In the new Auto Bild test, only three tires were able to score an «Exemplary» verdict, many of the contestants ruining their overall score due to short mileage.
List of models tested:
- BFGoodrich Advantage
- Bridgestone Turanza T005
- Continental EcoContact 6
- Debica Presto UHP 2
- Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2
- Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun
- Fulda SportControl 2
- Goodride SA57
- Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2
- GT Radial FE2 SUV
- Hankook Ventus Prime4 K135
- Kleber Dynaxer HP4
- Kumho Ecsta HS52
- Laufenn S FIT EQ+
- Maxxis Premitra HP5
- Michelin Primacy 4
- Nexen N’Fera Primus
- Nokian Powerproof
- Sava Intensa UHP 2
- Toyo Proxes Comfort
- Vredestein Ultrac
To make it into the final round of the large Auto Bild test of summer tires, the contestants were to prove their ability to quickly bring the car to a standstill on dry and wet pavement. In 2022, this task has been achieved by 21 tires out of 50, and, as always, they were to compete in such disciplines as dry and wet handling performance, hydroplaning resistance, noise emission, etc. In addition, the AB experts evaluated expected mileage, which is something that is not done very often by motoring magazines.
Place | Brand and Model | Wet Braking | Dry Braking | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bridgestone Turanza T005 (94 W) | 27,5 | 35,8 | 63,3 |
2 | Hankook Ventus Prime 4 (94 W) | 27,8 | 35,8 | 63,6 |
3 | Kumho Ecsta HS52 (98 W) | 28,6 | 35,7 | 64,3 |
4 | Vredestein Ultrac (94 W) | 28,2 | 36,1 | 64,3 |
5 | Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun (98 W) | 27,9 | 36,5 | 64,4 |
6 | Nokian Powerproof (98 W) | 28,9 | 35,7 | 64,6 |
7 | Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 (98 W) | 28,8 | 36,4 | 64,9 |
8 | Michelin Primacy 4 (94 W) | 29,3 | 36,2 | 65,5 |
9 | Toyo Proxes Comfort (98 W) | 29,6 | 35,9 | 65,5 |
10 | Nexen N'Fera Primus (98 W) | 28,6 | 37,2 | 65,8 |
11 | Fulda SportControl 2 (98) | 29,4 | 36,5 | 65,9 |
12 | Kleber Dynaxer HP4 (94 W) | 29,9 | 36,2 | 66,1 |
13 | Sava Intensa UHP 2 (98 W) | 29,8 | 36,3 | 66,1 |
14 | Maxxis Premitra 5 HP5 (94 W) | 28,9 | 37,3 | 66,2 |
15 | Debica Presto UHP 2 (98 W) | 29,8 | 36,5 | 66,3 |
16 | Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance 2 (94 W) | 29,7 | 36,8 | 66,5 |
17 | GT Radial FE2 SUV (94 W) | 29,7 | 37,0 | 66,7 |
18 | BF Goodrich Advantage (98 W) | 31,0 | 36,3 | 67,3 |
19 | Laufenn S Fit EQ+ (98 W) | 31,9 | 36,5 | 68,4 |
20 | Goodride Zuper Ace SA-S7 (98 W) | 31,3 | 37,3 | 68,6 |
21 | Continental EcoContact 6 (98 W) | 32,7 | 36,4 | 69,1 |
22 | Mirage MR-182 (98 W) | 31,8 | 37,7 | 69,5 |
23 | Yokohama BluEarth-GT AE51 (98 W) | 32,2 | 37,7 | 69,9 |
24 | Tomket Sport 3 (94 W) | 32,8 | 37,2 | 70,0 |
25 | Cooper Zeon C58 (98 W) | 31,3 | 39,1 | 70,4 |
26 | Infinity Ecomax (98 W) | 32,7 | 37,7 | 70,4 |
27 | Starman Ultra Sport ST760 (98 W) | 32,9 | 37,5 | 70,4 |
28 | Firestone Roadhawk (94 W) | 32,8 | 37,7 | 70,5 |
29 | Hifly HF805 (98 W) | 32,0 | 38,5 | 70,5 |
30 | Tyfoon Successor 5 (98 W) | 32,1 | 38,5 | 70,6 |
31 | Roadstone Eurovis Sport 04 (94 W) | 32,6 | 38,7 | 71,3 |
32 | Mazzini Eco 605 Plus (98 W) | 32,4 | 39,0 | 71,4 |
33 | Delinte DH2 (98 W) | 32,6 | 39,1 | 71,7 |
