Nokian have just announced the Nokian SeasonProof 2, the first tire from their new, state of the art factory in Europe. They are hopeful this will finally be the tire that brings them to the front of the all season market, so of course I had to test it!
In this test, I will be testing seven of the best all season tires in the popular 235/55 R18 tire size. As these are all season tires, I will be testing them in all seasons, covering the dry, wet and snow performance of these tires, and testing the noise, comfort and rolling resistance levels of the tires to help you make the most informed choice for your own driving needs.
In my mind, the wet performance of an all season tire is the most important aspect. My theory is this - if you live in a region with a harsh winter, you'll be fitting proper winter tires already, and if you live in a dry climate, you'll be on summer tires year round. This means the people fitting all season tires are in those areas that get mostly long wet winters, with periods of snow that turns to slush very quickly.
Shockingly, the cheapest tire in the test was the worst in the wet. It had lots of aquaplaning around the lap which was very. In fact the person who calculated the curved aquaplaning data left a note saying "worst I've ever seen" which is crazy when you consider it doesn't look that different from the rest of the tires!
The rest of tires were VERY close, 2% between best and worst. Bridgestone and BFGoodrich were similar with quite a lot of understeer, then you had Maxxis, Hankook, Nokian and Goodyear, in that order, all a little more drivable. They did have some subtle differences in steering response, the nokians steering felt the most relaxed, whereas the maxxis felt the most summer like, but i'm really splitting hairs.
Wet Handling
Wet handling time in seconds (0 - 0 ) [Average Temperature 8.5c] (Lower is better)
Reference Summer Ref
71.83 s
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
72.35 s
Nokian Seasonproof 2
72.38 s
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X
72.48 s
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV
72.65 s
BFGoodrich Advantage SUV All Seaso
73.66 s
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
73.80 s
Westlake All Season Elite Z401
75.51 s
The wet braking did separate things a little more, the budget was a huge 27% behind the best, which was the new Nokian. Even with wet handling being so close, the order was almost identical between wet handling and wet braking, with the Goodyear and Nokian once again being the best, but this time with Nokian ahead. To give you an idea of difference, I calculated the wet braking distance from the motorway speed limit, the Nokian would have you stopped in under 81 meters and the budget over 100 meters, or another way of looking at it, when you'd stopped on the nokian from 130 km/h, you still be doing 60 km/h on the budget. Yikes.
Wet Braking
Wet braking in meters (80 - 5 km/h) [Average Temperature 12c] (Lower is better)
Reference Summer Ref
28.89 M
Nokian Seasonproof 2
30.46 M
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
30.72 M
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X
31.04 M
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV
32.57 M
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
32.69 M
BFGoodrich Advantage SUV All Seaso
33.63 M
Westlake All Season Elite Z401
38.49 M
Straight Aqua
Straight Aqua
Float Speed in Km/H (Higher is better)
Nokian Seasonproof 2
81.70 Km/H
BFGoodrich Advantage SUV All Seaso
81.00 Km/H
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV
80.70 Km/H
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
80.70 Km/H
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
80.00 Km/H
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X
79.10 Km/H
Westlake All Season Elite Z401
69.00 Km/H
Curved Aquaplaning
Curved Aquaplaning
Remaining lateral acceleration (Higher is better)
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV
8.17 m/sec2
BFGoodrich Advantage SUV All Seaso
8.06 m/sec2
Nokian Seasonproof 2
8.01 m/sec2
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
7.57 m/sec2
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
7.52 m/sec2
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X
7.25 m/sec2
Westlake All Season Elite Z401
3.28 m/sec2
Dry
Six tires within 1% of each other around a 75 second lap with 13 turns. I keep saying things are getting close at the front, and it's true again. If you want to buy an all season tire to do a dry track day, anything apart from the budget will do just fine.
Luckily I also spent hours and hours testing the tires sub limit, steering response, lane changes, how they are on center etc which usually gives me more to talk about, and the results… well, they're all just fine, even the budget. On this Tiguan test car I think the BFGoodrich and Goodyear had the best blend of steering, I thought the Maxxis was nice and pointy if that's what you want from a tire, and the Nokian was lovely and relaxed, but still turned well if you needed it to. But, as with the lap times, they're all so close you will be happy with any of these in this size.
