205/50R17

Auto Bild 2021: All-Season Tire Test R17

The popular German magazine ran a comparative test of 32 all-season tire models.

List of models tested:

The Auto Bild magazine has conducted its next test of all-season tires that included 32 models from well-known brands, ranging from premium to budget; the test was traditionally divided into two parts. In order to make it to the main test, the tires had to quickly stop the car that brakes from 100 km/h on wet and dry pavement — 16 competitors fulfilled the task, while 10 were rated as «unsatisfactory».

Place Brand and Model Wet Braking, m Dry Braking, m Total
1 Michelin CrossClimate 2 53.9 37.6 91.5
2 Vredestein Quatrac Pro 50.0 42.0 92.0
3 Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 50.7 41.9 92.6
4 Hankook Kinergy 4S2 H750 52.3 40.3 92.6
5 Falken EuroAll Season AS210 50.8 42.2 93.0
6 Dunlop Sport All Season 51.4 41.7 93.1
7 Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 54.7 38.4 93.1
8 Bridgestone Weather Control A005 Evo 52.9 41.4 94.3
9 Nokian Seasonproof 53.5 41.4 94.9
10 Continental AllSeasonContact 53.0 42.3 95.3
11 Kumho Solus 4S HA32 54.4 41.5 95.9
12 Nexen N’Blue 4Season 54.0 42.0 96.0
13 Viking FourTech 52.6 43.5 96.1
14 Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF 2 56.0 40.2 96.2
15 Giti GitiAllSeason AS1 52.9 43.5 96.4
16 Firestone Multiseason Gen 02 54.1 42.4 96.5
17 Uniroyal AllSeasonExpert 2 52.7 44.8 97.5
18 BFGoodrich g-Grip All Season 2 55.9 42.0 97.9
 19  Barum Quartaris 5 53.9 44.4 98.3
20 Kleber Quadraxer 2 55.8 42.6 98.4
21 Laufenn G FIT 4S 55.2 43.6 98.8
22 Semperit AllSeason-Grip 55.5 44.1 99.6
23 Avon AS7 59.5 40.9 100.4
 24  Kenda Kenetica 4S KR202 57.2 43.3 100.5
25 Cooper Discoverer All Season 59.6 41.1 100.7
26 Apollo Alnac 4G All Season 58.5 42.8 101.3
27 CST Medallion All Season ACP1 57.5 44.3 101.8
28 General Altimax A/S 365 58.2 44.2 102.4
 29  GT Radial 4Seasons 58.2 45.3 103.5
30 Fulda MultiControl 58.6 45.5 104.1
31 Berlin All Season 1 62.3 42.4 104.7
32 Tomket Allyear 3 63.7 42.9 106.6

In the final standings, the victory was won by the Goodyear Vector 3Seasons Gen-3 model, which not only showed good results on all types of surfaces — snow, wet, and dry pavement — but also came third in the treadwear test (expected mileage 50,455 km), being inferior only to Kumho and Nokian models. The second place was scored by the Continental AllSeasonContact, which, among other things, demonstrated good fuel efficiency, while the bronze went to the Hankook Kinergy 4S2, which was good on snow and wet pavement, and was priced more democratically than the premium-class tires.

Test discipline: snow braking.
Test discipline: snow braking. Source: autobild.de

The next line of the tournament bracket was scored by the Vredestein Quatrac Pro, which quickly stopped the car on wet pavement, at the same time ensuring good riding comfort, and the fifth place was shared by the Falken EuroAll Season AS210 and Nokian Seasonproof — the former has an excellent straight grip on snow and wet pavement combined with high wear, and the latter was commended for good price/quality ratio.

The new Michelin CrossClimate 2 scored a place not as high as one could expect — it was prone to understeer on wet pavement. A line still lower was occupied by the significantly less expensive Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3, which also could not score a lot of points on a wet track. The ninth line was scored by the Bridgestone Weather Control A005 Evo and Dunlop Sport All Season, which were both equally prone to understeer on snow, followed by the inexpensive Viking FourTech (a brand owned by Continental), which lost it to the competition in the wet test.

Test discipline: dry handling.
Test discipline: dry handling. Source: autobild.de

Line 12 was occupied by the Kumho Solus 4S HA32 tire, which boasted a long expected mileage (54,524 km), but was, again, prone to understeer on wet pavement and snow; then came the Firestone Multiseason Gen 02, which also offered a long tread life but had a few issues, such as weak hydroplaning resistance.

