Most drivers rate the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons highly for year-round security, especially outstanding wet grip, snow/ice traction, and overall comfort, with many noting good longevity. A minority report issues such as excessive road noise and, in fewer cases, rapid wear or tread chunking. Overall, the Vector 4Seasons is praised as a confident all-weather choice with some hot-weather softness and noise trade-offs.
What owners mention most counted across 59 reviews
I got these tires fitted on my used three year old Focus, when I bought it. The fronts were down to about 4 mm remaining tread depth and were replaced by the dealer. The manufacturing date of the tires matched those of the car. So I guess, those front tires were good for around 40 - 45k kms (and another summer afterwards).
I wasn't happy with the all seasons tires fitted, as I live in a rather hilly area in Germany, that sees a decent amount of snow in winter. I bought an additional set of proper winter tires and didn't have the Goodyears on in the snow.
The tires were good on the winding roads as well as on the motorway and in the city. They do, what tires shall do.
I was, quite frankly, amazed by the performance in the wet. Wet asphalt in long curves does not bother the tire at all. Constant motorway speeds up to 180 kph (which I shouldn't have done) in pouring rain went like on rails.
No score for snow and ice performance (as explained above) and no statement, if I would buy them again - I probably would, if no proper winters were necessary here.
Used previously on a smaller and lighter Skoda Fabia when the Vector 4 first appeared on the market, where they performed well all year round.
However I'm finding on the heavier AWD Volvo they work better in the colder months of the year, particularly in the wet, whereas on hot summer days they can feel a little soft when cornering and if slightly harder braking is needed can induce abs intervention due to lock up.
For the UK's current changing climate though they are overall a good trade off and save changing tires twice a year between winter and summer.
Don't do high mileage and the tires are lasting well so far, therefore it maybe a while before replacements are needed, so better options might be out there by then but certainly consider Goodyear again.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
I thought they were going to be gen2 but I made a mistake
I bought in order to cope with hail and heavy raining here in Vasque Country.
Neverheless, my original michelin energy are almost as bad in wet roads.
It is even worse when I push flat the gas pedal, because these goodyear slide all over and can't provide the grip required.
They are lasting much more than I'd like taking in mind my bad experience with them.
I can't believe gen2 to be that much better. They have lost my confidence in this brand.
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Researching the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons? Rate the tires you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
Almost ready to replace at 72k km's (45ooomiles) - looking around at options but a great tire for the high k's I do around steep, very wind-y roads in New Zealand. Grip really well.
TYRES LASTED 5000 MILES DOWN TO 2MM NEVER BUY AGAIN even on the rear wheels only lasted 9000 miles tires were kept at correct pressure for vehicle and vehicle is serviced on a regular basis also vehicle not overloaded
I bought these 4 years ago. 205/55 R16 set was on my small city car Astra GTC. Have driven those for 3 years , than sold Astra and I moved these tires to Passat CC to serve as winter tire. After 4 years total and ~30000 they performed quite good.
