Test Summary
Wet Braking	Continental Sport Contact 5
Dry Braking	Continental Sport Contact 5
Wear	Continental Sport Contact 5
Rolling Resistance	Dunlop Sport BluResponse
Snow Handling	Hankook Ventus S1 evo2

The 2015 Auto Express tire test covers eleven patterns in the popular 225/45 R17 size. Testing at Continentals test track in Texas, Auto Express used the benchmark VW Golf to carry out nine thorough tests covering dry and wet performance, along with rolling resistance and cabin noise.

As usual, we don't write too much for the Auto Express test, instead we encourage you to read the full tire test on their own website. Full details on the test can be found here, or read on for our summary below.

The Results

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

1st: Continental Sport Contact 5
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 771.3 Dry: 200 Wet: 299.7 Rolling Resistance: 73.1 Noise: 98.5 Overall: 100 The Continental Sport Contact 5 dominated the test with four wins and three runner-up spots. The Continental shone on all surfaces, and was particularly strong and consistent under wet and dry braking. Read Reviews Buy from £90.62
2nd: Dunlop Sport BluResponse
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 789.1 Dry: 198.2 Wet: 293.2 Rolling Resistance: 100 Noise: 98.9 Overall: 98.8 The 2014 champion came close to repeating the win in this bigger size. The Dunlop Sport BluResponse had the best rolling resistance on test, while retaining excellent wet performance. Read Reviews Buy from £80.10
3rd: Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 747.1 Dry: 191.6 Wet: 289.6 Rolling Resistance: 72.1 Noise: 95.8 Overall: 98 While the Michelin Primacy 3 is a few years old, it still managed a great performance, excelling particularly in the aquaplaning tests where it won both the straight and curved aquaplaning. Read Reviews
4th: Hankook Ventus S1 evo2
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 754.3 Dry: 191.5 Wet: 287.2 Rolling Resistance: 77.9 Noise: 100 Overall: 97.7 Only winning the cabin noise test, the Hankook S1 Evo 2 had a strong performance in every category, always close to the front and rarely slipping past mid table. Read Reviews Buy from £94.39
5th: Pirelli P Zero
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 760.8 Dry: 195.1 Wet: 297.2 Rolling Resistance: 71.4 Noise: 99.8 Overall: 97.3 The Pirelli P Zero won the test back in 2008, which makes it the oldest pattern on test. Naturally there have been updates to the tire during its life, and they show. In the top 3 for all the handling, cornering and braking tests, the P Zero shows its sports car pedigree. The tire also managed to be the second quietest. Only let down by a poor rolling resistance and finishing last in the curved aquaplaning test, the P Zero is still a strong tire, all these years on. Read Reviews
6th: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 761.9 Dry: 190.1 Wet: 287.9 Rolling Resistance: 89.4 Noise: 97.8 Overall: 96.7 We're used to the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 winning, so it was a surprise to see it down in sixth place. As rivals have progressed, it seems the Goodyear has stagnated, scoring poorly in dry and wet handling which used to be the key areas. Excellent rolling resistance shows where the trade might have been, or perhaps it was a size dependant anomaly, as the tire still tests well in other magazines. Read Reviews
7th: Yokohama Advan Sport V105
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 741 Dry: 193.3 Wet: 290.2 Rolling Resistance: 63.2 Noise: 98.2 Overall: 96.1 The Yokohama V105 still has a lovely balance of wet and dry grip, and still feels great to drive on, but it still has a very high rolling resistance and average aquaplaning performance. A good sports tire. Read Reviews Buy from £91.07
8th: Falken FK453
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 730.5 Dry: 197.8 Wet: 273.6 Rolling Resistance: 66.2 Noise: 97.9 Overall: 95 A test debut for Falken with the FK453, and sadly eighth place. The tire struggled in wet and dry braking, was second to last in wet cornering, had a high rolling resistance and could only manage eighth in straight aquaplaning. Fourth in dry handling was its saving grace, only 1% slower than the Continental. Read Reviews
9th: Bridgestone Turanza T001
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 729 Dry: 189.2 Wet: 266.5 Rolling Resistance: 81 Noise: 98 Overall: 94.3 Again, the worlds biggest tire maker ends a test with a disappointing result. The T001 had the worst wet grip on test, finishing last in wet handling, braking and cornering, and felt subjectively weak too. An update is due for this tire soon, and it's well needed. Read Reviews Buy from £87.28
10th: GT Radial Champiro HPY
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 737.5 Dry: 191.1 Wet: 277.4 Rolling Resistance: 78.8 Noise: 96.1 Overall: 94.1 The Champiro HPY felt most at home on the dry handling, thanks to a sharp turn in and quick direction change. Sadly, that was the peak of the grip, with the dry struggling in dry and wet braking, and wet handling and aquaplaning tests. Fourth best rolling resistance, but still over 20% behind the Dunlop. Read Reviews
11th: Toyo Proxes T1 Sport
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 723.2 Dry: 187.9 Wet: 268.4 Rolling Resistance: 76.5 Noise: 96.8 Overall: 93.6 A disappointing test for Toyo, finishing in the bottom three in nearly every performance test. Read Reviews