Across 112 owner ratings the Avon ZV5 averages 77%. Owners rate Dry Grip highest at 8.4 out of 10 and Wear lowest at 7.1. 53 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 72% of owners score it 70% or better.
I've had these on the front of my Vectra for about 15000 miles now and they're down to about 4-5mm. Been a good tire over-all. I've been previously used the Michelin Pilots on my old astra but the cost of these is prohibitive. Didn't feel like I'd really downgraded but you can't really compare too much on 2 completely different cars. Overall impressions are good grip in wet & dry; I remained very mobile in the snow (a lot). They're not the sharpest and will go heavily into under-stear if pushed very hard, but it's a heavy car! Probably not going to buy again as I'm gonna try the Uniroyal Rainsport 2 as highly rated and similar price.
AVON ZV5 have been fitted on all four wheels of my Subaru Impreza WRX (which is an AWD), for the past 15 months.
I drive the car mostly on tarmac/road usage, often accelerating and braking fast, and driving at top speeds.
The tires grip well in the wet and dry, no wheel spin on take off, no issue when breaking hard, grip very well around twisty corners.
Drove the car/tires 1000 miles on Autobhans to Germany where I did a track day at the Nurburgring. The tires performed excellently, I really pushed them at high speeds on corners (in dry conditions), they squealed but continued to grip. Not observed any road noise in my car.
Last winter, driving very slowly the tires were ok in the snow, but very slippy on corners when it was icy, which shocked me. Worst tires I've even know on ice.
Overall I've been very impressed with these tires in terms of performance. Wear is probably the weakest point, but that could be said of most tires due to my driving style. I would buy these tires again, and recommend them to everybody.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
When i bought my corrado, it was fitted wiith a set of Goodyear. These were ok, but were aimed more at comfort than performance/handling.
being quite a sporty/aggressive driver, i opted for something more performance minded.
Dry and wet weather grip is great, and so far wear has been pretty good too, especially when you consider the grip, and the price compared to bigger brands. They seem to cope well cornering at speed, rapid acceleration and hard braking. I'd even say i'd trust them on a track day too.
I haven't driven in winter conditions as yet as i refused to subject my Corrado to the elements.
I am a tire engineer with one of the 'big' brands, but would definitely recommend these if you're not wanting to pay the bigger prices. I'll definitely be sticking with them!!
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Love these on my Jaguar 2.2 Diesel Estate. Pirelli P-Zeros before were OK but expensive and no kerb protection. The Avons will keep your wheels safe. Road noise is good though some noise on some odd surfaces. And they have been great in the winter despite appalling conditions. One of my other cars has got Nokian winter tires on, but the Jag goes almost everywhere they go, except ice.
Changed from Toyo originals to these as they were a 'special deal'. What a massive difference. The steering is so light it feels like they're over inflated by about 15psi.
Avoid them like the plague!
I recently changed to Avon ZV5 from Bridgestone RE50s. The Avon tire seems very assured at sensible driving speeds and driver feedback is a step up, while road noise remains low. All this from a cheaper tire.
The Avon ZV5 also impressed in the heavy snow this week. It's certainly not a winter tire but allowed careful confident progress to be made on hilly snowbound country roads. The silica in the rubber compound may have assisted here, allowing the tire to soften as the temp dropped.
I am a little shocked at how short a time people say these Tires last. I have had a set on for 3 years and have done 37000 Miles on them. Including a very long and fast trip through Europe. I have always felt confident driving with these Tires in all conditions, including the hard winter of 2010 and the current conditions now. The tires are almost at their limits and are due for replacement, with another set of ZV5's I may add, yet the handling is still good, though as I am sensible, I don't drive my Car in wet / cold / snowy conditions the same as I do in dry. If you are looking for a set of Tires that you can drive "normally" with, then I do recommend these highly.
Car previously ran on Bridgestone RE040 (standard fit on car) but changed to Avon ZV5 6 months ago. Wear ok. Handling in both wet & dry superior to the Bridgestone no doubt down to the softer rubber compound. Ride is still hardish but that has always been a critism of the Jazz. No difference in steering feedback over the standard fitment tires. Probably won't last as long as RE040's but then again much cheaper tire.
I've fitted these to my Fiesta TDCi Zetec-S Rims (195/45 R16) for almost 2 years now, replacing the original Contisport which I found terrifying in the wet. I wanted good tires for the dry, but my main criteria was for driving in the wet.
The ZV5's need replacing more often than standard tires, but thats what I would expect for softer compound. Good grip in the dry, and very ejoyable to chuck the Fiesta around the odd bend or roundabout, you are given plenty of warning when you're at the limits of your grip. Grip in the wet however is fantastic, no risk of aquaplaining when you hit the odd puddle at the speed limit, and it's noticeable how fast and confidently you can manouver compared to other road users when the roads are wet.
Price wise they are mid range, which I think is good value for the dry grip they offer, but fantastic value for the wet grip they offer. Lastly, they are completely useless in the snow an ice we had last winter, you can't get ANY traction at all, and pretty damn poor when it's cold/damp. I've learnt my lesson, this year I've bought some Pirelli Snowcontrol Series II Winter tires (not much choice available in winter tires for my rims), and will see how I get on with them.
Have these on a Passat TDi estate. They have worn well - only an uncorrected tracking problem has put paid to them at 22,000. otherwise, I think they would have done another 5-6,000. I swap the tires at halfway and I don't drive fast but I find it hard to reconcile my experience of these tires with the others here complaining of bad wear. The car is used on long cross country drives in Northumberland with roughish roads and lots of bends and frequent rain so they get plenty of stress. On most points I can't fault them and for the money are a very good buy - you can get them for about ?100 fitted.
Bought 4 tires 2 years ago for my VW Jetta Sport. Mot too hard a driver, but not too gentle either. Good performance, quiet, value-for money. Probably get better tires, but these branded a tires are great all-rounders. Definitely buy again, in fact looking now (Sept-2010) at ?80 at Camskill.
Moved to these tires following a poor performance from the stock Pirelli PZero's fitted. Initially rather cautious given the other ratings on this site and the cost saving (?100 per tire rather than ?130 for the Pirelli's). However it appears my fears were unfounded; the car handles as well if not better than the Pirelli's, road noise is drastically reduced and the tires look good too. They've only been on the car for a couple of months/2000 miles so I'm reserving judgement on the wear rates for now, but don't appear to be dwindling too fast. In summary, recommended for my car!
