With the UK being a true "all season" climate, people often ask if a single tire can be made to work across temperatures ranging from below freezing to 30 degree summer days. To help answer this, Auto Bild put 10 of the latest all season tires through the usual array of thorough tests!

All round performance

The winner of this test, the Vredestein Quatrac 3 proved to be an extremely flexible and well balanced tire. Not the strongest in the dry or on snow, its high average score, excellent dynamic properties and group leading wet performance gave it the top spot overall.

Closely following the Vredestein was the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons. Again, its real strength was managing to score well in every category, with testers commenting it was a tire with "no drawbacks".

The Hankook Optimo 4S rounded out the top 3, only let down by the comparatively harsh ride it provided when directly compared to the leading two tires.

Also worth noting is the Bridgestone A001 in 5th place. Commended for the shortest braking distance in the wet and its high steering precision, the A001 was only let down by a comparatively weak snow performance. Given the overall UK climate, this could be another great tire if you like a sporty feel and good wet grip.

The rest of the tires prove that while cheaper tires can be good at one thing, they often have to sacrifice in other areas where the premium tires do not. A great example of this is the Nankang NK88 having the best snow performance, yet being a liability in the wet and the Federal SS657 having good dry performance, but totally failing on snow and ice.

Bench-marked

Perhaps the most useful element of the Auto Bild test was the inclusion of a winter and summer tire, which allowed us to benchmark overall braking distances.

While the best of the all season tires might not be able to match the summer tire in the dry, or quite beat the winter tire in the snow, it shows if you're only going to run one tire year round, the all season tire will give you the overall shortest braking distance.



The chart however, still clearly proves it pays to be on the right tire for the right time of year.

The Results:

Please note: As always the overall results are weighted in favour of snow and wet performance. Please place less importance on the "total" score, and more on each of the category scores

1st: Vredestein Quatrac 3
185/60 R15 3PMSF: no	Total: 41 Dry: 7 Wet: 8 Snow: 8 Comfort: 6 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 5 Multi talented and balanced in all areas. Precise steering and excellent handling characteristics on wet roads. High safety reserves in aquaplanining, short braking distances on snow. Slightly Noisey. Read Reviews
2nd: Goodyear Vector 4Seasons
185/60 R15 3PMSF: no	Total: 46 Dry: 7 Wet: 7 Snow: 8 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 10 Top class all season tire with no drawbacks. High traction and short braking distances on snow. Dynamic handling with superior steering precision and good feedback. Exemplary in all weather. None mentioned. Read Reviews
3rd: Hankook Optimo 4S
185/60 R15 3PMSF: no	Total: 43 Dry: 7 Wet: 7 Snow: 8 Comfort: 5 Rolling Resistance: 9 Noise: 7 Good all round tire with short braking distances and cornering stability on snow. Best aquaplaning result, direct dry handling, low rolling resistance. Average comfort. Read Reviews
4th: Dunlop SP Sport 01 AS
185/60 R15 3PMSF: no	Total: 47 Dry: 8 Wet: 5 Snow: 9 Comfort: 5 Rolling Resistance: 10 Noise: 10 Sporty and dynamic driving characteristics with great traction and cornering stability on snow and dry slopes. Good dry braking. A little understeer in the wet, moderate aquaplaning resistance. Read Reviews
5th: Bridgestone A001
185/60 R15 3PMSF: no	Total: 37 Dry: 6 Wet: 7 Snow: 6 Comfort: 6 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 5 The rain specialist - good handling, high steering precision and shortest braking distances on wet roads. Good aquaplaning resistance. Slightly let down by its snow performance, increased cornering noise. Read Reviews
6th: Toyo Vario V2+
185/60 R15 3PMSF: no	Total: 39 Dry: 5 Wet: 3 Snow: 10 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 8 Dynamic safe handling, good steering, short braking on snow. Good ride comfort. Only average driving characteristics on wet and dry roads. Read Reviews
7th: Kleber Quadraxer
185/60 R15 3PMSF: no	Total: 42 Dry: 6 Wet: 4 Snow: 7 Comfort: 8 Rolling Resistance: 10 Noise: 7 Dynamic safe handling, good steering, short braking on snow. Good ride comfort and rolling resistance. Long braking distances in wet conditions. Read Reviews
8th: Maxxis MA AS
185/60 R15 3PMSF: no	Total: 37 Dry: 5 Wet: 2 Snow: 10 Comfort: 4 Rolling Resistance: 10 Noise: 6 Perfect handling on snow, low rolling resistance. Poor steering response, bad handling and extremely long braking distances on wet roads. Reduced ride comfort. Read Reviews
9th: Nankang NK 88 All Season
185/60 R15 3PMSF: no	Total: 34 Dry: 7 Wet: 1 Snow: 6 Comfort: 3 Rolling Resistance: 10 Noise: 7 Low rolling resistance. Lack of grip in the wet, poor wet braking, strong understeer, poor handling, bad aquaplaning result, especially in curved sections. Read Reviews
10th: Federal Super Steel 657
185/60 R15 3PMSF: no	Total: 29.1 Dry: 7 Wet: 3 Snow: 0.1 Comfort: 3 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 10 Good dry braking. In spite of M+S marking the tire fails on snow an dice. Long stopping distances on wet roads, unbalanced handling. Read Reviews