season tire for the South of England than the other all season tires in this test.
Braking
The dry braking test (from 62 mph) really highlighted why ADAC believes a summer and winter tire combination is a safer year round option than an all season tire, as even the best all season tire still took an extra 21 feet to stop the SUV.
Dry Braking
Dry braking in feet
Lower is better ↓| Position / Tire | Result | Gap to best |
|---|---|---|
RefReference Summer |
121 ft | -22 ft |
| 143 ft | Best | |
| 144 ft | +1 ft | |
| 151 ft | +8 ft | |
| 154 ft | +11 ft | |
| 158 ft | +15 ft | |
| 158 ft | +15 ft | |
| 169 ft | +26 ft |
The difference between best and worst was 39.5% (48 ft ≈ 3.2 Car Lengths).
The Bridgestone A005 had an impressive advantage when stopping in the wet from 50 mph. The summer tire could only place third.
Wet Braking
Wet braking in feet
Lower is better ↓| Position / Tire | Result | Gap to best |
|---|---|---|
| 114 ft | Best | |
| 123 ft | +9 ft | |
RefReference Summer |
128 ft | +14 ft |
| 129 ft | +15 ft | |
| 130 ft | +16 ft | |
| 130 ft | +16 ft | |
| 132 ft | +18 ft | |
| 136 ft | +22 ft |
The difference between best and worst was 19.7% (22 ft ≈ 1.5 Car Lengths).
Snow braking from 31 mph was led by the winter tire, with Nokian, Uniroyal, Continental and Goodyear all performing well.
Snow Braking
Snow braking in feet
Lower is better ↓| Position / Tire | Result | Gap to best |
|---|---|---|
RefReference Winter |
82 ft | -4 ft |
| 86 ft | Best | |
| 88 ft | +2 ft | |
| 91 ft | +5 ft | |
| 91 ft | +5 ft | |
| 103 ft | +17 ft | |
| 109 ft | +23 ft | |
| 110 ft | +24 ft |
The difference between best and worst was 34.1% (28 ft ≈ 1.9 Car Lengths).
Ice braking from 19 mph again gave the winter tire a clear advantage.
Ice Braking
Ice braking in feet
Lower is better ↓| Position / Tire | Result | Gap to best |
|---|---|---|
RefReference Winter |
129 ft | -16 ft |
| 145 ft | Best | |
| 145 ft | 0 ft | |
| 145 ft | 0 ft | |
| 145 ft | 0 ft | |
| 152 ft | +7 ft | |
| 154 ft | +9 ft | |
| 159 ft | +14 ft |
The difference between best and worst was 23.2% (30 ft ≈ 2 Car Lengths).
Results
Continental AllSeasonContact
235/55 R17
All discipline results (8)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 4.8 |
| Wet | 6.8 |
| Snow | 6 |
| Ice | 7.2 |
| Rolling Resistance | 9 |
| Noise | 6 |
| Wear | 9 |
| Overall | 4.8 |
Total: 53.6
Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2
235/55 R17
All discipline results (8)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 4.4 |
| Wet | 6.8 |
| Snow | 4.8 |
| Ice | 7.2 |
| Rolling Resistance | 8.2 |
| Noise | 6.4 |
| Wear | 10 |
| Overall | 4.4 |
Total: 52.2
Michelin CrossClimate+
235/55 R17
All discipline results (8)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6.8 |
| Wet | 6.6 |
| Snow | 4.2 |
| Ice | 7.2 |
| Rolling Resistance | 8 |
| Noise | 6 |
| Wear | 10.8 |
| Overall | 4.2 |
Total: 53.8
Nokian WeatherProof
235/55 R17
All discipline results (8)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 4.2 |
| Wet | 6.2 |
| Snow | 6 |
| Ice | 6.6 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7.2 |
| Noise | 5.2 |
| Wear | 8 |
| Overall | 4.2 |
Total: 47.6
Uniroyal AllSeasonExpert 2
235/55 R17
All discipline results (8)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 3.4 |
| Wet | 6.6 |
| Snow | 6 |
| Ice | 7.2 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7.6 |
| Noise | 6.6 |
| Wear | 10 |
| Overall | 3.4 |
Total: 50.8
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
235/55 R17
All discipline results (8)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 4.2 |
| Wet | 6.8 |
| Snow | 1.6 |
| Ice | 6.6 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 6.6 |
| Wear | 10 |
| Overall | 1.6 |
Total: 44.4
Bridgestone Weather Control A005
235/55 R17
All discipline results (8)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6.8 |
| Wet | 8 |
| Snow | 1.2 |
| Ice | 7.2 |
| Rolling Resistance | 8.2 |
| Noise | 6.2 |
| Wear | 8 |
| Overall | 1.2 |
Total: 46.8
I wonder what the reference tire was...
