Tyre Reviews: Summer Tire Test for Crossovers R18 2021

Tyre Reviews: Summer Tire Test for Crossovers R18

Tyre Reviews experts have 8 of the most popular SUV tyres in 235/55 R18, including the Michelin Primacy 4, the brand new Goodyear EfficientGrip 2 SUV, the extremely popular Uniroyal RainSport 5, the new Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3 SUV, the Nokian WetProof SUV, the Vredestein Ultrac Satin, the Avon ZX7, the BFGoodrich Advantage SUV, and a budget tyre represented by Westlake.

Vehicles which this size applies to are SUV and Crossover SUVs such as the BMW X3, BMW X5, Audi Q3, Volvo XC40 / XC60, Audi A8, Citroen C4 Aircross, VW Tiguan, Jeep Compass, Kia Sportage, Mercedes Benz EQA, GLA, S Class, Nissan Qashqai and many more.

  1. Michelin Primacy 4 - Winner Recommended
    Michelin Primacy 4
    85 61
    · Summer · 2017 · Passenger - Premuim Touring Summer
    Verdict:

    The Michelin Primacy 4 is an excellent tyre with very low fuel use and an excellent braking ability. Unfortunately the tyre has the shallowest tread depth on test, and while that's unlikely to be a wear issue for the French tyre, it did mean the tyre scored poorly in aquaplaning test, and struggled in the deeper parts of water on the wet handling lap.

    Positive: Shortest dry braking by a margin, very short wet braking, good on damp grass, lowest rolling resistance by some margin.
    Negative: Lowest aquaplaning resistance on test, which also cost the tyre time on the wet handling lap, average gravel traction.

    Wet Braking   Dry Braking   Grass Traction   Rolling Resistance   Straight Aquaplaning   Lateral Aquaplaning  
    Mexico Mexico · Central & South America Central & South America · Europe Europe · Russia+ Russia+ · East Asia East Asia · Southeast Asia Southeast Asia · Middle East Middle East · Oceania Oceania
  2. Goodyear EfficientGrip 2 SUV Recommended
    Goodyear EfficientGrip 2 SUV
    91 52
    · Summer · 2021 · Light Truck / SUV - Highway Rib Summer
    Verdict:

    Once again Goodyear is proving they can develop tyres with seemingly no weaknesses. While the new EfficientGrip 2 SUV only won a single test, it was rarely out of the top three in every other test making it an EXCELLENT all round tyre.

    Positive: Very well balanced tyre, no real weakness in any of the tests, good in the dry and wet with good steering response, short braking distances, good levels of comfort, highest traction on gravel and very good on grass, low rolling resistance, lowest noise on test.
    Negative: Slightly weaker curved aquaplaning resistance compared to the best.

    Gravel Traction   Dry Braking   Grass Traction   Noise   Wet Handling   Comfort   Dry Handling   Rolling Resistance  
    Europe Europe · Russia+ Russia+ · Japan Japan · China China · Southeast Asia Southeast Asia · Middle East Middle East · South Africa South Africa
  3. Uniroyal RainSport 5
    Uniroyal RainSport 5
    74 40
    · Summer · 2019 · Passenger - Ultra High Performance Summer
    Verdict:

    The Uniroyal RainSport 5 is living up to its name by having a class leading performance in the wet, regardless of water depth, and as always, very good levels of comfort. Unfortunately, as we've found previously with the RainSport range, that comes at the expense of performance in the dry where the tyre has lower levels of grip and a heavy understeer handling balance.

    Positive: Excellent wet performance with the shortest wet braking distances, fastest wet handling, high levels of comfort, good grip on gravel, and best aquaplaning resistance overall.
    Negative: Relatively poor performance in the dry with extended dry braking and heavy understeer in dry handling.

    Wet Braking   Gravel Traction   Straight Aquaplaning   Wet Handling   Comfort   Lateral Aquaplaning   Dry Handling  
    Europe Europe
  4. Hankook Ventus S1 evo3 SUV K127A
    Hankook Ventus S1 evo3 SUV K127A
    89 41
    · Summer · 2019 · Light Truck / SUV - Street/Sport Truck Summer
    Verdict:

    The Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3 SUV is another well balanced tyre from the Korean manufacturer, performing well in all the grip tests. The tyres only major weakness was rolling resistance, where it was 20% off the leading tyre.

    Positive: Fastest dry handling lap, very good in wet handling, short braking distances in the dry and wet, low noise, good traction on damp grass.
    Negative: Average straight aquaplaning resistance, high rolling resistance, low traction on gravel.

