2014 Auto Express Summer Tire Test

Test Summary
Wet Braking	Dunlop Sport BluResponse
Dry Braking	Pirelli Cinturato P7 Blue
Rolling Resistance	Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance
Snow Handling	Pirelli Cinturato P7 Blue Hankook Ventus Prime2

The 2014 Auto Express Summer Tire Test is here, and it is closer than ever! Testing 10 tires in 205/55 R16, Auto Express put the tires through the usual array of nine stringent tests in the dry and wet.

With the gap between the best and the worst tire smaller than ever, it was even harder to find a clear winner, but the Goodyear / Dunlop duo managed to take the top two places with a clear all round performance with Pirelli rounding out the top three thanks to its updated P7 Blue. Typically known as a mid range tire, the Hankook finished a solid fourth, out performing premium rivals such as Continental, Bridgestone and Michelin, further highlighting how close the pack was this year.

With the ommission of a true budget tire th is year, there were no "bad" tires on test, with even the tenth place economy tire by GT Radial proving to be extremely strong in the dry, just 1% behind the best in wet corning, and 3.5% in wet braking.

We've ommited the aquaplaning results from our scoring, so be sure to read the full test on the Auto Express website here

The Results

Click here to view Results as a single table and adjust the score weighting based on your own driving needs!

1st: Dunlop Sport BluResponse
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 691.5 Dry: 199.3 Wet: 297 Rolling Resistance: 96.1 Noise: 99.1 Best in dry braking, wet braking, straight aquaplaning and second only to the Goodyear in rolling resistance, the Dunlop blends a huge array of qualities into one tire, finishing in the top three places six times out of nine tests. Let down slightly by wet cornering, finishing last, but only 2% and 1/10th of a second slower than the winner. A fantastic blend of qualities make the Dunlop a worthy winner Read Reviews Buy from £70.03
2nd: Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 692.7 Dry: 195.7 Wet: 297.6 Rolling Resistance: 100 Noise: 99.4 As with most Goodyear tires, the Efficientgrip Performance really excelled in the wet tests, and blended the best rolling resistance on test with low cabin noise too. Slightly let down subjectively in the dry, the Goodyear wasn't the sharpest tire on test, or the grippiest, but it was only a fraction off the pace. Read Reviews Buy from £71.19
3rd: Pirelli Cinturato P7 Blue
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 692.2 Dry: 198.1 Wet: 298.2 Rolling Resistance: 95.9 Noise: 100 The updated P7 Blue offered a fantastic balance between wet braking and rolling resistance in the test, finishing second and third. Best in wet handling was spoilt with last in curved aquaplaning, proving one tire can't manage everything. Just eighth in dry handling with vague steering meant this tire couldn't challenge for the top spot, but finished a respectable third. The quietest tire on test Read Reviews
4th: Hankook Ventus Prime2
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 674.3 Dry: 196.7 Wet: 294.3 Rolling Resistance: 83.3 Noise: 100 With a string of top five places, the Hankook Ventus Prime 2 is another strong showing from the Korean company. Beaten only by Pirelli and the Goodyear Dunlop pair, the Prime 2 was fastest during wet cornering, well controlled and stable, offered a positive turn in and finished second and fourth in the aquaplaning tests. Weaknesses? Rolling resistance and wet braking Read Reviews Buy from £83.99
5th: Continental Premium Contact 5
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 672.7 Dry: 194.8 Wet: 291.2 Rolling Resistance: 88.1 Noise: 98.6 An unusually average result for Continental, with it's usual strengths, wet and dry braking, finishing eigth and seventh respectively. It performed better in both wet and dry handling tests, offering good grip and a secure feel and scored highly in the aquaplaning tests. Last in cabin noise. Read Reviews Buy from £84.99
6th: Bridgestone Turanza T001
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 665.5 Dry: 192.4 Wet: 283.6 Rolling Resistance: 90.5 Noise: 99 Bridgestone are due to update the T001 soon, and it's showing. While it managed a respectable fourth in the rolling resistance tests, the tire ended up last in both dry and wet braking. Joint third during the dry handling test, and some of the best aquaplaning scores in the group left the Bridgestone mid pack Read Reviews Buy from £83.99
7th: Michelin Primacy 3
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 676.2 Dry: 197.5 Wet: 292.5 Rolling Resistance: 86.9 Noise: 99.3 Fifth, sixth and seventh were extremely close, with the Michelin Primacy 3 just losing out. Michelin are known for wearing extremely well, unfortunately this wasn't tested in this test which made the tire look expensive when compared to rivals. The tire was happiest in the dry, delivering a good balance on the handling circuit and fourth in dry handling. Unfortunately in the wet it struggled, offering a safe balance but pushing wide on turns. Low cabin noise Read Reviews Buy from £86.67
8th: Vredestein Sportrac 5
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 658.9 Dry: 191.8 Wet: 290.7 Rolling Resistance: 77.3 Noise: 99.1 Not making the podium in any of the individual tests puts the Sportrac 5 eighth overall. It felt good in the wet, with a progressive nature and good grip, however any sharpness was lost in the dry. The Vredestein needed just over 1.5 metres more in the wet, and 2 metres in the dry, and in a close pack that translated to 8th and 9th respectively. Read Reviews
9th: Toyo Proxes T1 Sport
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 648.8 Dry: 193.8 Wet: 293.9 Rolling Resistance: 62.3 Noise: 98.8 The Toyo T1 Sport has been around a number of years now, and the test results reflected this. Last in the rolling resistance tests the Toyo also struggled with aquaplaning. 2nd best on dry handling, the Toyo could only manage 8th in dry braking. It was close to the pace in wet handling and cornering, offering a good balance and secure feel on track Read Reviews
10th: GT Radial Champiro UHP1
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 650.4 Dry: 193.7 Wet: 294.1 Rolling Resistance: 63.5 Noise: 99.1 Chinese tires have come along way, and while the new GT Radial UHP1 finished last, it was much closer than previous years. Winning the dry handling tests, the UHP feels sharp, with good turn in and grip, but things start to fall apart in the wet. Last in the aquaplaning tests, it fared slightly better and finished mid pack in the wet cornering and braking tests, stopping just one metre longer than the winning Dunlop. 9th place rolling resistance, using 7% more fuel than the winner Read Reviews