Yokohama Advan S4

When experts say that an "all-season" tire really means a "no-season" tire, they must have had the Yokohama S4 in mind. In addition to poor wet and dry traction, it's been confirmed that they have no grip in snow, either, for starting, stopping or turning.

Three inches of heavy (-5C) virgin and tire-packed snow was a real challenge. Okay, once moving on a level road I could easily snake my way along, but not with confidence. Fortunately there were only two gentle hills in my test, and I never had the chance to get up to the 50kph speed limit on them, because I got to the next stop sign first!

I tried driving with the traction/stability control on and off and it made no difference [In really deep snow, with my snow tires, I sometimes have to switch the traction control "OFF" to get/keep going.] I never got going faster than 55kph, on purpose. From that speed I was not able to slow down enough, in a full-ABS [unintended]panic-braking move, to make a slow, 90-degree left turn, and [on purpose] ran onto a neighbour's driveway at about 10kph and drove with two tires across his snow-covered lawn. This car just did not want to brake and turn at the same time. And yes, I know that if I've dialed in too much steering lock I need to unwind the wheel if I'm looking to reduce the understeer. I think the only thing I didn't try was left-foot braking.

These tires have been an expensive disappointment. Turn-in is very slow at 50-60kph (ie right turn on city street), but OK at low speed; bumping pressure up to 38psi F, 34 R helps a lot, at the expense of a jarring ride over driveway curbs, manhole covers & pot holes. There's too much understeer, especially in the wet, and I often think that a stiffer rsb is a must for next spring. Wet braking is poor, and traction control often cuts in. Wet cornering grip is not inspiring, and in the dry it's a far cry from what I was expecting. Starting grip from a stop in the dry is lacking and poor in the wet (traction control activates too often, and the car just doesn't hook-up with even just moderate throttle in the wet). One cm of wet snow last week, on level ground, was scary - there was just no grip for starting, turning or stopping: the rubber compound is wrong! Did I mention that they were expensive. I'm waiting for more snow before I decide if I put the OEM Michelin MXM4's back on, or just use the other car. I purposefully make my wife use the other car because I could see her having a problem with this one in the wet, particularly turning against traffic at a light.