Ten sets of summer tires for compact SUVs were tested by the experts of Germany’s Auto Bild Allrad magazine. As usual, the test involved tire models from different price brackets. So different that some of the sets had a price tag twice as expensive as others’. In addition, two new summer models 2019 from Goodyear and Nokian were tested.
This year, the Auto Bild Allrad experts’ choice fell on size 225/55 R17 that fits such compact SUVs as Audi Q3, BMW X1, Ford Kuga, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Renegade and Compass, Kia Sportage, Mitsubishi Outlander, Mazda CX-5, Nissan Qashqai and X-Trail, Skoda Yeti, Subaru Forester, Suzuki Vitara, Toyota RAV4, and Volkswagen Tiguan.
The tire size chosen by Auto Bild Allrad is only slightly different from 225/45 R17 that was also chosen by Auto Bild for summer tire tests 2019.
List of models tested:
- Bridgestone Turanza T005
- Continental PremiumContact 6
- Cooper Zeon CS8
- CST Medallion MD-A1
- Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
- Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125
- Maxxis Premitra 5
- Nexen N’Fera RU1
- Nokian Powerproof
- Toyo Proxes Sport
A double victory was scored this time by Taiwan’s tire maker Cheng Shin Rubber. In the Auto Bild Allrad summer tire test this manufacturer was represented by Maxxis and CST brands. Getting ahead of the story, we will note that the super-inexpensive CST model was only 19% cheaper than its «big brother» but, as it turned out, this was not the money worth saving, and, seeing the test results, you will understand why.
Test Summary
Off-road
Considering the fact that the test involved tires that were originally engineered to be used on hard surfaces, grass traction demonstrated by Goodyear, Hankook and Nokian deserves high praise. The weakest grip on grass was demonstrated by Bridgestone Turanza T005.
Grass Traction
- Goodyear
- Hankook
- Nokian
- Cooper
- CST
- Continental
- Nexen
- Toyo
- Maxxis
- Bridgestone
Info! Traction, N.
Mud traction is not a conventional discipline in road tire tests. Probably because of that CST and Maxxis got ahead of everybody else here, with Continental lagging behind all the other contestants.
Mud Traction
- CST
- Maxxis
- Cooper
- Goodyear
- Nokian
- Hankook
- Nexen
- Toyo
- Bridgestone
- Continental
Info! Traction, N.
Mud traction is not a conventional discipline in road tire tests. Probably because of that CST and Maxxis got ahead of everybody else here, with Continental lagging behind all the other contestants.
Sand Traction
- Hankook
- Nexen
- Bridgestone
- Continental
- Cooper
- Nokian
- Goodyear
- Toyo
- CST
- Maxxis
Info! Traction, N.
Oftentimes, tires that provide outstanding mud performance, are not nearly as good when it comes to sand. The sand test again proved this popular opinion. Against the leading Hankook model’s background, CST, and especially Maxxis tires didn’t look like much at all.
Gravel Traction
- Hankook
- Nexen
- Goodyear
- Maxxis
- Toyo
- Cooper
- Bridgestone
- Nokian
- CST
- Continental
Info! Traction, N.
The best gravel traction by far was demonstrated by Hankook. Remarkable is the fact that in this test Continental again showed up at the very end of the list.
Gravel Handling
- Nokian
- Toyo
- Continental
- Maxxis
- Goodyear
- Bridgestone
- Cooper
- Nexen
- CST
- Hankook
Info! Average Speed, km/h.
In terms of gravel handling, the Hankook tires showed the poorest performance, the most confident cornering being ensured by Nokian, Toyo and Continental.
Wet
Lateral Grip
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Maxxis
- Nokian
- Hankook
- Bridgestone
- Nexen
- Toyo
- Cooper
- CST
Info! Lap Time, sec.
In terms of lateral grip on wet asphalt, the company of «the big three» of premium-segment Continental, Goodyear and Nokian was joined by the relatively inexpensive Maxxis. At the same time, CST’s lateral grip performance on a wet circular track was significantly worse than the competition’s.
Straight Hydroplaning
- Maxxis
- Cooper
- CST
- Toyo
- Nokian
- Bridgestone
- Goodyear
- Continental
- Hankook
- Nexen
Info! Rate of grip loss, km/h.
All the ten tires were extremely close during the hydroplaning testing. The range of loss-of-grip speeds between the worst and the best tires did not exceed 4 km/h. In this instance, the experts refrained from saying that some of the models were «better» or «worse». Still, in this discipline, the first place was scored by Maxxis.
Lateral Hydroplaning
- Maxxis
- Bridgestone
- Goodyear
- Cooper
- CST
- Toyo
- Nokian
- Hankook
- Continental
- Nexen
Info! Lateral Acceleration, m/s.
In the lateral hydroplaning test, all the contestants were speed-cornering on puddles. Again, no real outsiders in this test. And Maxiss again outstripped all the other models. Continental and Nexen are comparatively «behind» the others but even they were able to score 2-.
