This year, the Hungarians were a little late with the summer tire test, but made up for it by including a few all-season models in the test pool.
List of models tested:
- Barum Bravuris 5HM
- Barum Quartaris 5
- Continental AllSeasonContact
- Continental EcoContact 6
- Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun
- Kleber Quadraxer 2
- Kumho Ecsta HS51
- Michelin CrossClimate+
- Michelin Primacy 4
- Pirelli Cinturato P7
- Taurus High Performance
- Toyo Proxes Comfort
In 2021, the Hungarian magazine Autonavigator was supposed to perform its summer tire tests in the spring ahead of the season, like it has been doing since 2012, but well-known factors altered its schedule, and the tests were carried out only recently. As usual, the tires were tested at the test facility in Modjorod; interestingly, the test car was a previous-generation Skoda Octavia. Totally, the test involved 15 sets of tires, and, in addition to summer tires, a few all-season tires from various brands were thrown in. Furthermore, the test included worn summer and winter tires (three and eight years old respectively), as well as a set of new winter tires (Michelin Alpin 6). This was done to remind the readers how much tire wear affects driving safety, and what consequences your desire to «use up» your winter tires in summer may lead to.
This year, the Hungarians were a little late with the summer tire test, but made up for it by including a few all-season models in the test pool.
During the dry test, the air temperature was 15–25 degrees; the asphalt warmed up to 17–40 degrees. At the same time, during the wet tests, the air temperature dropped to 10 degrees and lower, and the AN experts noted that in this case the weather conditions significantly affected the tires’ performance, meaning that if the weather had been warmer, the results could have been different.
This year, the Hungarians were a little late with the summer tire test, but made up for it by including a few all-season models in the test pool.
The braking test was led by the Falken tire from the Japanese Sumitomo, coming first in the dry and second in the wet. Tested on wet pavement at a low temperature, the premium Continental and Michelin fell short of a few medium-class tires, while the real «losers» in both disciplines were the all-season Barum and Kleber models (ironically, these brands are owned by Continental and Michelin respectively), the first tire demonstrating a surprisingly long dry braking distance, even longer than that of the winter tires.
Test Results
The best lateral stability on wet and dry pavement was demonstrated by Falken, and looked as if it could just as well come first in the final standings Another Barum tire again distinguished itself, and not in a good way — this time around it was the summer model Bravuis 5HM.
After the four disciplines, Falken had an impressive lead over the rest of the group. However, tires are expected to deliver not just the optimum handling performance (even though it is indeed of key importance), but also a smooth and noiseless ride, as well as fuel efficiency, and in both cases the tires of this Japanese brand got rated as «bad», which stopped them from topping the tournament bracket. In terms of acoustic comfort and environmental performance, the best tire was the summer Barum model, which did add to their overall score, but, of course, can by no means be considered a substitute for the poor lateral grip in any conditions.
Yet another important area of performance is resistance to wear, but, sadly, this parameter is tested by very few publications. The AN experts evaluate this factor simply by looking at the tires after 15 km of heavy use during the tests. The best tires in this respect were pronounced to be the summer Michelin, while the biggest wear was observed on the used summer and winter tires. In addition, bad scores were received by Pirelli, all-season Michelin, and, particularly, the cheap Taurus tires.
The weight of the scores was distributed in the following way; dry and wet braking — 30 and 20% respectively, wear — 15%, straight and lateral stability — 10% each, environment — 10%, and noise — 5%. According to this system, the best tire turned out to be a Continental, and not the Continental PremiumContact 6 (which has already grown accustomed to scoring victories here and there), but the Continental EcoContact 6, for which this is quite an achievement. Then came the Michelin Primacy 4, and third place was scored by the Kumho Ecsta HS51, which had earlier won in a big Auto Bild test. In addition, good scores were also received by the Barum Bravuris 5HM, Falken Ziex ZE310 EcoRun, and Toyo Proxes Comfort, and the AN experts noted that you can buy any tires from the top of the tournament bracket without thinking twice about it — just remember that the Barum tire has obvious issues with lateral stability on wet and dry pavement alike.
This year, the Hungarians were a little late with the summer tire test, but made up for it by including a few all-season models in the test pool.
Among the all-season tires, the best were pronounced to be the Continental AllSeasonContact, while the Barum Quartaris 5 from the same manufacturer got a «not recommended» verdict. At the same time, the obvious outsider of the whole test was the summer tire Taurus High Performance, priced in Hungary just 4,000 Forints (11 Euro) cheaper than the Kumho model, which scored the high third place. The Taurus High Performance showed results so poor that only the used winter tires — definitely not recommended for summer use — were second to it.