34 | Uniroyal RainSport 5 (98 W) | 33,5 | 38,4 | 71,9 |
35 | General Tire Altimax One S (98 W) | 32,9 | 39,3 | 72,2 |
36 | Kormoran Ultra High Performance (98 W) | 34,9 | 37,3 | 72,2 |
37 | Platin RP420 Summer (98 Y) | 33,7 | 38,5 | 72,2 |
38 | Zeetex HP2000 VFM (98 W) | 33,9 | 38,9 | 72,8 |
39 | Aplus A607 (98 W) | 33,9 | 39,0 | 72,9 |
40 | Novex Super Speed A3 (98 W) | 33,5 | 39,4 | 72,9 |
41 | Semperit Speed-Life 3 (98 W) | 33,1 | 40,0 | 73,1 |
42 | Tracmax X-Privilo TX3 (98 W) | 34,3 | 38,9 | 73,2 |
43 | Viking ProTech NewGen (98 W) | 33,4 | 39,8 | 73,2 |
44 | Barum Bravuris 5HM (94 W) | 33,3 | 40,0 | 73,3 |
45 | Lassa Driveways (94 W) | 34,9 | 39,0 | 73,9 |
46 | Tomason Sportrace (98 W) | 34,7 | 39,2 | 73,9 |
47 | Imperial Ecosport 2 (98 W) | 33,8 | 40,3 | 74,1 |
48 | Rotalla Setula S-Race RU01 (98 W) | 35,1 | 39,8 | 74,9 |
49 | Firemax FM601 (98 W) | 36,0 | 39,8 | 75,8 |
50 | Atlas Sport Green 2 (98 W) | 36,6 | 39,5 | 76,1 |
The most durable tire — the Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 — was eventually pronounced to be the best in a wide range of conditions as well, its only limitation being the expensive price. The second line of the tournament bracket was scored by the Hankook Ventus Prime4, which can also outlast a lot of tires, and was good on both wet and dry pavement, but delivered «average ride comfort», which came as a surprise because Hankook tires of this family are designed with a specific focus on comfort. Third placed was the Michelin Primacy 4, which demonstrated well-balanced performance (and came second in the mileage test), all of the top three tires securing an «Exemplary» verdict.
Dry braking
- Kumho
- Nokian
- Bridgestone
- Hankook
- Toyo
- Dunlop
- Vredestein
- Kleber
- Michelin
- BFGoodrich
- Sava
- Continental
- Debica
- Falken
- Fulda
- Laufenn
- Goodyear
- GT Radial
- Nexen
- Goodride
- Maxxis
- All-Season
Info! Dry braking in meters. (100-0 km/h)
The «Good» verdict was this time bestowed on seven tire models: Bridgestone Turanza T005, Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun, Kumho Ecsta HS52, Sava Intensa UHP 2, Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2, BF Goodrich Advantage, and Fulda Sport Control 2. Bridgestone tires have been doing very well in the European tire tests this year, but this time around, just as Sava, for example, they were failed by limited mileage, while the Falken model had increased rolling resistance, and the Kumho and Dunlop tires devalued their overall scores due to delayed response to the driver’s actions. The BFGoodrich model was pretty good on dry pavement, but it had issues with wet performance, including braking, while the Fulda tire quickly stops the car in any conditions, but falls short of the leaders in terms of mileage and handling response.
Then came the tires with a «Satisfactory» verdict; the 11th line of the tournament bracket was occupied by the Toyo Proxes Comfort, which had a good handling response, wet and dry alike, but had low hydroplaning resistance and reduced tread life. A line still lower was scored by the Debica Presto UHP 2, which, conversely, is very good at combating the hydroplaning effect, but is at the same time prone to understeer on dry pavement. Next came the Kleber Dynaxer HP4, which demonstrated a relatively weak wet grip.
