The Auto Express magazine conducted a comparative test of seven summer tires, including two newcomers 2022.
List of models tested:
- Austone SP-7
- Bridgestone Potenza Sport
- Falken Azenis FK520
- Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6
- Hankook Ventus S1 evo3 K127
- Maxxis Victra Sport 5
- Pirelli Cinturato P7 (P7C2)
The British magazine Auto Express conducted its next tire test, this time comparing UHP summer tires from seven manufacturers in size 225/40 R18 with 92Y load and speed indexes. The previous test of tires of this size was conducted by AE back in 2016, and not a single participant returned to the test this time around, including due to dealership stock issues. Over this time, a few fresh models have appeared on the market, such as Bridgestone Potenza Sport, and, in addition, the test involved two hot new releases 2022 — Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 and the Falken Azenis FK520, for which this was a debut in independent tire tests. The Asian budget tire brands were represented by the Austone Athena SP7 model, produced by Prinx Chengshan. The tests were conducted at the Bridgestone proving ground in Aprilia, Italy, and rolling resistance was measured in the company’s nearby R&D facility in Castel Romano.
Just like in the recent SUV tire test, wet handling performance was evaluated in the special section of the Bridgestone proving ground, built quite recently. The best handling and braking performance was demonstrated by the Bridgestone Potenza Sport (probably because it played «at its home field»); very good results were also shown by the new Goodyear model. Last place in both disciplines was predictably occupied by the Austone model, and an unpleasant surprise was that the Pirelli Cinturato P7 fell substantially short of the competition — the AE experts said that this tire could use a major revision.
Wet Handling
- Bridgestone
- Goodyear
- Maxxis
- Hankook
- Falken
- Pirelli
- Austone
Info! Points, %.
Wet Braking
- Bridgestone
- Hankook
- Maxxis
- Goodyear
- Falken
- Pirelli
- Austone
Info! Points, %.
The tests for hydroplaning resistance were led off by the Goodyear model, which was better than the rest at dispelling water from the contact area while driving straight and in corners as well. One should also mention a high result of yet another newcomer — the Falken Azenis FK520. The Austone model again was the worst. Another tire that had issues was Hankook.
Straight hydroplaning resistance
- Goodyear
- Falken
- Maxxis
- Bridgestone
- Pirelli
- Hankook
- Austone
Info! Points, %.
Lateral hydroplaning resistance
- Goodyear
- Bridgestone
- Falken
- Maxxis
- Pirelli
- Hankook
- Austone
Info! Points, %.
On a dry track, the Bridgestone model again made a clean sweep of the competition, confidently scoring first place in the handling and braking tests. On the whole, the order of all the tires in the two disciplines was the same, and the leader was followed by Goodyear and Falken, while the last lines were scored by (surprisingly) Pirelli and Austone.
Dry handling
- Bridgestone
- Goodyear
- Falken
- Maxxis
- Hankook
- Pirelli
- Austone
Info! Points, %.
Dry braking
- Bridgestone
- Goodyear
- Falken
- Maxxis
- Hankook
- Pirelli
- Austone
Info! Points, %.
The noise was measured in the cabin at a speed of 50–80 km/h, and the quietest tires were Hankook, Austone and Pirelli. At the same time, the Goodyear model dropped to the bottom of the tournament bracket, and this was its first obvious issue (but then again, the difference from the leader was mere 2,8%).
Cabin noise
- Bridgestone
- Michelin
- Kenda
- Apollo
- Apollo
- Apollo
- Apollo
Info! Points, %.
And, finally, the ranking of best fuel savers was topped by the Pirelli model. This did not help it much in the final standings, considering the tire’s poor wet and dry performance. Second-placed was the Goodyear model, which is living proof that low rolling resistance can indeed be combined with excellent grip; it was followed by Falken. The worst result was demonstrated by Bridgestone — the tire technologists clearly sacrificed fuel saving performance in favor of maximum grip.
Rolling resistance
- Bridgestone
- Michelin
- Kenda
- Apollo
- Apollo
- Apollo
- Apollo
Info! Points, %.
Verdict
First place with the highest scores for handling performance and the shortest dry and wet stopping distances was scored by the Bridgestone Potenza Sport. According to the experts, possibly, this has something to do with the fact that Potenza Sport can be quite reasonably referred to the Ultra-Ultra High Performance category, while the widely available alternative — Turanza T005 — would have had difficulties in this company. On wet pavement, this tire confidently followed the set trajectory, demonstrating impressive grip, and its superiority in terms of braking performance could be felt particularly acutely at the entrance to a sharp corner after a long straight line, where the car was slowed down with the ABS disabled. The tire was just as reliable on a wet track, where smaller cornering angles were required, and when heated, the reduction in the tire’s grip was minimal. In the hydroplaning resistance test, the Bridgestone was no longer the leader, yielding this status to the new Goodyear model, and this tire also has a very high rolling resistance.
Silver goes to the newcomer 2022, the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, which stopped just a little short of becoming the champion of its AE debut test. Although on a wet and on a dry track the Goodyear model did let its competitor from Bridgestone get ahead, its lead over the rest of the competition was quite substantial. The experts shared that on a dry track the tire maintained excellent grip, especially in high-speed bends, and on wet pavement it allowed the driver to quickly enter corners without creating the danger of drifting. In the middle of a bend the grip was not as high as Bridgestone’s but on the whole the Goodyear model delivered excellent wet performance.