1st place: Continental / EcoContact 6
Quick Take
Continental EcoContact 6
- This tire has been replaced by Continental / EcoContact 6Q , Continental / EcoContact 7 , Continental / EcoContact 7 S
- This tire replaced Continental / ContiEcoContact 5
- Available Sizes in Line: 177
-
Original Equipment (OE) tires
for:
- • Volvo XC40 I [2017 .. 2023]
- • Volkswagen Passat Variant B8 Facelift [2019 .. 2023]
- • Jaguar XE X760 Facelift [2019 .. 2023]
- • Volvo V60 II [2018 .. 2023]
- • Ford Fiesta VII [2017 .. 2023]
- • Ford Focus IV (C519) [2018 .. 2023]
- • Ford Focus Active IV [2018 .. 2023]
- • Ford Puma II (J2K) [2019 .. 2023]
- • Ford Kuga III (CX482) [2019 .. 2023]
- • BMW 4 Series G22/G23/G26 [2020 .. 2023]
- • Peugeot 2008 II (P24) [2019 .. 2023]
- • Opel Mokka II [2020 .. 2023]
- • DS DS 3 Crossback EMP1 [2018 .. 2023]
- • Nio ET7 [2021 .. 2023]
- • Mercedes-Benz C-Class Br206 [2021 .. 2023]
- • Mercedes-Benz EQB X243 [2021 .. 2023]
- • Alfa Romeo Tonale [2022 .. 2024]
- • Maserati Grecale [2022 .. 2024]
- Year Released: 2018
- Regions for sale: North America, Europe, Russia+, East Asia, Middle East, South Africa, Oceania
- Well-balanced performance
- No prominent issues found
- Short braking distance on dry pavement
- Low rolling resistance
- High resistance to wear
2nd place: Michelin / Primacy 4
Quick Take
Michelin Primacy 4
- This tire has been replaced by Michelin / e.Primacy , Michelin / Primacy 4+ , Michelin / Primacy 4 ST
- Available Sizes in Line: 143
- Year Released: 2017
- Regions for sale: Mexico, Central & South America, Europe, Russia+, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Oceania
- Well-balanced performance
- No prominent issues found
- Extremely high resistance to wear
3rd place: Kumho / Ecsta HS51
Quick Take
Kumho Ecsta HS51
- This tire has been replaced by Kumho / Ecsta HS52
- Available Sizes in Line: 71
-
Original Equipment (OE) tires
for:
- • Kia
- • Renault Arkana I B0+ [2019 .. 2023]
- Year Released: 2015
- Regions for sale: Central & South America, Europe, Russia+, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, North Africa, Oceania
- Well-balanced performance
- No prominent issues found
- Short braking distance on wet pavement
- Low noise emission
4th place: Barum / Bravuris 5HM
Quick Take
Barum Bravuris 5HM
- This tire replaced Barum / Bravuris 3HM
- Available Sizes in Line: 226
- Year Released: 2019
- Regions for sale: Central & South America, Europe, Russia+
- Low noise emission
- Low rolling resistance
- High resistance to wear
- Long braking distance on dry pavement
- Weak lateral stability on dry and wet pavement
5th place: Falken / Ziex ZE310 Ecorun
Quick Take
Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun
- Available Sizes in Line: 131
-
Original Equipment (OE) tires
for:
- • Audi A1 citycarver GB [2019 .. 2023]
- • Audi Q3 F3 [2018 .. 2023]
- Year Released: 2017
- Regions for sale: Europe, Russia+, South Africa
- Short braking distance and good lateral stability on dry and wet pavement
- High noise emission
- High rolling resistance
6th place: Toyo / Proxes Comfort
Quick Take
Toyo Proxes Comfort
- This tire replaced Toyo / Proxes CF2
- Available Sizes in Line: 64
-
Original Equipment (OE) tires
for:
- • Toyota Alphard III Facelift [2018 .. 2024]
- Year Released: 2020
- Regions for sale: Europe, Russia+
- Short braking distance on wet pavement
- Good lateral stability on dry pavement
7th place: Continental / AllSeasonContact
Quick Take
Continental AllSeasonContact
- This tire has been replaced by Continental / AllSeasonContact 2
- Available Sizes in Line: 154
-
Original Equipment (OE) tires
for:
- • Volkswagen Multivan T7 [2021 .. 2023]
- Year Released: 2017
- Regions for sale: USA+, Canada, Europe, Russia+
- Short braking distance and good lateral stability on wet pavement
- High rolling resistance
8th place: Kleber / Quadraxer 2
Quick Take
Kleber Quadraxer 2
- Available Sizes in Line: 120
- Year Released: 2016
- Regions for sale: Europe, Russia+
- High resistance to wear
- Long braking distance on wet and dry pavements
9th place: Michelin / CrossClimate+
Quick Take
Michelin CrossClimate+
- This tire replaced Michelin / CrossClimate
- Available Sizes in Line: 124
-
Original Equipment (OE) tires
for:
- • Citroën E-Mehari [2016 .. 2019]
- • Peugeot 3008
- Year Released: 2017
- Regions for sale: USA+, Canada, Europe, Russia+, East Asia, Middle East
- No prominent issues found
- Good lateral stability on wet pavement
10th place: Pirelli / Cinturato P7
Quick Take
Pirelli Cinturato P7
- Many sizes of this line have been discontinued.
