Premium Touring Passenger Car Tire Tests

Vi Bilägare tested ten summer tires in the 205/55 R16 size - still the best-selling tire dimension in Sweden by a wide margin, nearly double the sales of the next most common size on the aftermarket. The test focused on the premium touring segment, where comfort, wear life, and overall economy are prioritised over outright sportiness.

Auto Bild's 2026 summer tire test covers the 245/45 R19 size - a common fitment on upper-mid-size cars including the BMW 5 Series, Audi A6 and Mercedes S-Class - and puts 50 tires through an initial qualifying round before selecting the 20 shortest-stopping for a full test programme at ATP Papenburg and the Circuit d'Alcarràs in Spain.

The results broadly confirm that the established premium brands remain the safest choice, with Hankook, Goodyear, Michelin and Pirelli all earning the top "exemplary" rating. The standout result, however, is Giti - a brand not typically associated with the premium tier - which scores highly enough across wet and dry tests to join that group, something the test team explicitly flags as the surprise of the test.

For the first of three tire review summer tire tests this year, I've tested 12 sets of tires in 225/45/17 using a Volkswagen Golf GTI. 

All 12 sets of tires were purchased in the open market anonymously. As always, they have been tested in the dry, wet, noise, comfort, and rolling resistance tests to find out exactly which tire is best for your own driving needs. 

The ADAC tire tests are always my favourite tire tests, while they don't release all the data they generate; they do provide excellent notes with their tests, and most importantly they are the most independent tire testing team in the world meaning there is no manufacturer involvement in any way, which is rare in the world of tire testing. 

For the 2026 Summer Test ADAC tested 16 tires in the dry/wet noise comfort value and, most importantly, tread life to find out exactly which tire is best for you. They tested the popular 225/50R17 tire size using an Audi A4 but this is a premium touring tire size that is available in which fits many vehicles. 

Every year Auto Zeitung perform a summer tire test, and it's always an interesting read as they are one of the few publications that purchase all of their own tires blindly from the market instead of manufacturer submissions, and they now include a wear test!

This year they have tested 10 tires in 235/45 R18 using an Audi A5 TS-FI front wheel drive vehicle and the amount of data they provide is fantastic.

A new publication in Germany has started tire testing. It is Netzwelt , a German newspaper, and for their first summer tire test, they have tested six tires, one premium tire (the Continental PremiumContact 7), five mid-range products and one budget product.

Unfortunately, the data shared is limited to wet and dry braking- they have translated all the other results into a point system, which we don't database here, so we recommend using the link below to check out a full test in German. You can read the subjective comments below for each tire's overall position. 

While technically this is the second tire test of the 2026 summer tire testing season, I always think of the AutoBild mega test as the true start to the summer tire test season. It's our first opportunity to see how 50 tires available in 245/45 R19 do in a massive dry and wet braking test!

Polish automotive publication Motor tested seven all-season tires in size 215/55 R17 for issue 48/2025. The lineup included two premium tires from Michelin and Continental, three mid-segment options from Nokian Tires, Vredestein, and Yokohama, and two budget choices from Polish brand Dębica and Chinese manufacturer Sunny. 

The most interesting result is Nokian Tires' new Seasonproof 2 taking overall victory despite being a mid-segment tire competing against premium products. It scored maximum points in wet conditions, winning every wet test category. The testers noted this as evidence that mid-segment tires are now a real threat to premium products in the rankings.

This test was conducted by TÜV SÜD Product Service GmbH between January and February 2025 (report number 713351940-PM), testing five premium all-season tires in size 205/55 R16 94V XL. The test was commissioned by Nokian Tires as part of their Premium Tire Mark certification for the Seasonproof 2, with the Nokian tire compared against the Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6, Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3, Michelin CrossClimate 2, and Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF 3. While TÜV SÜD is a fully independent testing organization with a strong reputation for objectivity, it is important to note that this test was requested and paid for by Nokian Tires.

