73%
- Volkswagen Passat
- 235/40 R19
- 50,000 miles
*Note: Only tires that I have used on the car so far.
Dry Grip (8) - Excellent braking and grip. Easy to lose grip on the front wheels (FWD) with more than 30% throttle from a stop, but for most people this is normal.
Wet Grip (5) - Not great, but manageable. Wet cornering is good, but braking begins to skip beyond light pressure, and it can hydroplane under acceleration, especially at highway speed. Go easy on the throttle in the rain.
Road Feedback (9) - Very good. You can feel road conditions easily, body roll is minimal and is easy to feel, and braking feel is excellent. Throttle feedback is a bit harder to read, making smooth launches tricky but not impossible as long as you don't go hard on throttle.
Handling (9) - Excellent. Very sporty feel in the right conditions. Grips well in corners, can feel its limits clearly, and recovers quickly if you flick the steering a little too hard.
Wear (9) - Lasted around 50k miles despite harsh driving and no rotations (rated for 80k with rotations according to their USA warranty). However, many online reviews complain about them wearing out at 10k–20k miles, these are often sport, luxury, or EV cars. If this is you, I'd consider better tires. I've had one flat on my second set, unrelated to the first set I'm reviewing but that's been my only flat using these tires.
Comfort (6) - Good enough for daily driving but harsh on potholes/rough roads. It feels as if you've destroyed the car when you hit a pothole with low profile rims with these tires, thankfully not the case with me so far. Regardless of rim size, if you live with rough roads there is a lot of road feedback, while fine and useful on paved roads, would be very annoying on unpaved / rough roads. It can also get noisy on these types of roads. I would not see myself having these tires for very long if I didn't live where the roads are good year round.
Snow/Ice (N/A) – Not enough experience with these conditions to rate, but from what little I have done on occasion it's performed well in light snow/ice at low speeds. These tires are not for snow and ice conditions beyond occasional light snow.
Buy again (5) - I did buy these again but I did so reluctantly and without having done any research into other tires like I wish I had done. Don't get me wrong as these are not "cheap" tires, they are from a reputable brand and are good for what they are. They have excellent dry handling and long tread life which makes them fun in dry conditions and last long, but it's poor wet performance and comfort makes me want to consider different options and I suggest you do too. You can still get good Continental tires that are comfortable and probably handle better in the rain, but don't get this tire that comes with a lot of cars that people don't seem to like very much, and honestly I don't blame them.
Dry Grip (8) - Excellent braking and grip. Easy to lose grip on the front wheels (FWD) with more than 30% throttle from a stop, but for most people this is normal.
Wet Grip (5) - Not great, but manageable. Wet cornering is good, but braking begins to skip beyond light pressure, and it can hydroplane under acceleration, especially at highway speed. Go easy on the throttle in the rain.
Road Feedback (9) - Very good. You can feel road conditions easily, body roll is minimal and is easy to feel, and braking feel is excellent. Throttle feedback is a bit harder to read, making smooth launches tricky but not impossible as long as you don't go hard on throttle.
Handling (9) - Excellent. Very sporty feel in the right conditions. Grips well in corners, can feel its limits clearly, and recovers quickly if you flick the steering a little too hard.
Wear (9) - Lasted around 50k miles despite harsh driving and no rotations (rated for 80k with rotations according to their USA warranty). However, many online reviews complain about them wearing out at 10k–20k miles, these are often sport, luxury, or EV cars. If this is you, I'd consider better tires. I've had one flat on my second set, unrelated to the first set I'm reviewing but that's been my only flat using these tires.
Comfort (6) - Good enough for daily driving but harsh on potholes/rough roads. It feels as if you've destroyed the car when you hit a pothole with low profile rims with these tires, thankfully not the case with me so far. Regardless of rim size, if you live with rough roads there is a lot of road feedback, while fine and useful on paved roads, would be very annoying on unpaved / rough roads. It can also get noisy on these types of roads. I would not see myself having these tires for very long if I didn't live where the roads are good year round.
Snow/Ice (N/A) – Not enough experience with these conditions to rate, but from what little I have done on occasion it's performed well in light snow/ice at low speeds. These tires are not for snow and ice conditions beyond occasional light snow.
Buy again (5) - I did buy these again but I did so reluctantly and without having done any research into other tires like I wish I had done. Don't get me wrong as these are not "cheap" tires, they are from a reputable brand and are good for what they are. They have excellent dry handling and long tread life which makes them fun in dry conditions and last long, but it's poor wet performance and comfort makes me want to consider different options and I suggest you do too. You can still get good Continental tires that are comfortable and probably handle better in the rain, but don't get this tire that comes with a lot of cars that people don't seem to like very much, and honestly I don't blame them.