The main surprise of the test was the low position in the tournament bracket scored by the recently presented Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF 2, which, as it turned out, demonstrated a less-than-perfect wet performance, and the last places were scored by the Nexen N’Blue Season, with a long tread life but only average performance on all types of surfaces, and the Giti GitiAllSeason AS1, which has the shortest expected mileage (30,674 km), and increased rolling resistance.

When rating the tire’s environmental performance, the experts evaluated not only rolling resistance, but also the expected mileage and the price/durability ratio. The best model by these criteria was the Kumho model, which won the status of Eco-Meister.

Test Results

1st place: Goodyear / Vector 4Seasons Gen-3

Quick Take
92 59

Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3

Handling Price/Quality Dry Performance Wet Performance Snow/Ice Performance
  • This tire replaced Goodyear / Vector 4Seasons Gen-2
  • Available Sizes in Line: 129
  • Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
    • • Renault Megane E-Tech [2022 .. 2023]
    • • Jeep Avenger [2023 .. 2024]
  • Recommended Tire by Tests
  • Year Released: 2020
  • Regions for sale: Europe, Russia+, Japan, South Africa
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3

Positive: Good performance in all conditions. Short braking distances on wet roads. High resistance to aquaplaning. High mileage. Good price-performance ratio.
Verdict: Exemplary.

2nd place: Continental / AllSeasonContact

Quick Take
87 59

Continental AllSeasonContact

Price/Quality Wet Performance Handling Dry Performance Snow/Ice Performance Treadwear Comfort
  • This tire has been replaced by Continental / AllSeasonContact 2
  • Available Sizes in Line: 154
  • Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
    • • Volkswagen Multivan T7 [2021 .. 2023]
  • Recommended Tire by Tests
  • Year Released: 2017
  • Regions for sale: USA+, Canada, Europe, Russia+
Continental AllSeasonContact

Positive: Good balance of performance. Good grip on snow. Precise steering response. Excellent resistance to aquaplaning. Good level of comfort. Low rolling resistance.
Verdict: Exemplary.

3rd place: Hankook / Kinergy 4S 2 H750

Quick Take
82 53

Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 H750

Comfort Treadwear Price/Quality Dry Performance Wet Performance Snow/Ice Performance
  • Year Released: 2018
  • Regions for sale: USA+, Canada, Europe, Russia+, East Asia
Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 H750

Positive: Good balance of performance. Short braking distances on snow and wet roads. High resistance to aquaplaning. Good price-performance ratio.
Negative: Limited mileage.
Verdict: Good.

4th place: Vredestein / Quatrac Pro

Quick Take
80 44
Price/Quality Comfort Wet Performance Dry Performance Handling Snow/Ice Performance Treadwear
  • Year Released: 2019
  • Regions for sale: USA+, Canada, Europe
Vredestein Quatrac Pro

Positive: Good handling and short braking distances on wet roads. Precise steering response. Good level of comfort.
Negative: Limited mileage. Increased rolling resistance.
Verdict: Good.

5th place: Falken / EuroAll Season AS210

Quick Take
78 42

Falken EuroAll Season AS210

Dry Performance Wet Performance Snow/Ice Performance Handling Treadwear Price/Quality Comfort
  • Year Released: 2018
  • Regions for sale: Europe
Falken EuroAll Season AS210

Positive: High traction and short braking distances on snow. Good handling on dry and wet surfaces. Short braking distances on wet roads. High mileage.
Negative: Tendency to understeer on snow. Increased rolling resistance.
Verdict: Satisfactory.

6th place: Nokian / Seasonproof

Quick Take
78 36
Comfort Price/Quality Dry Performance Wet Performance
  • Year Released: 2020
  • Regions for sale: Europe, Japan
Nokian Seasonproof

Positive: Good handling on snow. High mileage. Good price-performance ratio.
Negative: Tendency to understeer on dry and wet surfaces.
Verdict: Satisfactory.

7th place: Michelin / CrossClimate 2

Quick Take
86 54

Michelin CrossClimate 2

Price/Quality Wet Performance Handling Dry Performance Snow/Ice Performance Comfort Treadwear
  • This tire replaced Michelin / CrossClimate
  • Available Sizes in Line: 55
  • Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
    • • Volvo C40 I [2021 .. 2023]
  • Recommended Tire by Tests
  • Year Released: 2020
  • Regions for sale: USA+, Canada, Europe, Russia+, Japan
Michelin CrossClimate 2

Positive: Good snow performance. High resistance to aquaplaning. Low rolling resistance.
Negative: Tendency to understeer on wet roads. High price.
Verdict: Satisfactory.