The third line in the final standings was occupied by the Maxxis Victra Sport 5, which in 2019 almost won in the evo test, this time also performed on a quite decent level, and this in view of the fact that it had to compete with the world’s leading brands. The Maxxis tire owes its bronze first of all to its very well-balanced performance; on the whole, it performed almost on a level with Hankook, which surpassed Maxxis in the handling and braking tests, but yielded to it in the hydroplaning resistance test. The AE experts noted that in the handling test the Falken model demonstrated good traction, but the grip would go relatively early, and, in addition, just like Hankook, this tire’s performance declined when heated.
The Hankook Ventus S1 evo3 fell behind the Maxxis by mere 0.1%, performing at its absolute best on a wet track where this tire demonstrated a very short stopping distance. The Bridgestone model, however, was even better at it, but the Hankook tire was still way ahead of the competition by this parameter. The AE experts noted that the Hankook tire had a crisp steering response, which gives the driver confidence, and the traction was only slightly weaker than that of the Bridgestone model, and in addition, the loss of grip on the front axle was occurring predictably. On dry pavement, the crispness of steering response remained, but, regrettably, quickly deteriorated once the tires got heated. At the same time, stability in corners remained in place. In the noise level test, the Hankook model turned out to be the quietest one of all the tested tires but eventually this was not enough to help it get to the winners’ pedestal.
Next placed was another newcomer — the Falken Azenis FK520 — and we have no doubts that Sumitomo would have liked its new model to score a higher position in its debut test. The new Falken model was engineered with the use of technologies used in the production of race car tires — it became lighter and stiffer compared to the FK510, and it showed itself to the best advantage in the hydroplaning resistance test where the only tire to score more points was Goodyear. At the same time, Falken’s wet braking distance was 20% longer than that of the leader, and this lack of grip also compromised handling performance in corners because the driver had to wait before accelerating the car in order to stay on the set trajectory. In addition, the car could go into a drift during an emergency maneuver, but generally the driver had to wait for the response from the front axle tires. Eventually, due to the long braking distance, Falken took only third place counting from the end in the wet tests, only Pirelli and Austone being worse. On a dry track the situation improved, but this alone, just as the good fuel saving capabilities, was not enough to make up for the poor results in the wet.
The Pirelli Cinturato P7 came only sixth. The AE experts said that they were testing this model from the Italian brand for three consecutive years, and it has been scoring bottom lines of the tournament bracket with such persistence that a question arises — what is wrong with this tire from one of the world’s top manufacturers? In 2022, the only discipline where the Pirelli model was the best was fuel efficiency (CP7 is capable of reducing fuel consumption by the vehicle by 6% compared to Bridgestone), it is also pretty quiet, but otherwise the tire’s performance left much to be desired, and, if it had not been for the budget Austone tire, the Pirelli could have easily come last in more than half of the disciplines. What came as a real surprise, though, was an incredibly long wet braking distance shown by the Pirelli model; in addition, the tire was more prone to drifting than most of its competitors — even though the drifts could be easily controlled.
Despite the fact that the Austone Athena SP7 is produced by a company that used to be Cooper affiliated company, for all intents and purposes, the influence of the technologies used by the American brand started to wane after the joint venture was dissolved in 2014, and the tire from Prinx Chengshan was clearly the worst both in the wet and in the dry. According to the experts, when tested on wet pavement, the rear tires would go into a drift virtually every time the front wheels regained grip, and, although driving on such tires was fun, nobody would want to experience something like this in real life on a roundabout in rainy weather, particularly in view of the fact that the 80 km/h braking distance demonstrated by the Austone model was 18 meters longer than that of the leader. On a dry course, the Austone model was not so strikingly behind the competition, but it still needed extra 5 meters to bring the car to a standstill when braking from 100 km/h. Its behavior became more stable but large steering angles were required, and, besides, the Austone cannot boast any great fuel saving performance either.
1st place: Bridgestone / Potenza Sport
Quick Take
Bridgestone Potenza Sport
- Excellent handling response and very short braking distance in any conditions
- Good hydroplaning resistance
- High rolling resistance
2nd place: Goodyear / Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6
Quick Take
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6
- Good handling response and a short stopping distance on wet and dry pavement alike
- Very high hydroplaning resistance
- Low rolling resistance
- High noise emission
3rd place: Maxxis / Victra Sport 5 VS5
Quick Take
Maxxis Victra Sport 5 VS5
- Well-balanced performance
- Good handling performance on wet pavement (although grip may be lost relatively early)
- Grip significantly deteriorates when heated
4th place: Hankook / Ventus S1 evo3 K127
Quick Take
Hankook Ventus S1 evo3 K127
- Good handling response and a short stopping distance on wet pavement
- Low noise emission
- Low hydroplaning resistance
- Relatively long braking distance and less-than-perfect handling response on dry pavement
- Grip significantly deteriorates when heated
5th place: Falken / Azenis FK520
Quick Take
Falken Azenis FK520
- Good handling response and a short stopping distance on dry pavement
- Excellent hydroplaning resistance
- Good environmental performance
- Long braking distance and less-than-perfect handling response on wet pavement
- Increased noise
6th place: Pirelli / Cinturato P7 (P7C2)
Quick Take
Pirelli Cinturato P7 (P7C2)
- Very low rolling resistance
- Low noise emission
- Disappointingly poor results on wet and dry pavement (the main unpleasant surprise was a very long wet braking distance)
7th place: Austone SP-7
- Low price
- Low noise emission
- Poor handling response and a very long braking distance on dry and wet pavement
- High rolling resistance
- Not recommended.
