The British website Tyre Reviews has published a new tyre test for winter. This time, 9 all season tyres were compared in the size 225/45 R17 for a Volkswagen Golf and other popular compact cars.
9 all season tyres tested
Summer or winter, why choose? Such is the promise of all season tyres which have taken the market by storm in recent years. If today, tyre manufacturers are able to propose products delivering balanced performances, what tyre should you choose to get performances as close as possible to seasonal tyres? The Tyre Reviews website has volunteered to try to find an answer by comparing 9 all season tyres in different, but predominantly winter conditions. Here is the selection of tyres tested in the size 225/45 R17 on a Volkswagen Golf:
- Bridgestone Weather Control A005
- Cooper Discoverer All Season
- Continental AllSeasonContact
- Giti GitiAllSeason AS1
- Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3
- Hankook Kinergy 4S2
- Michelin CrossClimate +
- Nexen N’Blue 4 Season
- Vredestein Quatrac Pro
Snow tests were carried out in Finland in mid-winter whereas dry and wet tests were conducted at the Mireval track in the south of France. The final score was weighted as follows: 30% on the wet, 25% on snow, 25% on the dry, 10% for noise and comfort and 10% for fuel consumption.
No bad tyres but differences exist
Far from being a bad tyre and even with its very attractive price, the Cooper Discoverer All Season is still behind its competitors. Without excelling, it performs well in dry conditions and delivers good aquaplaning resistance. Although its wet braking distances are quite short, its grip on this surface and on snow widens the gap with the other tyres.
The only tyre with an asymmetric pattern when the current trend is a directional pattern for all season tyres (often more efficient on snow), the Vredestein Quatrac Pro holds its own in dry conditions. Tyre Reviews underlines its dynamic and sporty handling in dry conditions, but its performances in other weather conditions are not satisfactory compared with the best.
The Nexen N’Blue 4 Season is a comfortable tyre that offers balanced performances at the lowest price. Apart from the noise test, it dominates none of the tests, preferring the middle of the ranking. A few weaknesses should be noted for aquaplaning resistance and a slightly high rolling resistance.
The Giti GitiAllSeason surprised Tyre Reviews with its ability on snow. In these conditions, it is the tyre which comes closest to a winter tyre, coming first in the snow handling and snow braking tests. But the promising start does not follow in wet conditions where it delivers less grip despite its reassuring handling when driving.
The best tyre in dry conditions is without a doubt the Michelin CrossClimate +, which comes first in all dry tests. However, it is beaten by its main competitors in the other test categories, particularly in wet conditions where its braking distances are longer than average. Its price, by far the most expensive of all the tyres tested, is not offset by a low rolling resistance, but quite the contrary. It performs well on snow without being one of the best tyres. Michelin are sure to improve these performances with the launch of the new CrossClimate in 2021.
If only dry and wet performances were taken into account, the Bridgestone Weather Control A005 would be first by far in this ranking, according to Tyre Reviews. It is the best in the wet (braking and handling) and is just behind the CrossClimate in dry conditions. It offers the perfect performance balance if you live in a temperate region which sees very little snow. But even if it can face a few snowflakes, the Bridgestone tyre is far behind the best tyres on this surface where it shows its limits.
Better balanced, the Continental AllSeasonContact is consistently well ranked in the different test categories without winning any of them, except for its high aquaplaning resistance. Without particularly impressing, it is constant in all circumstances, something you would expect from an all-season tyre. It lacks some grip in dry conditions to make the difference over the other tyres tested.
Like the Continental tyre, the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 is also well balanced, regularly finishing in the Top 3 of the various test categories. Tyre Reviews was particularly impressed by the lack of any real weaknesses with this tyre which is only just overtaken by the winner.
Just launched, the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 is the winner of this all season tyre comparison test in the size 225/45 R17. It shows no major faults. Second best on snow, third in the wet, third in the dry, it also has the lowest rolling resistance of this comparison test and a good level of comfort.
| Top 5 all season tyres according to Tyre Reviews | + | – |
| 1 – Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 | Best balanced tyre, comfort, fuel consumption | |
| 2 – Hankook Kinergy 4S2 | Very well balanced, wet conditions | |
| 3 – Continental AllSeasonContact | Good balance | Dry conditions |
| 4 – Bridgestone Weather Control A005 | The best in wet conditions, dry conditions | Snow |
| 5 – Michelin CrossClimate + | The best in dry conditions | Snow, price |
The complete results can be found on the Tyre Reviews website.
