As winter approaches, Auto Bild has published its new all season tyre test for 2018. First, the magazine subjected 27 tyres in the size 195/65 R15 to a braking test before comparing the 10 best tyres.
A first qualifying round
After winter tyres, Auto Bild is now focusing on all season tyres. The German magazine aims to show that this increasingly popular type of tyre, even if it remains a compromise, can hold its own when up against products more suitable for winter. Before moving to the complete test, Auto Bild pre-selected 27 all season tyres. Only the 10 tyres with the shortest cumulative braking distances were able to pass the test (from 100 km/h to a standstill in wet and dry conditions):
| Wet roads | Dry roads | Total | |
| Bridgestone Weather Control A005 | 45,2 | 39,4 | 84,6 |
| Michelin CrossClimate + | 48,1 | 40,8 | 88,9 |
| Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2 | 46,2 | 44,6 | 90,8 |
| Hankook Kinergy 4S² | 47,8 | 43,1 | 90,9 |
| Continental AllSeasonContact | 48,6 | 43,4 | 92 |
| Vredestein Quatrac 5 | 48,6 | 43,9 | 92,5 |
| Falken EuroAll Season AS210 | 49,5 | 43,6 | 93,1 |
| Nexen N’blue 4 Season | 49,9 | 43,6 | 93,5 |
| Nokian Weatherproof | 50,7 | 44,2 | 94,9 |
| Pirelli Cinturato All Season Plus | 50,7 | 45,8 | 96,5 |
| Kleber Quadraxer 2 | 52 | 45,1 | 97,1 |
| Uniroyal AllSeasonExpert 2 | 49,2 | 48,3 | 97,5 |
| Fulda MultiControl | 52,3 | 45,3 | 97,6 |
| BF Goodrich g-Grip All Season 2 | 52,8 | 44,8 | 97,6 |
| Viking FourTech | 50,8 | 47,4 | 98,2 |
| Toyo Celsius | 52,7 | 45,9 | 98,6 |
| Maxxis All Season AP2 | 53,4 | 45,8 | 99,2 |
| Goodride All Seasons SW602 | 56,9 | 44,4 | 101,3 |
| Momo 4Run M4 AllSeason | 57,7 | 44,7 | 102,4 |
| Linglong Green-Max All Season | 59 | 43,8 | 102,8 |
| Firestone Multiseason | 55,9 | 47,1 | 103 |
| Hifly All-Turi 221 Allseason | 58 | 45,5 | 103,5 |
| Fortuna EcoPlus 4S | 60,5 | 43,2 | 103,7 |
| Torque TQ025 All Season | 58,6 | 45,4 | 104 |
| Zeta Active 4S | 58,6 | 45,5 | 104,1 |
| Atlas Green 4S | 61,9 | 43,5 | 105,4 |
| Jinyu Gallopro Multiseason Eco | 61,4 | 44,8 | 106,2 |
Braking distances don’t reveal everything
Even if the Bridgestone Weather Control A005 has the shortest cumulative braking distances of the 27 tyres, Auto Bild was not convinced by the rest of its performances. Although delivering dynamic handling on dry and wet roads, its performances seemed moderate for the magazine. With its tendency to understeer and long braking distances on snow, it is the only tyre to obtain the “not recommended” rating from Auto Bild.
The Pirelli Cinturato All Season Plus delivers good grip when cornering on snow and ice and handles well in dry conditions. But, its wet safety performance is average with a low resistance to aquaplaning. Braking distances are also quite long, longevity is low and the tyre’s rolling resistance is too high.
The Nexen N’blue 4 Season, despite relatively long braking distances in wet and dry conditions, shows just the opposite on snow where it appears stable and generally offers good ride comfort. Its good price / performance ratio does not make up for its shortcomings in aquaplaning tests and its slight tendency to understeer in dry conditions.
The Vredestein Quatrac 5 delivers balanced driving performances on all surfaces and safe handling in all weather conditions. Precise and responsive in the wet, it does not stand out with its resistance to aquaplaning. Above all, it is slow to respond to steering changes in dry conditions.
The Falken EuroAll Season AS210 performs particularly well in snow delivering good grip, safe handling and good aquaplaning resistance. This is at the expense of grip on wet roads where it has a slow steering response and a tendency to understeer on this surface.
3 tyres considered “good”
The new Hankook Kinergy 4S2 all season tyre proves stable on dry and wet roads. Precise steering and good ride comfort, it also has a good resistance to aquaplaning. It is not as good on snow, and a lower mileage performance than its competitors prevents it from ranking higher.
The Michelin CrossClimate + proves to be economical throughout the year thanks to its low rolling resistance and very good longevity. An undeniably good price / performance ratio for Auto Bild who also underlines its good handling on dry and wet roads. It show some weaknesses with curved aquaplaning and on snow.
The Nokian Weatherproof is the winter specialist according to Auto Bild. Very good on snow and ice, it also offers a good resistance to aquaplaning. If delivers less grip in wet conditions, and its rolling resistance is relatively low despite a low mileage performance.
2 “exemplary” tyres
The Continental AllSeasonContact proves to be exemplary on snow and in the wet with dynamic handling and a precise steering response. It has a high resistance to aquaplaning and also offers good mileage performance. Only a few average performances in dry conditions prevent it from taking the top spot in the final ranking.
Overall winner of this all season tyre comparison test by Auto Bild: the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2! Versatile, it delivers an excellent level of performance in all conditions. Precise, dynamic handling on snow and on dry roads, it offers a high resistance to aquaplaning while maintaining good ride comfort. The only drawback, its relatively high price which is quickly offset by its performance and longevity.
| Tyre | Ranking |
| Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2 | 1 |
| Continental AllSeasonContact | 2 |
| Nokian Weatherproof | 3 |
| Michelin CrossClimate + | 4 |
| Hankook Kinergy 4S2 | 5 |
| Falken EuroAll Season AS210 | 6 |
| Vredestein Quatrac 5 | 7 |
| Nexen N’blue 4 Season | 8 |
| Pirelli Cinturato All Season Plus | 9 |
| Bridgestone Weather Control A005 | 10 |