    Wet Braking   Grass Traction   Noise   Wet Handling   Dry Handling   Gravel Traction   Rolling Resistance  
    North America North America · Central & South America Central & South America · Europe Europe · Russia+ Russia+ · East Asia East Asia · Southeast Asia Southeast Asia · Middle East Middle East · Oceania Oceania
  5. BFGoodrich Advantage SUV
    BFGoodrich Advantage SUV
    78 34
    · Summer · 2020 · Light Truck / SUV - Highway Rib Summer
    Verdict:

    The BFGoodrich Advantage SUV is a tyre with good levels of comfort, short dry braking distances, and good aquaplaning resistance in deeper water. The tyre struggles a little more in shallow water, with longer wet braking distances and understeer handling.

    Positive: Short braking in the dry, good aquaplaning resistance, good off road performance, very good levels of comfort, low rolling resistance.
    Negative: Extended braking distances in the wet, slow handling in the dry and wet with high levels of understeer, highest external pass by noise.

    Dry Braking   Straight Aquaplaning   Comfort   Lateral Aquaplaning   Rolling Resistance   Dry Handling   Wet Handling   Noise  
    Europe Europe · Middle East Middle East
  6. Nokian Wetproof SUV
    Nokian Wetproof SUV
    81 36
    · Summer · 2020 · Light Truck / SUV - Street/Sport Truck Summer
    Verdict:

    The Nokian Wetproof SUV is a balanced tyre, and while it doesn't excel in any particular area, it's not drastically bad in any either.

    Positive: A balanced performance with good grip in the dry and on gravel.
    Negative: Not leading in any test, relatively poor grip on damp grass.

    Gravel Traction   Dry Handling   Grass Traction  
    Europe Europe
  7. Vredestein Ultrac Satin
    Vredestein Ultrac Satin
    79 34
    · Summer · 2016 · Passenger - High Performance Summer
    Verdict:

    The Vredestein Ultrac Satin is a tyre we'd like to see trade some of its aquaplaning performance for some more rubber on the ground for improvements in the grip tests, as subjectively the tyre was nice to drive on, it just lacked grip.

    Positive: Very good aquaplaning resistance, relatively low rolling resistance, good grip on gravel.
    Negative: Long braking distances in the dry and wet, lower levels of comfort.

    Gravel Traction   Straight Aquaplaning   Noise   Lateral Aquaplaning   Wet Braking   Dry Braking   Comfort  
    USA+ USA+ · Canada Canada · Europe Europe · Russia+ Russia+
  8. Avon ZX7
    Avon ZX7
    69 19
    · Summer · 2016 · Light Truck / SUV - Street/Sport Truck Summer
    Verdict:

    The Avon ZX7 was an enjoyable tyre to drive in the dry and wet, feeling even sporty at times, however the braking and aquaplaning performance of the tyre couldn't match the best on test.

    Positive: Excellent handling in the dry, with sporty direct steering, good in wet handling.
    Negative: Longer braking distances in the dry and wet, poor aquaplaning resistance, low grip on gravel and grass, highest rolling resistance on test.

    Dry Handling   Wet Handling   Gravel Traction   Rolling Resistance  
    Europe Europe · Russia+ Russia+
  9. Westlake SU318 Radial H/T
    Westlake SU318 Radial H/T
    83 26
    · All Season · 2012 · Light Truck / SUV - Crossover/SUV Touring All-Season
    Verdict:

    Once again the cheapest tyre on test, performed the worst, however it's worth noting, while this tyre was sold as a summer tyre when shopping for the test, it is marketed as an all season tyre in north america, meaning it's likely to have a higher level of snow performance than the other eight tyres which could explain some of the offset in the dry and wet.

    Positive: Relatively quiet external pass by noise.
    Negative: Low grip in all tests, extremely long wet braking distances, poor aquaplaning resistance, low levels of comfort, high rolling resistance.

    Noise   Wet Braking   Dry Braking   Grass Traction   Straight Aquaplaning   Wet Handling   Comfort   Lateral Aquaplaning   Dry Handling  
    North America North America · Central & South America Central & South America · Europe Europe · Russia+ Russia+ · East Asia East Asia · Oceania Oceania
Youtube Video
8 of the BEST SUV Tyres For 2021 - Tested and Rated
June 27, 2021
Year
2021
Tire Test Original Link
Visit Website
Tire Size
235/55R18
Season
Summer
Auto Type
Light Truck / SUV / 4*4
List Type
Professional Tire Test
Region
Europe
Date added
Jun 27, 2021
Date updated
Mar 20, 2022

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