The Vredestein Ultrac, which not so long ago won silver in the Auto Zeitung test, came only 14th this time, the reason for that being that the AZ test did not include assessing tread life, and the AB test showed that with Vredestine’s tread life is almost half of that of Goodyear’s. Otherwise, there were no complaints about the Ultrac tires, which cannot be said about the relatively inexpensive Laufenn S Fit EQ+ and Maxxis Premitra 5 HP5 — the former combines limited tread life with a relatively long wet braking distance, and the latter falls short of the leaders in terms of mileage and has an increased rolling resistance, which makes it somewhat similar to the Nexen N’Fera Primus.
Wet braking
- Bridgestone
- Hankook
- Falken
- Vredestein
- Kumho
- Nexen
- Dunlop
- Maxxis
- Nokian
- Michelin
- Fulda
- Toyo
- Goodyear
- GT Radial
- Debica
- Sava
- Kleber
- BFGoodrich
- Goodride
- Laufenn
- All-Season
- Continental
Info! Wet braking in meters. (100-0 km/h)
Line 18 was occupied by the cheap Goodride SA57, which came the last-but-one in the mileage test and had a long wet braking distance; a line still lower was scored by the Continental EcoContact 6 eco tire, which has a very low rolling resistance (tangibly lower than that of all the other tires on test) and a long tread life, but had a poor wet traction.
Line 20 was occupied by the GT Radial FE2 SUV tire, which was prone to understeer, while the only tire to score the «Conditionally Recommended» verdict was the Nokian Powerproof, which had a good wet handling response but was not as good on dry pavement and became the worst by the price/mileage ratio, i.e. a kilometer on these tires will be the most expensive of all.
Fuel efficiency
- Continental
- Michelin
- Bridgestone
- Goodyear
- Hankook
- Laufenn
- Debica
- BFGoodrich
- Sava
- GT Radial
- Fulda
- Vredestein
- Kleber
- Kumho
- Nokian
- Toyo
- All-Season
- Maxxis
- Nexen
- Dunlop
- Goodride
- Falken
Info! Rolling resistance, kg/t.
The main part of the test could potentially have involved two Chinese tire models — Linglong Sport Master and Sailun Atrezzo Elite — but, since they were submitted directly by the manufacturers, and the experts had no chance of comparing them to tires bought retail prior to publication, they were deleted from the competitors list. At the same time in AB they promised that they, most likely, will appear in one of the future tests.
In the tournament bracket, the combined «Cost Savings» parameter included the expected mileage, the price/mileage ratio, and the tire’s rolling resistance.
1st place: Goodyear / EfficientGrip Performance 2
Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2
- Good handling response and a short stopping distance on wet and dry pavement alike
- Very long tread life
- Low rolling resistance
- High price
- Exemplary
2nd place: Hankook / Ventus Prime 4 K135
Hankook Ventus Prime 4 K135
- Good handling response and a short stopping distance on wet and dry pavement alike
- Long tread life
- Good price/quality ratio
- Average riding comfort
- Exemplary
3rd place: Michelin / Primacy 4
Michelin Primacy 4
- Good handling response and a short stopping distance on wet and dry pavement alike
- Precise steering response
- Good hydroplaning resistance
- Very long tread life
- High price
- Exemplary
4st place: Bridgestone / Turanza T005
Bridgestone Turanza T005
- Short braking distance and very good handling response on dry and wet pavement
- Good hydroplaning resistance
- Precise steering response
- Limited mileage
- Good
5th place: Falken / Ziex ZE310 Ecorun
Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun
- Very high hydroplaning resistance
- Good handling response and a short stopping distance on wet and dry pavement alike
- Low noise emission
- Attractive price
- Increased rolling resistance
- Good
6th place:Kumho / Ecsta HS52
Kumho Ecsta HS52
- Well-balanced performance
- Short braking distance on wet and dry pavement
