Best Tires for the Volkswagen Polo 1.0TSI

The tire performance, grip, and feel are quite satisfying. It also offers top-level comfort in terms of comfort. The wear level can vary depending on the type of use, climate, and road quality, but my impressions are positive. I would categorize it as high in price. Aside from the high price, there's nothing that would deter me from considering a repeat purchase.

After a horrible experience with my previous OEM tire, Continental Eco Contact 6, I put on EGP2.

Consumption is slightly higher, but not alarming, as EC6's only advantage is consumption; it is logical that they focus on this ability and reduce the rest.

On wet roads and in curves, I notice a significant improvement over the EC6. It is very comfortable and quiet, as I can notice for now. Dry and wet grip is excellent.

EC6 lasted just 30.000 km and 3 years. From this tire, I hope it can be doubled. Just one fun fact - in my country, the price for these two tires is almost similar (!), which is crazy considering how dangerous EC6 is on the wet.

Handling is great. I can really feel improvement from anything I drove previously (Firestone, Bridgestone, Vredestein, Continental, Hankook). Vredestein was very comfortable biased always, so I enjoyed this, but EGP2 seems comfortable enough, but also good in curves, and very confident in braking. Hankook (I just drove winter RS3, so maybe it is not a good comparison) was also very comfortable, but EGP2 is a level up in confidence or feel.

The reason I chose this tire is that in my country, there are no current models of touring tires from Tier 1 and 2 except EGP2 and Vredestien Ultrac +, which unfortunately did very badly in this year's tests. Manufacturers push eco tires (like Conti) or older models (like Primacy 4 or Bridgestone T005). So for 185 65 R15 I think it was the best possible choice if you want to go above Nexen, Kumho, Kleber, Fulda, Uniroyal...

About wear, and whether I would buy it again, I cannot say; it is too early for that.

In the last 2 months of the 4th season, wet grip significantly decreased. I expect it to be a combination of different factors: the temperature was higher than usual for February and March, I had some fast highway driving at higher temperature (170 kmph at approximately 17 degrees C), and of course, the tire age. Maybe if it were driven in perfect conditions (temp always below 7, less hard push on highway), I suppose it could last one more year. But who knows? So I throw them away after 4 full winters (in my country, every year it is mandatory to have winter tires from 15.11. to 15.4.) and just 21.500 km on them.

Would I buy it again? Maybe.

If I look for a tire that will be safe for 3-4 years, I think the RS3 is really a winner. The feeling was great in all conditions for the first 3 and a half years, and the tire was perfect in any way. In my country, the price is significantly lower than the premium. In my size (185/65/R15), UGP3 is 87 euros, TS870 is 92 euros, and RS3 is 64 euros.

I think I will try UGP3 next just to see how many years it can survive. If it can be safe for 6 years, then it can be cheaper than Hankook per year... Also, I think it is important to mention I don't do many km, so I always need to change tires just because of their age and not because they are finished.

Edit: In the last 2 months of the 4th season, wet grip significantly decreased. I expect it to be a combination of different factors: the temperature was higher than usual for February and March, I had some fast highway driving at higher temperature (170 kmph at approximately 17 degrees C), and of course, the tire age. Maybe if it were driven in perfect conditions (temp always below 7, less hard push on highway), I suppose it could last one more year. But who knows? So I throw them away after 4 full winters (in my country, every year it is mandatory to have winter tires from 15.11. to 15.4.) and just 21.500 km on them.

Would I buy it again? Maybe.

If I look for a tire that will be safe for 3-4 years, I think the RS3 is really a winner. The feeling was great in all conditions for the first 3 and a half years, and the tire was perfect in any way. In my country, the price is significantly lower than the premium. In my size (185/65/R15), UGP3 is 87 euros, TS870 is 92 euros, and RS3 is 64 euros.

I think I will try UGP3 next just to see how many years it can survive. If it can be safe for 6 years, then it can be cheaper than Hankook per year... Also, I think it is important to mention I don't do many km, so I always need to change tires just because of their age and not because they are finished.

A horrible experience with OEM Continental Eco Contact 6 (after 30.000 they were destroyed more than the limit, cracking, etc.; horrible on wet, changed their color, etc., etc.; had a great consumption though, but it is too big a compromise just for that).

Honestly, I think they go too eco with this tire and that any touring tire is unbeatable in comparison with an eco tire.

Would not buy again.

I have been driving Hankook Winter i*cept RS 3 as a winter tire for 4 years now in combination with crazy weather (from snow and ice in -15 to the heat of + 15 degrees). This is a perfect tire that I push hard sometimes and test in various conditions. Even as Goodyear UGP3 had better results in tests and seems to be an even better tire for my car, I don't really see any need for it. Hankook really does everything great and even more than that.

Overall, it is a nice tire to drive. It has good grip in both dry and wet and good handling overall. I found it a very good option for small to medium sized vehicles if your main concern is safety and comfort and not pure performance.

I have driven around 3000km in the plains of northern Italy with a Polo Aw1 Tsi 95cv, with average temperatures of around 20-22°C.
What I immediately noticed on dry roads is a fairly wide steering dead spot and significant understeer, even at low and moderate speeds. What left me most perplexed is the inconsistency of the steering when cornering (even when compared to the Bridgestone Blizzak I just removed): I don't have a good perception of the contact between the tire and the asphalt, the steering is not very precise, and I can perceive a sensation of floating.
The steering directionality on straight roads is also decidedly less consistent than summer tires (Bridgestone Turanza 001), and even compared to winter tires.
The positive aspect compared to the previous summer tires is the softness in following the bumps in the asphalt that allows for good control.

Overall I think that these All Season Contact 2 are not very suitable for the summer climate of the flat Italian areas, where temperatures easily exceed 35°C, and where temperatures are steadily above 15°C for 8/10 months a year.
In these situations I think that a certain amount of attention is needed when driving with these tires.

I wouldn't buy them again, because already at 20°C I find them unsafe when cornering and braking. I think I'll test them a bit more now to see how they behave as temperatures rise, but I'll probably replace them with summer ones before the high temperatures arrive.

These tires came OE with my 2022 VW Polo and I have really mixed opinions about them Let's start off with the good They handle....amazing in dry conditions. Road feedback is superb and they do exactly what they need to. Too early for a wear review, but handling wise they handle amazing. Braking is top notch, wet handling is also actually pretty damn good. And the tires are actually quite comfy too Now the bad The road noise is some of the worst I've ever experienced in a tire. It's so bad that, even though they have only just over 6 000km on the set, I'm honestly considering changing them. That may not bother some people but it gets to me, especially that I do mostly highway and long trips It isn't necessarily a deal breaker, as the handling and feedback from the tire is great. But just something to definitely consider when buying the tire