We look forward to the EVO test every year, not because they test unique sizes, or use special vehicles - in fact this year they've used the generic Golf GTI running 225/40 R18 tires, but because EVO dedicate over 40% of their scoring to subjective feel, and weight the results in order of performance traits such as lap times, giving criteria such as comfort a lower overall impact. This makes the tire tests particularly relevant to those of us who love the feel of driving, rather than outright objective measurements.

Testing at Pirelli's Vizzola facility near Milan, Italy, EVO subjected ten of the best 225/40 R18 tires available today to the usual mix of dry, wet and comfort tests.

The Top Three

Regular readers of the site are unlikely to be surprised at the winning tire… once again Continental have taken the top spot with the Sport Contact 5, thanks to a supreme wet performance, taking the fastest wet lap and best subjective score.

While the number one position was unsurprising, the second placed tire is a little more interesting. Yokohama, with the Advan V105S finished just 0.1% behind Continental overall, thanks to class leading dry weather lap times and feel, with third place going to Pirelli, which has recently made a comeback with an updated P Zero tire.

The Rest

Fourth to sixth positions finished just 1.2% apart. The Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymmetric 2 narrowly beat the Vredestin Ultrac Vorti thanks to a good overall performance, where the Vredestein could only excel in the dry, and Dunlop took sixth with the Sport Maxx RT, doing well, but not excelling in all areas.

Hankook disappointed in the wet to finish seventh, and the Michelin struggled in the dry to finish eighth. The nomination of the RE002 was a brave move by Bridgestone, but it ultimately failed to work, finishing in ninth place, and Toyo showed that a low price doesn't always pay, finishing last in nine of the twelve tests, and last overall.

The Future

TireReviews knows of three changes to the above tires worth looking out for in the next few months. The Continental Sport Contact 6 is already out on the new Civic Type R, and will be launched officially next month, and both Goodyear and Michelin are due to replace the tires tested in this test in 2016. The rumour is the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 will include a lot of technology from the excellent Michelin Pilot Super Sport, which will make the 2016 EVO tire test far more interesting.

The Results

Below are the full results. Please note, we've not included aquaplaning scores, or applied any weighting, so make sure you pick up a copy of EVO issue 213 (October 2015) for the test in its full glory. Also we entered the EVO road route test as "comfort", but EVO took into account comfort, noise and steering feel while testing on the road.

1st: Continental Sport Contact 5
225/40 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 664.9 Dry: 99.4 Wet: 100 Subjective: 196.2 Comfort: 91.7 Rolling Resistance: 81.3 Overall: 96.3 The Continental managed its usual party piece by combining excellent dry and wet performance, two opposing qualities. Read Reviews    Buy from £97.62
2nd: Yokohama Advan Sport V105
225/40 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 659.7 Dry: 100 Wet: 99.1 Subjective: 192.6 Comfort: 95.8 Rolling Resistance: 76 Overall: 96.2 The Yokohama proved to be a real dry weather specialist, and would be EVO's tire of choice if you avoid taking your car out in wet conditions. Read Reviews    Buy from £95.95
3rd: Pirelli P Zero
225/40 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 660.7 Dry: 99.9 Wet: 99.4 Subjective: 187.9 Comfort: 95.8 Rolling Resistance: 81.8 Overall: 95.9 The P Zero managed to combine best in test wet braking, with the third fastest dry times, earning it third place overall. Read Reviews    Buy from £124.54
4th: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2
225/40 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 669.7 Dry: 99.6 Wet: 98.7 Subjective: 180.1 Comfort: 95.8 Rolling Resistance: 100 Overall: 95.5 The Goodyear once again proved itself as a very strong all round tire, finishing objectively well in both the dry and wet. Read Reviews    Buy from £112.50
5th: Vredestein Ultrac Vorti
225/40 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 658.5 Dry: 100 Wet: 97.6 Subjective: 190.1 Comfort: 95.8 Rolling Resistance: 80.1 Overall: 94.9 Sharing the fastest dry lap with Yokohama, Vredestein couldn't quite match the wet performance and struggled under dry and wet braking, leaving the Vorti in fifth place overall. Read Reviews
6th: Dunlop SportMaxx RT
225/40 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 668.9 Dry: 98.9 Wet: 96.9 Subjective: 188.7 Comfort: 97.5 Rolling Resistance: 92.7 Overall: 94.2 The Dunlop performed consistently, but not outstandingly in any test, other than straight line aquaplaning. Read Reviews    Buy from £89.99
7th: Hankook Ventus S1 evo2
225/40 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 649.7 Dry: 99.2 Wet: 96.4 Subjective: 170.2 Comfort: 100 Rolling Resistance: 90.6 Overall: 93.3 The Hankook was let down by its wet performance, and dry braking. Competitive in dry laptime. Read Reviews
8th: Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3
225/40 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 643.3 Dry: 98.5 Wet: 98.3 Subjective: 177.4 Comfort: 91.7 Rolling Resistance: 84.5 Overall: 92.9 While Michelin had a relatively strong showing in the wet, the Pilot Sport 3 failed in the dry both subjectively and objectively, finishing ninth in both tests. It won the curved aquaplaning test. Read Reviews
9th: Bridgestone Adrenalin RE002
225/40 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 557.4 Dry: 99.1 Wet: 96.2 Subjective: 176.4 Comfort: 9.7 Rolling Resistance: 83.7 Overall: 92.3 The Bridgestone curveball of the RE002 instead of the S001 didn't pay off. Short of grip in the wet, finishing ninth fastest, and only managing seventh in the dry, the Bridgestone RE003 must be due to Europe soon. Read Reviews
10th: Toyo Proxes T1 Sport
225/40 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 596.6 Dry: 98.5 Wet: 92.4 Subjective: 153.9 Comfort: 75 Rolling Resistance: 90.5 Overall: 86.3 As the cheapest tire on test, you'd expect the Toyo to struggle against the premium competition, but finishing last in nine of the twelve tests left the Toyo a full 25% behind the winning Continental overall. Read Reviews