2010 Auto Zeitung 4x4 Tire Test

While regular car tires have to balance wet and dry performance, 4x4 tires have even more to do as they have to potentially cope with high speeds and massive loads on rough terrain.

With this in mind Auto Zeitung have taken 8 of the latest high performance 4x4 tires and tested their wet, dry and offroad performance. To ensure of the off road performance tests are through, the BMW X5 test vehicle found itself in a mud pool, on sand, skidding over lose dirt and sliding about on wet grass!

With safety being a key concern, the results place the scoring emphasis on braking performance, with traction playing an important part of the offroad scores. As high performance tires are normally used year round on the road, the wet and dry weather performance forms the largest percentage of the overall points.

The results? Apparently Continental can make thier 4x4 tires just as good as their car tires and take another convincing win in 2010. Michelin and Bridgestone place 2nd and 3rd respectively with Nokian finishing 4th to beat the premium Dunlop tire (which is 100 euros more!)

The full results:

1st: Continental Cross Contact UHP
255/55 r18 3PMSF: no	Total: 324 Dry: 127 Wet: 133 Offroad: 64 Dry:Best on the brakes in the dry and excellent feedback and response Wet:Strongest wet braking, accurate steering and good-natured reaction Offroad:Best on the brakes and consistent in the other tests means the Continental wins the offroad section The Continental Cross-ContactUHP scores well in all the key tests to win overall Read Reviews
2nd: Michelin Latitude Sport
255/55 r18 3PMSF: no	Total: 294 Dry: 134 Wet: 108 Offroad: 52 Dry:Braking, handling, safety, slalom, rolling resistance - Michelin wins them all in the dry Wet:Michelin is the best in the longitudinal aquaplaning, everywhere scores average. Offroad:The second highest traction on wet grass Fantastic dry grip, surprisingly good offroad performance Read Reviews
3rd: Bridgestone Dueler HP Sport
255/55 r18 3PMSF: no	Total: 282 Dry: 120 Wet: 115 Offroad: 47 Dry:Communicative steering leads to a good dry result Wet:Good wet handling, let down slightly by braking Offroad:Consistent strong scoring, but not excelling anywhere A well balanced all round tire Read Reviews
4th: Nokian Z SUV
255/55 r18 3PMSF: no	Total: 281 Dry: 124 Wet: 103 Offroad: 54 Dry:Lowest rolling resistance and easy safe handling Wet:Excellent feedback in the Wet:, slight understeeer Offroad:Long wet grass stopping distances, but the best traction With no real weaknesses and low rolling resistance the Nokian Z SUV places fourth Read Reviews
5th: Dunlop SP QuattroMaxx
255/55 r18 3PMSF: no	Total: 278 Dry: 122 Wet: 100 Offroad: 56 Dry:Another tire with great steering feel Wet:In the wet the Dunlop tends to switch to understeer quite quickly Offroad:The QuattroMaxx grips well on wet grass and on dirt roads. The traction on sand is average Strong in the dry and offroad, the Dunlop SPO QuattroMaxx is let down by the wet weather performance Read Reviews
6th: Hankook Ventus ST
255/55 r18 3PMSF: no	Total: 272 Dry: 107 Wet: 109 Offroad: 56 Dry:A poor dry performance with the tire overheating when pushed hard Wet:The gentle understeer Hankook works perfectly with the control systems of the BMW X5 Offroad:Ventus ST disappointed in the mud and on the freshly mown lawn The Hankook RH06 is let down by it's dry performance and rolling resistance Read Reviews
7th: Vredestein Ultrac SUV Sessanta
255/55 r18 3PMSF: no	Total: 264 Dry: 115 Wet: 94 Offroad: 55 Dry:The poor braking performance and steering response let down the otherwise strong dry performance Wet:An average wet performance Offroad:The Ultrac SUV Sessanta shines with a stable ride on trails and provides good traction on sand values Despite the open-profile, the Ultrac SUV Sessenta is let down by wet performance Read Reviews
8th: Kumho Ecsta X3 KL17 ASYMMETRIC
255/55 r18 3PMSF: no	Total: 257 Dry: 93 Wet: 112 Offroad: 52 Dry:The Kumho spoiled its score with the longest braking distances, the slowest lap time and the highest rolling resistance Wet:The Kumho brakes well and is complemented perfectly by the DSC (ESP) of the BMW X5 Offroad:Rather long braking distance off road leads to a poor score The new Kumho Ecsta X3 Asymmetric is a wet-optimized tire Read Reviews