205/55R16

GTÜ/ACE/ARBÖ 2019: Summer Tire Test

In spite of the SUV boom, compact cars still remain very popular. That’s why the German vehicle inspection organization GTÜ joined efforts with German motoring organization ACE and Austrian counterpart ARBÖ to test a few tires of size 205/55 R16, which is popular with compact car owners in Germany. There was only one rule that had to be observed during the selection of tires — one product item was to be under 100 Euros.

List of models tested:

205/55 R16 Summer Tire Test Results

Out of nine tire models tested, only three were able to score the highest ranking of «Highly Recommended». In spite of the fact that on dry pavement all of the contestants delivered all but equal performance, the differences in the tires’ performance came up when it came to the wet tests.

205/55 R16 Summer Tire Test Results
GTÜ, ACE and ARBÖ 205/55 R16 Summer Tire Test Result summary. Click to enlarge.

The winner of the test, a novelty 2019

The victory in the compact car summer tire test from GTU was scored by the Finnish tire maker Nokian with 304 Euros per tire set. The Nokian Wetproof model lived up to its name becoming a leader thanks to its performance on wet pavement, in spite of the fact that on dry pavement its results were slightly weaker than the other contestants’.

The second and third places were scored by Dunlop Sport BluResponse (344 Euro) and Continental PremiumContact 6 (368 Euro) respectively.

Their overall scores on wet pavement were slightly weaker than Nokian’s but in the dry they behaved much more confidently  says the technical expert of TiresVote.com.

Obviously, in terms of the overall results, this tire was failed by its higher price.

The top three of the overall ranking got a «Highly Recommended» from the GTU experts.

Braking performance on wet pavement

In terms of wet braking, the experts without any hesitation named Nokian Wetproof to be the best tire on test. In addition to a very short braking distance, this tire delivered outstanding lateral stability.

Continental PremiumContact 6 also delivered efficient wet braking performance but could not handle lateral hydroplaning.

GTÜ/ACE/ARBÖ 2019 wet surface 1

As for the Dunlop Sport BluResponse tire, it did not have any issues with lateral hydroplaning but it lost out to its competitors in terms of wet braking performance: braking at a speed of 80 km/h, Nokian and Continental took 32 meters to come to a standstill, while Dunlop needed 35.8 meters.

Speaking about the wet braking performance, we must mention two more models. These are Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance and Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun. Their braking distance exceeded the 37-meter mark, and these were the weakest results on test.

Dry surface

On dry pavement the leaders were Bridgestone Turanza T005 and Continental PremiumContact 6 that, as the test experts stressed, were very easy to control, which is very important for less experienced drivers. And this creates a true feeling of safety.

Disappointment of the test

Michelin Primacy 4 and Pirelli Cinturato P7, which represent the world-renowned brands, became a disappointment to the test experts. Nobody said that they were «bad», of course, but they could not hold their own with the competition in many of the test disciplines.

Price

 

The price of Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun and Hankook K125 Ventus Prime 3 beat all the competition. On average, for a 4-tire set of these models you will have to pay under 300 Euros, whilst the Michelin product will hit you for another 100 Euros.

Note!

We strongly recommend you to base your choice of tires on different comparative tests, as well as take the time to study the test results in various disciplines.