8th place: Maxxis / Premitra All Season AP3

Quick Take
68 42

Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3

Price/Quality Comfort Wet Performance Handling Dry Performance Snow/Ice Performance Treadwear
  • Year Released: 2019
  • Regions for sale: Canada, Europe, Russia+
Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3

Positive: Good lateral stability and good grip on snow. Short braking distances on dry surfaces. Low noise level. Good price.
Negative: Average wet performance. Average mileage.
Verdict: Satisfactory.

9th place: Bridgestone / Weather Control A005 Evo

Quick Take
81 59

Bridgestone Weather Control A005 Evo

Price/Quality Wet Performance Dry Performance Handling Snow/Ice Performance Comfort Treadwear
  • Year Released: 2020
  • Regions for sale: USA+, Canada, Europe, Russia+
Bridgestone Weather Control A005 Evo

Positive: Good handling on dry and wet surfaces. High traction and short braking distances on snow.
Negative: Tendency to understeer on snow. Limited mileage.
Verdict: Satisfactory.

10th place: Dunlop / Sport All Season

Quick Take
N/A 34
Handling Dry Performance Wet Performance
  • Available Sizes in Line: 25
  • Year Released: 2020
  • Regions for sale: Europe
Dunlop Sport All Season

Positive: Good performance on dry and wet surfaces. High resistance to aquaplaning.
Negative: Strong tendency to understeer on snow. Limited mileage.
Verdict: Satisfactory.

11th place: Viking / FourTech

Quick Take
N/A 21
  • Year Released: 2016
  • Regions for sale: Europe
Viking FourTech

Positive: Short braking distances on snow and wet roads. Good aquaplaning resistance. Low rolling resistance.
Negative: Average traction on snow. Tendency to understeer and long braking distances on wet roads.
Verdict: Satisfactory.

12th place: Kumho / Solus 4S HA32

Quick Take
65 40
  • Year Released: 2020
  • Regions for sale: North America, Europe, Japan
Kumho Solus 4S HA32

Positive: Good dry handling. Very high mileage.
Negative: Limited wet grip. Tendency to understeer on snow and wet roads.
Verdict: Satisfactory.

13th place: Firestone / MultiSeason Gen 02

Quick Take
73 32

Firestone MultiSeason Gen 02

Treadwear Dry Performance Snow/Ice Performance Handling Wet Performance Comfort
  • Year Released: 2019
  • Regions for sale: Europe, Russia+
Firestone MultiSeason Gen 02

Positive: High traction and short braking distances on snow. Good handling on snow and dry surfaces. High mileage.
Negative: Low resistance to aquaplaning. Low lateral stability on wet surfaces.
Verdict: Satisfactory.

14th place: Pirelli / Cinturato All Season SF 2

Quick Take
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Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF 2

Comfort Handling Dry Performance Wet Performance Snow/Ice Performance
  • Year Released: 2021
  • Regions for sale: Canada, Europe, Russia+, Japan
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF 2

Positive: Good handling on snow and dry surfaces.
Negative: Low rolling resistance. Long braking distances and poor wet performance.
Verdict: Satisfactory.

15th place: Nexen / N Blue 4Season

Quick Take
74 42
Comfort Snow/Ice Performance Wet Performance Price/Quality Dry Performance Handling Treadwear
  • This tire has been replaced by Nexen / N Blue 4Season 2
  • Available Sizes in Line: 123
  • Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
    • • Audi A3
  • Recommended Tire by Tests
  • Year Released: 2016
  • Regions for sale: Canada, Europe, Russia+, East Asia
Nexen N Blue 4Season

Positive: High mileage. Short braking distances on dry surfaces. Low price.
Negative: Average on snow. Strong tendency to understeer on dry and wet surfaces. Increased rolling resistance.
Verdict: Satisfactory.

16th place: Giti / GitiAllSeason AS1

Quick Take
N/A 22
  • Available Sizes in Line: 12
  • Year Released: 2018
  • Regions for sale: Europe
Giti GitiAllSeason AS1

Positive: Short braking distances on snow and wet surfaces. Good level of comfort.
Negative: Limited mileage. Increased rolling resistance.
Verdict: Satisfactory.

Price