Wet Handling
- Nokian
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Maxxis
- Bridgestone
- Hankook
- Toyo
- Nexen
- Cooper
- CST
Info! Average Speed, km/h.
CST tire proved to be the most slippery during the wet handling test. It lost 5 seconds to the leader, which was enough for scoring a «3» in the final protocol. Cooper passed the test route 2 seconds faster than CST but it still was ultimately rated as «3+».
Wet Braking
- Goodyear
- Continental
- Hankook
- Bridgestone
- Maxxis
- Nokian
- Nexen
- Toyo
- Cooper
- CST
Info! Braking in the range of 100–0 km/h, m.
The widest scatter in results was shown during the wet braking test. The shortest braking distance (46.9 meters) brought Goodyear an excellent 1 (top grade in this evaluation system). CST, who lost a whopping 13 meters of braking distance to the leader, walked away with a well-deserved 5- (lowest grade).
Dry
Continental PremiumContact 6 proved to be the best on the dry winding track, getting 0.7 seconds ahead of its nearest contestant, and 2.4 seconds ahead of Cooper Zeon CS8, which came the latest. Responsive handling and crisp steering were provided by Hankook, Goodyear and Maxxis. The steering response of CST and Cooper models only scored 3+.
Dry Handling
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Hankook
- Maxxis
- Toyo
- Nokian
- Nexen
- Bridgestone
- CST
- Cooper
Info! Average Speed, km/h.
Continental won 0.6 meters of braking distance over its competitors and scored second in the nomination. The tournament bracket is completed by Cooper and CST tailing along with a rather large gap of at least 3.5 meters.
Dry Braking
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Hankook
- Nokian
- Maxxis
- Bridgestone
- Nexen
- Toyo
- Cooper
- CST
Info! Braking in the range of 100–0 km/h, m.
The AutoBild Allrad SUV Summer Tire Test showed that the real fuel saver is Bridgestone Turanza T005 with its extremely low rolling resistance. Nexen N Fera RU1 turned out to be the least fuel-efficient of all.
Efficiency
- Bridgestone
- Continental
- Nokian
- Goodyear
- CST
- Cooper
- Hankook
- Toyo
- Maxxis
- Nexen
Info! Rolling Resistance, liters per 100 km.
Strange though it may sound, the inexpensive CST tires — especially at highway speeds — are quieter than their expensive competitors. The noisiest tire on test was the Bridgestone model.
Noise
- CST
- Hankook
- Goodyear
- Toyo
- Cooper
- Nexen
- Maxxis
- Continental
- Nokian
- Bridgestone
Info! The noise level at a speed of 60 km/h and 80 km/h,
The results of AutoBild Allrad Summer Tire Test 2019
Let’s start from the end and work our way backwards. The experts of Auto Bild Allrad were unable to find any prominent advantages of the low-budget tire CST Medallion MD-A1. At the same time, the experts said that the doubtless shortcomings of this model were poor braking performance and weak lateral grip on wet pavement — for summer tires, these two properties are crucial. The result is disappointing — the last tenth place and the overall verdict «Not recommended».
The ninth place was scored by Cooper Zeon CS8. It also failed the wet tests, and was not very convincing in the dry either. It was saved from scoring the last place by its decent off-road traction, but then again, it must be said that as a Highway Terrain tire it does not need that feature so much. «Conditionally Recommended».
The eighth place was taken by the summer tire Nexen N’Fera RU1. The experts found fault with its braking performance on wet pavement and its high rolling resistance. Otherwise, this model is quite capable of competing with more expensive tires. The overall «Good» says it all.
The sixth place was shared by Toyo Proxes Sport (375 Euro per set) and still more expensive Bridgestone Turanza T005. These two models from Japanese tire makers scored 3+ each — says the technical expert of TiresVote.com — and, while the former could have performed better on wet pavement, the latter showed limited off-road performance, which is not all that crucial for this test. As a result, Toyo scores «Good», and Bridgestone — «Exemplary».
Maxxis Premitra tires took the 5th place. It demonstrated the best hydroplaning resistance, as well as responsive handling and crisp steering on wet and dry surfaces alike. Its average grass and mud traction still did not stop it from scoring an «Exemplary» overall verdict.
The excellent second place was occupied by three models at once. Interestingly, Continental PremiumContact 6 was able to do that in spite of the average sand and gravel traction that it demonstrated. When it came to Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125, the experts could not find any obvious shortcomings. And the novelty of the season Nokian Powerproof, demonstrating great handling on both wet and dry pavements, only fell short because of its high noise emission. The trio was pronounced «Exemplary».
Yet another seasonal novelty — Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 — made a clean sweep of the 2019 SUV 4×4 Summer Tire Test. The tire’s outstanding performance on all surfaces, especially on wet pavement, could not lead to any other result.
Price
Conclusion
Goodyear tires are generally expensive but at the current moment they are the best compact SUV tires of the ten tested models. Continental, Hankook and Nokian tires come really close to the leader in terms of their overall performance. But then again, even inexpensive tires with «Asian roots» can ensure a high level of safety, which was successfully proven by Maxxis.