- Great riding comfort
- Good price/quality ratio
- Delayed steering response
- Good
7th place: Sava / Intensa UHP 2
Sava Intensa UHP 2
- Very high hydroplaning resistance
- Good handling response in the dry
- Short braking distance on wet and dry pavement
- Great riding comfort
- Low price
- Limited mileage
- Good
8th place: Dunlop / Sport Maxx RT2
Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2
- Good hydroplaning resistance
- Great handling response in the wet
- Short braking distance on wet and dry pavement
- Great riding comfort
- Fair price
- Delayed steering response on dry pavement
- Good
9th place: BFGoodrich / Advantage
BFGoodrich Advantage
- Good handling response and a short stopping distance on dry pavement
- Great riding comfort
- Prone to understeer and long braking distance on wet pavement
- Good
10th place: Fulda / SportControl 2
Fulda SportControl 2
- Good hydroplaning resistance
- Short braking distance on wet and dry pavement
- Good price/quality ratio
- Tangibly delayed steering response
- Average tread life
- Good
11th place: Toyo / Proxes Comfort
Toyo Proxes Comfort
- Great handling response in the wet and in the dry
- Short braking distance on dry pavement
- Great riding comfort
- Low lateral hydroplaning resistance
- Average tread life
- Satisfactory
12th place: Debica / Presto UHP 2
Debica Presto UHP 2
- Good hydroplaning resistance
- Great handling response in the wet
- Short braking distance on wet and dry pavement
- Low price
- Delayed steering response
- Prone to understeer on dry pavement
- Average tread life
- Satisfactory
13th place: Kleber / Dynaxer HP4
Kleber Dynaxer HP4
- Good hydroplaning resistance
- Short braking distance on wet and dry pavement
- Great riding comfort
- Low noise emission
- Insufficient grip on wet pavement
- Delayed steering response
- Prone to understeer on dry pavement
- Satisfactory
14th place: Vredestein / Ultrac
Vredestein Ultrac
- Very high hydroplaning resistance
- Good handling response and a short stopping distance on wet and dry pavement alike
- Very short tread life
- Satisfactory
15th place: Laufenn / S FIT EQ+
Laufenn S FIT EQ+
- Excellent hydroplaning resistance
- Short braking distance on dry pavement
- Great riding comfort
- Low price
- Average grip and a long braking distance on wet pavement
- Average tread life
- Satisfactory
15th place: Maxxis / Premitra 5 HP5
Maxxis Premitra 5 HP5
- Very high hydroplaning resistance
- Short braking distance on wet pavement
- Low price
- Prone to understeer on dry pavement
- Tangibly reduced tread life
- Increased rolling resistance
- Satisfactory
15th place: Nexen / N Fera Primus
Nexen N Fera Primus
- Very high hydroplaning resistance
- Good handling response and a short stopping distance on wet pavement
- Low price
- Prone to understeer on dry pavement
- Tangibly reduced tread life
- Increased rolling resistance
- Satisfactory
18th place: Goodride / SA57
Goodride SA57
- Good hydroplaning resistance
- Low noise emission
- Low price
- Prone to understeer and long braking distance on wet pavement
- Very short tread life
- Satisfactory
19th place: Continental / EcoContact 6
Continental EcoContact 6
- Short braking distance on dry pavement
- Very low rolling resistance
- Very long tread life
- Poor hydroplaning resistance
- Long braking distance on wet pavement
- Delayed steering response
- Prone to understeer
- Satisfactory
20th place: GT Radial / Champiro FE2 SUV
GT Radial Champiro FE2 SUV
- Excellent hydroplaning resistance
- Good braking efficiency
- Low noise emission
- Tangibly reduced tread life
- Delayed steering response
- Prone to understeer
- Satisfactory
21st place: 🏁 Nokian / Powerproof
Nokian Powerproof
- Good hydroplaning resistance
- Very good handling response in the wet
- Excellent braking performance
- Delayed steering response and insufficient lateral stability on dry pavement
- Very short tread life
- High price
- Conditionally recommended