Dry Handling
Dry handling time in seconds [Average Temperature 12.5c] (Lower is better)
Reference Summer Ref
72.20 s
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X
72.30 s
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV
72.38 s
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
72.59 s
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
72.97 s
BFGoodrich Advantage SUV All Seaso
73.16 s
Nokian Seasonproof 2
73.17 s
Westlake All Season Elite Z401
75.86 s
Luckily, as usual, braking spread things out.
Dry Braking
Dry braking in meters (100 - 5 km/h) [Average Temperature 10c] (Lower is better)
Reference Summer Ref
33.97 M
BFGoodrich Advantage SUV All Seaso
36.21 M
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
36.54 M
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV
37.33 M
Nokian Seasonproof 2
37.83 M
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X
38.30 M
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
38.55 M
Westlake All Season Elite Z401
39.94 M
Snow
I know the snow performance of an all season tire is very important to some people, so tested traction, braking, and handling, and there's some interesting quirks which I'll try and explain.
The slowest around the lap was the budget Westlake, it wasn't terrible, just a little down on grip, and a bit too much oversteer which led to a few 'ahhh' moments when getting quickly sideways. But this will be infinitely better than a summer tire, and more than enough winter performance for somewhere like the UK, so that's a win for the budget! If only it had some wet grip.
Next up was Maxxis, Goodyear and Bridgestone. The maxxis was an interesting one. I wrote in my notes 'there's more grip than the lap time shows, i struggled to get the best from it as it wasn't super predictable around the limit.' More on that in a bit.
I was a little surprised at the Goodyear in fourth, but it understeered quite heavily which is safe, but does penalise time, but it felt good out of the corners which is a plus, and then you had the Bridgestone which lacked a little bite but was well balanced.
Third and second was BFgoodrich and Hankook, both having excellent grip. The BFGoodrich lacked a little feedback, but the hankook was a beautiful tire to drive, very well rounded.
As was the new Nokian, which was the fastest around the lap having what I would call the best blend of grip, balance and communication. And it wasn't a fluke, I was using the Nokian as the control tire so I ran it four times and every time it was superb.
Snow Handling
Snow handling time in seconds [Average Temperature -7c] (Lower is better)
Reference Winter Nordic Ref
80.01 s
Nokian Seasonproof 2
84.07 s
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X
86.01 s
BFGoodrich Advantage SUV All Seaso
86.91 s
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
87.80 s
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
87.80 s
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV
88.15 s
Westlake All Season Elite Z401
89.91 s
As for traction and braking, well this is where I'm a little annoyed. I like data to line up perfectly and be logical, and I know traction and braking often don't line up perfectly with handling, they are looking at a single objective measurement and handling is looking at many things in harmony, however the Maxxis absolutely stomped both traction and braking. It was so far ahead I redid everything, and got the same results, so it's the real deal, good job maxxis. Everything else lined up pretty well, other than the Nokian being a little down on traction. I couldn't tell you why, perhaps the tire works better with a bit of slip, but then it was very good in braking so that doesn't add up either. Still, considering these are all all season tires, they're all fantastic in the snow, other than westlake.
I did run a Nordic winter tire to flex a little, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 to really show what true winter performance is and to try and stop you in serious winter regions trying to run an all season tire, as it was lots ahead.
Snow Traction
Snow acceleration time (5 - 40 km/h) [Average Temperature -6.5c] (Lower is better)
Reference Winter Nordic Ref
3.20 s
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV
3.68 s
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X
3.77 s
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
3.77 s
BFGoodrich Advantage SUV All Seaso
3.81 s
Nokian Seasonproof 2
3.88 s
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
3.95 s
Westlake All Season Elite Z401
4.24 s
Snow Braking
Snow braking in meters (Lower is better)
Reference Winter Nordic Ref
16.70 M
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV
18.51 M
Nokian Seasonproof 2
18.79 M
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X
18.81 M
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
18.85 M
BFGoodrich Advantage SUV All Seaso
19.08 M
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
19.60 M
Westlake All Season Elite Z401
20.27 M
Comfort
The subjective, in cabin noise levels of all the tires were virtually indistinguishable, other than the budget, which had a high pitched whine.
Other than that, the new Nokian was the quietest in the external noise test, which is measured in a straight line, but I did mark it down ever so slightly as it produced a bit more noise when turning compared to some others. The other tire with a subjective noise note was the Hankook with a slight hum, though it was very low on the external noise test. But really, for noise, they're all good.
Comfort was also very close with Goodyear, Hankook and BFGoodrich a TINY bit ahead of the rest. But you could buy any for comfort and not be sad, even the budget.