As this is currently the only public test data available for the new Pirelli Cinturato Winter 3, I thought it would be useful to share it. But please understand the following:

This test was conducted by TÜV SÜD Product Service GmbH between February and March 2025, testing five premium winter tires in size 225/45 R17 94V XL. The test was commissioned by Pirelli as part of their final product benchmarking for the Cinturato Winter 3, with the Pirelli tire compared against the Bridgestone Blizzak 6, Continental WinterContact TS 870, Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3, and Michelin Alpin 7. While TÜV SÜD is a fully independent testing organization with a strong reputation for objectivity, it is important to note that this test was requested and paid for by Pirelli.

Teknikens Värld tested 20 winter tires in size 235/45 R18, comprising nine studded, eight Nordic friction (studless), and three Central European friction tires. One studded tire was disqualified for regulatory violations, leaving 19 in the final rankings. Testing used a Volvo V60 T6 plug-in hybrid across multiple locations in Sweden, covering braking, handling, aquaplaning, emergency maneuvers, comfort, and fuel efficiency.

For the 2025/26 Tire Reviews Nordic Studless Winter Tire Test, I have tested five friction winter tires plus two reference sets (a studded tire and a Central European winter tire) across 21 tests in 6 categories: snow, ice, wet, dry, comfort/noise, and rolling resistance. If you drive in regions with frequent snow and ice, this is the group test you need. All these tires are available to buy in North America and Europe!

We look forward to the big Autobild braking tests in every season, and this year Autobild have tested 51 winter tires in wet braking (plus a summer tire), with the best 31 moving onto a snow braking test.

The top 20 combined distances from the wet and snow braking tests will feature in the full AutoBild winter tire test, on the site next week.

The Finnish publication Tekniikan Maailma has published its 2025 winter tire test, evaluating a total of fourteen tires, tested in conjunction with UTAC. The test was split into two categories, with seven studded winter tires and seven Nordic non-studded (friction) winter tires being compared. All tires were tested in the popular 205/55 R16 size, using a Volkswagen Golf as the test vehicle. The tests covered a wide range of conditions, including performance on ice, snow, wet asphalt, and dry asphalt, as well as subjective handling characteristics and economy.

Vi Bilägare evaluated eight different tire models in the popular SUV size of 235/60 R18. The test, featured in issue number 12, utilized a Volvo XC60 AWD as the primary vehicle to assess performance on ice, snow, and both wet and dry asphalt. The lineup included five premium brands—Continental, Goodyear, Michelin, Nokian, and Pirelli—alongside three more budget-focused offerings from Nexen, Goodride, and Triangle.

Tire Rack has published its latest group test, titled "Premium Touring Tires to Elevating the Journey". The 2024 report evaluates a large group of eleven popular touring tires using a 2025 Toyota Camry as the test vehicle. The test focuses primarily on the Grand Touring All-Season and All-Weather categories, with nine patterns tested. To provide a broader market comparison, two representative Standard Touring All-Season tires were also included in the evaluation.

AUTO BILD has completed their comprehensive 2025 all-season tire test in the popular 225/40 R18 size, evaluating 30 models with the top 15 advancing to full testing. In a surprising turn of events, the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF 3 claimed overall victory, while Michelin's highly anticipated new CrossClimate 3 range delivered mixed results.

ADAC are one of the most respected sources of tires tests for a good reason, they are fully independent, and do things most others cannot do such as wear tests, real world fuel usage tests instead of a machine measurement of rolling resistance, and even ice testing for their all season and winter tests.

For their 2025 winter tire test, ADAC have tested a huge 32 patterns in 225/40 R18. 

The 2025 Autobild All Season tire braking shootout put 30 of the latest all season tires in the 'sporty' 225/40 R18 size through dry and wet braking tests.

As usual the top 15 from this test will go through to the full Autobild all season test which should be out in a few weeks.

In their 2025 winter tire comparison, the team from Die Reifentester evaluated seven leading winter tires, plus an all‑season control tire, in the popular 215/55 R17 dimension.