- This tire has been replaced by Pirelli / Cinturato P7 Blue , Pirelli / Cinturato P7 (P7C2)
- This tire has run-flat model:
- Available Sizes in Line: 158
-
Original Equipment (OE) tires
for:
- • Alfa Romeo Giulietta 940 [2010 .. 2023]
- • Audi A7 4G8 [2010 .. 2015]
- • Audi A6 C7 [2011 .. 2018]
- • Audi A5 8T/8F [2007 .. 2016]
- • Audi A4 B8 [2007 .. 2012]
- • Audi A4 Allroad B8 [2009 .. 2011]
- • Audi A3 8P [2003 .. 2005]
- • BMW 6 Series III (F06/F12/F13) [2011 .. 2015]
- • BMW 5 Series VI (F10/F11) [2009 .. 2013]
- • BMW 4 Series F32/F33/F36 [2013 .. 2017]
- • BMW 3 Series V (E90/E91/E92/E93) LCI [2008 .. 2013]
- • BMW 3 Series V (E90/E91/E92/E93) [2005 .. 2010]
- • BMW 1 Series I (E87) [2004 .. 2007]
- • MINI Paceman R61 [2012 .. 2016]
- • MINI Countryman R60 [2010 .. 2016]
- • Chevrolet Montana II [2011 .. 2023]
- • Fiat Punto 199 [2005 .. 2012]
- • Fiat Punto 199 Facelift [2012 .. 2018]
- • Fiat Bravo 198 [2007 .. 2015]
- • Ford Focus III (C346) [2011 .. 2015]
- • Ford Fiesta VI Facelift [2012 .. 2019]
- • Ford Fiesta VI [2011 .. 2013]
- • Ford EcoSport II [2013 .. 2019]
- • Jaguar XF X250 [2007 .. 2011]
- • Mercedes-Benz S-Class W222 [2013 .. 2020]
- • Mercedes-Benz E-Class Br212 [2009 .. 2013]
- • Mercedes-Benz E-Class Br211 [2002 .. 2009]
- • Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class Br209 [2003 .. 2010]
- • Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class R172 [2011 .. 2016]
- • Mercedes-Benz C-Class Br204 [2008 .. 2015]
- • Mercedes-Benz B-Class W246 [2012 .. 2018]
- • Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176 [2013 .. 2017]
- • Mercedes-Benz Viano W639 [2004 .. 2009]
- • Mitsubishi Lancer X (CY) [2007 .. 2017]
- • Seat Leon 5F [2012 .. 2020]
- • Skoda Octavia Mk3 A7 (5E) [2013 .. 2017]
- • Skoda Octavia Mk2 A5 (1Z) [2005 .. 2012]
- • Skoda Superb II B6 (3T) [2008 .. 2017]
- • Volvo S80 II [2006 .. 2016]
- • Volvo V40 Cross Country I [2012 .. 2017]
- • Volvo V40 II [2012 .. 2016]
- • Ford Ka
- • BMW 2 Series
- • Kia Cerato
- • MINI Clubman
- • Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class
- • BMW X1
- • BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo
- • Jaguar XE
- • Alfa Romeo Giulia
- • BMW X4 G02 LCI [2021 .. 2024]
- Year Released: 2004
- Regions for sale: North America, Central & South America, Europe, Russia+, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Oceania
- No prominent issues found
- Good lateral stability on dry pavement
11th place: Barum / Quartaris 5
Quick Take
Barum Quartaris 5
- Available Sizes in Line: 46
- Year Released: 2018
- Regions for sale: Europe, Russia+
- High resistance to wear
- Long braking distance on wet and dry pavements
- High noise emission