Strengths:
Wet and rain grip exceptional
Very good comfort and low road noise
Mount and forget (You dont have to switch two sets)
Very good in winter city conditions (I can confirm that in city driving during winter there is no difference compared with dedicated winter tires)
Weakness:
After put on Passat CC for 1 year outer blocks on front tires started to tear. (I think this might be due to under-sizing, my car is factory put on 235/40 R18 and I am using way smaller 205/55 R16 Vectors, so with proper size this probably wont be an issue)
Not good on Ice (Still lot better than Summer tire but you need to drive careful)
Conclusion: Great choice for rainy and wet climate since they are exceptional in rain and smart decision for mainly city driving - there is no difference compared with winter tires when driving in the city)
A really nice four seasonal preference. It gives confidence that it is a symbol of suitability for winter use. People generally do not rely on four seasons, but their minds change as they use it. It successfully completed the winter conditions. I did not see a flaw outside the stone collection :)
I bought these tires soon after I bought my car since winter was about to come and I wanted a tire that could give me good performance in any condition. At first I didn't push them at all since I had just gotten the car and I had to get to know how it handled first. In this "calm" period I also got to drive them under a heavy snowfall with around 30cm (12in) of snow and they really behaved very well, they proved to be predictable and provided a surprisingly good grip without any wheelspin/lockup whatsoever. As time went by I started pushing the car more and more and I started finding their limits, which were not too high. I must say though that in my country temperatures can get high as 45°C (113°F) so wear might have been higher than usual. It seems that after 2 years of usage the thread compound has somewhat deteriorated since I find that they grip less than before, though I may be pushing them harder. My driving style is often very aggressive and it is definetly not suited to these tires and to their thread pattern since pieces of rubber have been detaching. Progressiveness is pretty good, when they reach their limit they tend to make the car understeer but a few times I found myself correcting oversteering behaviors, in particular one time the car (whose ESP I had turned off that time) oversteered abruptly and without giving any warning, thankfully on a dry road that was pretty large and had no traffic so I managed to recover from the oversteer without consequences. In emergency maneuvers they behave pretty predictably anyways. Dry grip is obviously decent but they can't match summer tires, while in the wet they gain back some points with a sufficient grip and a good resistance to aquaplaning. Noise is decent too yet they make the typical winter tire noise at mid/low speeds because of the sipes. They absorb road irregularities very well and give a good ride comfort overall. Wear has not been too bad given the hot weather and the aggressive driving style apart from the aforementioned detachment problems. I am getting a new car in a few days, a Seat Leon SC FR 1.4TSI and I definetly won't put all-season tires on it because of my driving style, the car power (148bhp) and the weather of my country, but I think that in countries that have a colder weather and have more frequent snowfalls this tire might be a good choice if you have a calmer driving style than me.
It's difficult to give a rating out of ten for these tires, simply for the reason that they're all weather tires. In most conditions they're great, in some, such as the rare very hot days we can have in the UK, they become OK/good. To be honest, they go off a bit in the really hot weather and wear more quickly that ideal. However, as we typically have cool and moist conditions for the majority of the year, these tires perform well for most of the year.
In the Summer, I can feel them get a touch soft and causes my Subaru to have hints of understeer. This can be fun, but not always. In the cooler Spring and Autumn, they really come into their own. On wet roads the wet-bias allows me to plough through anything and I am more likely to find myself falling out of the seat, rather than the car start to move around in the wrong direction. In winter, because they're not a full winter tire, they lack the total experience, but they're rated M&S and quite frankly, that makes them better than the majority of summer tires.
In short, I have no problems recommending these all-rounders for most people, most of the time, but if you have something with huge performance capabilities, I'd swallow the cost and have a dedicated set for summer and another for winter.
Tried a set of these as I wanted a genuine set of all season tires due to driving nationally throughout the year.
The only fault these tires have is in very hot weather the braking doesn't feel as sharp as the equivalent Summer tires (previously Continental) but apart from that I'd certainly buy again esp if the Gen 2 are an improvement.
In the recent snow in Jan I drove up a steep incline, left the car on the handbrake without sliding and the set off up the hill without wheelspinning. Braking was great in really bad weather inc snow and standing water.
Ran these for a year before selling the car. Day to day driving in all conditions, from motorways, towns and a good few miles on back country roads they were fine. Couldn't tell any difference between the Vectors and the summer tires they replaced. Good wet handling, good aquaplaning, and you'd only really know they weren't a premium summer when pushing them hard and regularly.
In ice and snow they were brilliant. On the usual UK mix of untouched, first one out snow and the slushy, semi re-frozen mess they gripped and gripped. Handled hills in the snow without issue. The only time they lost grip was braking to a stop on 2 inches of ice - they took a bit longer than normal to stop. Short of studded tires I wouldn't have expected instant braking in any winter tire.
Overall a brilliant tire to throw on and know you're covered in all conditions.
