2011 Finnish ECO Touring Tire Test

Finnish magazine Engineering World have tested 15 of the latest tires in 205/55 r16.

The test includes all the latest ECO tires and regular touring tires from premium, mid range and budget manufacturers.

1st: Continental Premium Contact 2

Continental Premium Contact 2
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 103.5
  2. Dry: 29
  3. Wet: 39
  4. Comfort: 9
  5. Rolling Resistance: 8
  6. Noise: 9
  7. Overall: 9.5
Grip and driveability in both the wet and dry
None mentioned
The Continental Premium Contact 2 is a convincing tire, winning in almost every test. Best dry and wet grip and great handling

Read Reviews

2nd: Nokian V

Nokian V
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 95.8
  2. Dry: 26
  3. Wet: 37
  4. Comfort: 8
  5. Rolling Resistance: 7
  6. Noise: 9
  7. Overall: 8.8
Grip and driveability in the wet, good dry handling
None mentioned
Precise setting and excellent stability in both the wet and dry gives the Nokian V a strong second. Extremely quiet to boot

Read Reviews

3rd: Vredestein Sportrac 3

Vredestein Sportrac 3
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 92.5
  2. Dry: 22
  3. Wet: 36
  4. Comfort: 9
  5. Rolling Resistance: 8
  6. Noise: 9
  7. Overall: 8.5
Great in the wet
Not as good in the dry as the top 2
Sporty drivability and excellent wet performance give the Vredestien a strong 3rd place.

Read Reviews

4th: Goodyear EfficientGrip

Goodyear EfficientGrip
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 92.2
  2. Dry: 24
  3. Wet: 32
  4. Comfort: 9
  5. Rolling Resistance: 10
  6. Noise: 9
  7. Overall: 8.2
Excellent aquaplaning resistance, best rolling resistance
None mentioned
The Goodyear EfficientGrip wins the rolling resistance test and finishes a strong 4th. Its quiet comfortable nature means it's not the sharpest handling tire in the group but a good all rounder

Read Reviews

5th: Pirelli CINTURATO P7

Pirelli CINTURATO P7
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 92.5
  2. Dry: 27
  3. Wet: 31
  4. Comfort: 9
  5. Rolling Resistance: 8
  6. Noise: 9
  7. Overall: 8.5
Extremely good in the dry
Slightly let down by it's wet grip
The Pirelli P7 Cinturato is most at home on the dry tarmac with excellent grip and a sharp steering response. Only slightly let down by its wet braking leaves the Pirelli in 5th

Read Reviews

6th: Nokian Hakka Green

Nokian Hakka Green
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 90
  2. Dry: 22
  3. Wet: 33
  4. Comfort: 9
  5. Rolling Resistance: 9
  6. Noise: 9
  7. Overall: 8
Good wet performance and low rolling resistance
Not as good in the dry as others
The Nokian Hakka Green excelled in the wet tests but was slightly let down by its dry performance. Another comfortable quiet tire.

Read Reviews

7th: Dunlop SP Sport Fast Response

Dunlop SP Sport Fast Response
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 81.8
  2. Dry: 22
  3. Wet: 32
  4. Comfort: 7
  5. Rolling Resistance: 5
  6. Noise: 8
  7. Overall: 7.8
Best aquaplaning result in test
Not the most comfortable tire, not great rolling resistance
The Dunlop Sport Fast Responce resists aquaplaning brilliantly but unfortunately has a high rolling resistance and isn't the most comfortable tire in the test

Read Reviews

8th: Bridgestone Turanza ER300 Ecopia

Bridgestone Turanza ER300 Ecopia
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 82.5
  2. Dry: 22
  3. Wet: 29
  4. Comfort: 8
  5. Rolling Resistance: 7
  6. Noise: 9
  7. Overall: 7.5
Very low noise
Slightly let down by dry braking
The Bridgestone ER300 Ectopica proves itself as a very balanced tire by excelling in no one test but scoring well in every category.

Read Reviews

9th: Hankook Ventus Prime2

Hankook Ventus Prime2
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 81.4
  2. Dry: 23
  3. Wet: 29
  4. Comfort: 8
  5. Rolling Resistance: 6
  6. Noise: 8
  7. Overall: 7.4
Excellent aquaplaning resistance
Wet braking
The Hankook Ventus Prime 2 is let down by its wet braking and high rolling resistance. Its aquaplaning resistance is excellent and dry driveability good.

Read Reviews

10th: Barum Bravuris 2

Barum Bravuris 2
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 84.4
  2. Dry: 22
  3. Wet: 28
  4. Comfort: 9
  5. Rolling Resistance: 9
  6. Noise: 9
  7. Overall: 7.4
Great rolling resistance
Average wet performance
The Barum Bravuris 2 performed honorably with good scores in every test proving no major weakness.

Read Reviews

11th: Linglong Green Max

Linglong Green Max
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 84.4
  2. Dry: 24
  3. Wet: 30
  4. Comfort: 8
  5. Rolling Resistance: 7
  6. Noise: 8
  7. Overall: 7.4
Easy to drive
Average wet braking
The Linglong Green Max is the first time a Linglong tire has scored reasonably in a group test. Its wet braking is rather modest but lateral grip good in the wet and dry. Slightly let down by its rolling resistance.

Read Reviews

12th: BFGoodrich gGrip

BFGoodrich gGrip
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 79.2
  2. Dry: 20
  3. Wet: 27
  4. Comfort: 9
  5. Rolling Resistance: 9
  6. Noise: 7
  7. Overall: 7.2
Good rolling resistance
Quite high noise
The BF Goodrich g-Grip offers reasonable aquaplaning resistance but not enough to make up for its average wet and dry grip.

Read Reviews

13th: Michelin Energy Saver

Michelin Energy Saver
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 85.2
  2. Dry: 24
  3. Wet: 26
  4. Comfort: 8
  5. Rolling Resistance: 10
  6. Noise: 10
  7. Overall: 7.2
Excellent rolling resistance
Poor wet performance
Its the usual story for the Michelin Energy Saver - excellent rolling reistance but at the expense of wet performance. This tire is due an update.

Read Reviews

14th: Sava intensa hp

Sava intensa hp
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 70.6
  2. Dry: 16
  3. Wet: 27
  4. Comfort: 9
  5. Rolling Resistance: 4
  6. Noise: 8
  7. Overall: 6.6
Good aquaplaning resistance
Poor drivability, high rolling resistance
The Sava intensa HP offers good aquaplaning restance but that's where the praise ends. Thanks to a seeming random ability to slide the Sava is not a nice tire to drive on.= and has the highest rolling resistance in the test

Read Reviews

15th: Sunny SN3630

Sunny SN3630
  • 205/55 r16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 55.6
  2. Dry: 13
  3. Wet: 16
  4. Comfort: 8
  5. Rolling Resistance: 7
  6. Noise: 7
  7. Overall: 4.6
Moderately comfortable
All other characteristics!
The magazine would not use the Sunny SN3630 if they were given away thanks to poor grip levels and random handling characteristics

Read Reviews

comments powered by Disqus