Sadly it's not something autobild share
I am wondering, why are the results of ADAC for All Season tires so much worse than all the others, including your own. Where does this inconsistency comes from. OK, there can always be some discrepancy and some difference could be explained by temperature, but that is a bit much. Have you thought about asking ADAC for clarification?
There are certainly variations created by different size / vehicle / test locations, but the data here doesn't look too different from my own?
Auto Bild All Season test came out today too.
The difference (i.e. dry braking) between summer and all season is in your case much less than ADAC.
For wet at least ADAC use a low mu surface to make the gaps bigger, this is something I don't like as it's not realistic to real life.
OK, so their method might unrealistically favor summer tire...Something similar seems to be happening also in dry...Funny, they're not addressing deficiencies of Winter tires in dry...they seem a bit bias to me...
Wow, these all seasons do seem to be getting better - looking forward to hearing how the Vector 4 Seasons Gen-3 perform.
What's your current thinking for mid/south UK driving a RWD 2 liter family wagon? Torn between 1 set of cross climates, or running a summer/vector 4 mix.
All season test out next week, I just finished it!
Great to hear, look forward to reading next week.
Did you have a view (if garage space/money weren't an issue) on running two sets in the UK now or whether the best all seasons negate that for a non performance car? Or is that into spoiler territory for your review next week ;-)
Depends where in the UK, but I think a summer and all season combination is still better
Thanks for the clarification, appreciated.
Out of interest, if you're going to run two sets of wheels/tires, why wouldn't you run summers and winters? It's something I've done for years, even in the UK. Switching wheels come winter time and not having tires that can deal with the worst of anything we might get seems a bit, er, daft to me?
My theory is that an all season tire is better in 99% of the winter conditions (cold, dry and wet) and still way better than a summer tire / not far off a full winter for the 1%
I have had Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 on my Audi Q5 for the last 3 years. I live in Edinburgh, where there is not much snow, but spend at least 6 weeks in the Alps every year. They are great in snow, I have never needed chains even in the most extreme conditions. I have also found them excellent in all other conditions.
The Gen-3 is out now and improves on the gen-2 !
I believe the all seasons tires have a really huge growth potential in markets like Italy where I live, the winters are so much less snowy that a full winter tire is to much for the road conditions and temperatures, I believe an all season tire is better suited for the November to march period with temperatures ranging from -10 to + 30, seldom rainfalls and nearly non existent snow and ice. 20 years ago winters used to be much colder with snow and ice lasting for weeks or months and average temperatures in the period November to march from -20 - 25 to + 15 + 20, then full winter tires were better suited for the season. I am interested in the new Goodyear Vector 4 seasons gen 3.
My test with the G3 should be out in 2 weeks
This is excellent news, from my readings the Goodyear Vector 4 seasons should be the balanced option between a more winter oriented Continental All Seasons Contact and a more warm biased Michelin Cross Climate +.
Oh my God! What a stupid point system! Overall is the lowest of the categories. I've lost my trust in them. Note that I had before.
For Audi S1 as a quattro would you recommend conti-6 or ps-4 - michelin have a £40 deal on currently but i'm leaning to conti?
https://www.tirereviews.co.... should answer all your questions :)