Subj. Comfort
Subjective Comfort Score (Higher is better)
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X
10.00 Points
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
10.00 Points
BFGoodrich Advantage SUV All Seaso
10.00 Points
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV
9.50 Points
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
9.50 Points
Westlake All Season Elite Z401
9.50 Points
Nokian Seasonproof 2
9.50 Points
Subj. Noise
Subjective in car noise levels (Higher is better)
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
10.00 Points
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
10.00 Points
BFGoodrich Advantage SUV All Seaso
10.00 Points
Nokian Seasonproof 2
9.75 Points
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV
9.50 Points
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X
9.50 Points
Westlake All Season Elite Z401
6.00 Points
Noise
External noise in dB (Lower is better)
Nokian Seasonproof 2
70.70 dB
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X
70.90 dB
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
71.20 dB
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
71.70 dB
BFGoodrich Advantage SUV All Seaso
71.70 dB
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV
72.10 dB
Westlake All Season Elite Z401
73.30 dB
Value
Please note, when we published the Bridgestones rolling resistance was accidentally set to 9kg/t, the correct value is now featured below. This doesn't change the overall result of the tire, but does highlight the low rolling resistance of the Japanese product.
Best in wet overall, near best in snow overall, good noise and comfort levels, low rolling resistance.
Slightly firmer over big impacts, not the best in dry braking.
The Nokian Seasonproof 2 is finally a Nokian all season tire with excellent wet grip! Sure, it wasn't the best in the dry but it wasn't super far off, it WAS however the best in the wet overall, which is key for this category, it was excellent in the snow, it had the lowest noise, and a pretty good rolling resistance. I marked it a little down for subjective comfort, but it was a close group, and that's about the only negative of this new tire.
The best in dry braking, excellent in the deep water of aquaplaning, good in the snow, excellent noise and comfort levels, the lowest rolling resistance.
Higher levels of understeer during all handling tests, extended wet braking distances,.
The BFGoodrich ADVANTAGE SUV ALL SEASON is a solid tire overall. This is the first test of the SUV variant, and while it's likely very closely related to the non-SUV variant, it worked very well in this size. It was the best in dry braking, though a little bit too much understeer in dry handling, average in the wet grip tests but great in aquaplaning, very good in the snow, great noise and comfort, AND the lowest rolling resistance in the test.
Very good dry handling, the best in wet handling, good on snow, the best noise and comfort levels.
Reduced aquaplaning resistance, above average rolling resistance.
The Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 is just as I remember it. It was was great in dry handling, though not the best in dry braking, the best in wet handling and very good wet braking, though again like the Hankook it struggled a little in the deeper water, it was very good in the snow, though not quite up to the Hankook, had excellent noise and comfort, like the Hankook, and its rolling resistance was the same as Hankook. This tire is aging in years but is still an excellent choice.
Very good dry and wet handling, the best in snow overall, very good noise and comfort levels.
Reduced aquaplaning resistance, above average rolling resistance.
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X is great in dry handling, though not the best in dry braking, good in the wet though it struggled a little in the deeper water of aquaplaning, the best overall in snow, very good in comfort and noise, and had an ok rolling resistance. A solid all round product.
Very good in dry and wet handling, excellent aquaplaning resistance, excellent snow traction and snow braking.
Average wet braking, imprecise snow handling, average comfort, high rolling resistance.
The Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV performed great in the dry, great in the wet though was a little down in wet braking, and while it wasn't the best in snow handling, it certainly started and stopped really well. It lacked a little in comfort, and its rolling resistance was pretty high, but otherwise a good performance overall.
Very good in the dry, well balanced and predictable in the dry and wet, low noise, good comfort and low rolling resistance.
Extended wet braking, lower snow grip than top performers (but significantly better than a summer tire.).
The Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6 was one of the best in the dry and was a nice tire to drive, but somehow it just didn't get it together in the wet or the snow. I feel it has underperformed in this test, I've tested it twice before and while it's never been the best in the snow, it has always been better in the wet, maybe it's a quirk of the size. Still, it's not a bad tire, it just slightly missed the mark this time.
Extremely long dry and wet braking distances, extremely poor aquaplaning performance, low levels of snow traction, highest noise levels.
The Westlake All Season Elite Z401 had an excellent rolling resistance and was ok in comfort (but not noise), but in almost every other test it was firmly in last place. This test has 16 categories, so that's amazing consistency to be last in all but two of them. Dangerously long wet braking is the only headline you should really need to avoid this tire.
