The influential German publication Auto Bild made a tradition of conducting not only summer and winter tire tests but also, following the trend of the las few years, test all-season tires as well. In 2018, right after about 50 winter tire sets of 195/65 R15 size were tested, the expert group of this industry magazine got down to testing all-season models of the same size, even though their number was twice as small.

Anyway, the Auto Bild 2018 test of 195/65 R15 all-season tires involved 27 tires of various price brackets that hit the pavement of the European tire testing facilities. After the first round of the competition that was organized according to the same principle as the winter tire tests, only ten best models with the best braking performance on wet pavement and snow were shortlisted for the final.

What is remarkable is the fact that all the products manufactured by the leading tire companies’ subsidiaries were left overboard: Fulda MultiControl (Goodyear), Firestone Multiseason (Bridgestone), Viking FourTech and Uniroyal AIISeasonExpert 2 (Continental), as well as Kleber Quadraxer 2, and, of course, its identical twin brother BFGoodrich g-Grip All Season 2 (Michelin).

All these models shared the fate of the under-promoted on the European market Momo 4Run M4 AllSeason, Toyo Celsius, and Maxxis All Season AP2. The tires with Asian roots that filled the bottom lines of the tournament bracket are beside the point of this article.

All-season tires tested in the finals:

• Bridgestone Weather Control A005
• Continental AllSeasonContact
• Falken EuroAll Season AS210
• Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2
• Hankook Kinergy 4S2 H750
• Michelin CrossClimate+
• Nexen N’Blue 4Season
• Nokian Weatherproof
• Pirelli Cinturato All Season Plus
• Vredestein Quatrac 5

Test Summary

Snow

Wet surface

Dry surface

Result summary of the all-season tire test

Expert opinion

• 10th place — Bridgestone Weather Control A005
  
  

  Bridgestone Weather Control A005
  Pros: Dynamic handling response on wet and dry pavement, the shortest wet braking distance on test. Cons: Prominent lack of traction on snow combined with a long braking distance and poor lateral stability. Noisy.

• 9th place — Pirelli Cinturato All Season Plus
  
  

  Pirelli Cinturato All Season Plus
  Pros: Good traction and lateral stability on snow. Well-balanced performance and great handling response in the dry. Cons: Limited safety margin of hydroplaning, long braking distances both on wet and dry pavements, high rolling resistance, prominently short running life.

• 8th place — Nexen N’Blue 4Season
  
  

  • Nexen N’Blue 4Season
  Pros: Short braking distance and a good lateral stability on snow. Low noise emission. Good price/quality ratio. Cons: Relatively weak grip on wet pavement, weak handling response in the dry, weak hydroplaning resistance, increased rolling resistance.

• 7th place — Vredestein Quatrac 5
  
  

  Vredestein Quatrac 5
  Pros: Well-balanced performance on all kinds of pavements. Crisp steering response on wet pavement. Low noise emission. Cons: Limited hydroplaning resistance, slow handling response in the dry.

• 6th place — Falken EuroAII Season AS210
  
  

  Falken EuroAII Season AS210
  Pros: Great traction and dynamic handling on snow of a race car quality, very high hydroplaning resistance. Riding comfort. Long running life. Cons: Delayed steering response and prominently inadequate handling on wet pavement, increased noise.

• 5th place — Hankook Kinergy 4S2 (H750)
  
  

  Hankook Kinergy 4S2 (H750)
  Pros: Handling stability both in the wet and in the dry, crisp steering response. Adequate hydroplaning resistance. Riding comfort. Cons: Average lateral grip on snow, limited running life.

• 4th place — Michelin CrossClimate+
  
  

  Michelin CrossClimate+
  Pros: Low rolling resistance, safe behavior on dry and wet pavements alike. Long running life. Good price/quality ratio. Cons: Poor resistance to lateral hydroplaning Weak lateral stability on snow.

• 3rd place — Nokian Weatherproof
  
  

  Nokian Weatherproof
  Pros: Outstanding traction on snow, a very large hydroplaning safety margin, low rolling resistance. Cons: Average grip on wet pavement. Limited resistance to wear.

• 2nd place — Continental AllSeasonContact
  
  

  Continental AllSeasonContact
  Pros: Dependable grip on snow and wet pavement. Dynamic wet handling and high safety margin in terms of hydroplaning. Running life: average. Cons: Average grip on dry pavement.

• 1st place — Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2
  
  

   Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2
  Pros: Confident handling response in any weather conditions. High steering precision on snow and wet pavement, high hydroplaning resistance, riding comfort, long running life. Good price/quality ratio. Cons: High price.

  Price

   

Conclusion

In the cold time of the year, drivers are always bound to be confronted with various vagaries of the weather. Anyone who is up against nature on summer tires is in for a whole number of problems. At least, when starting or braking, and, probably, the police will be involved as well.

For sure in Germany, where if you get caught driving on the wrong tires, they’ll fine you 60 euros at least. notes the technical expert (Shina.Guide)

And they would be doing the right thing, too, because such drivers put at risk not only their own safety but also the safety of other travelers.

At the end of the day, in winter conditions it is much safer to drive on specialized winter tires. However, the Auto Bild all-season tire test 2018 showed that there are replacements for them out there. According to the test experts, the «modern all-season tires are a safe and affordable alternative for passenger cars».

At the same time, we would like to remind you from our side that all-season tires are recommended for usage solely in countries with mild climate and on such cars that are rarely used in winter. Only in this case opting for all-season tires can be considered a sensible decision.