2018 ADAC Summer Tire Test 205/55 R16 - Tire reviews and ratings

Test Summary
Wet Braking	Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125
Dry Braking	Bridgestone Turanza T001 Evo
Wear	Michelin Primacy 3
Rolling Resistance	Vredestein Sportrac 5 Continental Premium Contact 5
Noise	Nexen N Blue HD Plus
Snow Braking	Michelin Primacy 3

In 2018, German test body ADAC have tested sixteen 205/55 R16 summer tires, and fourteen tires in the smaller 175/65 R14 size.

In this 205/55 R16 test, premium manufacturers take the top three places. Michelin lead the way, having the lowest wear on test and proving to be excellent in the dry, Bridgestone have a surprisingly strong performance in the wet to score second place overall, and Continental have a very balanced showing for the last of the podium spots.

The next group of tires are all mid range brands, with Bridgestone owned Firestone taking fourth place with a very balanced performance, Hankook continuing the run of strong finishes for the Prime 3 in fifth place, and the Continental owned Semperit brand finishing in sixth largely thanks to a great wet performance.

Other note worthy results are Pirelli and Goodyear only managing to finish ninth and twelfth overall, with both premium manufacturers struggling in the wet, and the new Giti brand beating some very established brands on their first attempt.

More results below, or check out the ADAC website for the full details.

Results

The overall results are weighted 20% dry, 40% wet, 10% noise and comfort, 10% fuel consumption and 20% wear

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

1st: Michelin Primacy 3
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 47.4 Dry: 8.6 Wet: 7 Comfort: 5.8 Rolling Resistance: 8.2 Wear: 10 Overall: 7.8 Very balanced with top marks when worn, especially good on dry roads, still very good in the wet None mentioned Read Reviews Buy from £86.67
2nd: Bridgestone Turanza T001 Evo
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 43.6 Dry: 8.2 Wet: 8 Comfort: 5.2 Rolling Resistance: 7.8 Wear: 7 Overall: 7.4 Very balanced with top marks in the wet, good on dry roads None mentioned Read Reviews
3rd: Continental Premium Contact 5
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 43.6 Dry: 7.6 Wet: 7.6 Comfort: 5.4 Rolling Resistance: 8.6 Wear: 7 Overall: 7.4 Very well balanced with top fuel consumption, especially good in the wet None mentioned Read Reviews Buy from £97.22
4th: Firestone RoadHawk
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 43.2 Dry: 8.6 Wet: 7.6 Comfort: 4.6 Rolling Resistance: 8 Wear: 7 Overall: 7.4 A very balanced tire, very good in the wet None mentioned Read Reviews Buy from £70.70
5th: Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 43 Dry: 8.8 Wet: 7 Comfort: 5.2 Rolling Resistance: 7.8 Wear: 7 Overall: 7.2 Very balanced with top marks on dry roads, still good in the wet None mentioned Read Reviews Buy from £76.69
6th: Semperit SpeedLife 2
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 42 Dry: 7.2 Wet: 7.8 Comfort: 5.2 Rolling Resistance: 7.6 Wear: 7 Overall: 7.2 Very balanced, especially good on wet roads, but still good in the dry None mentioned Read Reviews
7th: ESA Tecar Spirit 5 HP
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 41 Dry: 7.8 Wet: 6.8 Comfort: 4.6 Rolling Resistance: 8 Wear: 7 Overall: 6.8 Good in the dry Slightly weak in the wet when compared to the best on test Read Reviews
8th: Kumho Ecsta HS51
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 40.8 Dry: 6.8 Wet: 7 Comfort: 5.6 Rolling Resistance: 7.6 Wear: 7 Overall: 6.8 Good in the wet Slightly weak in the dry when compared to the best on test Read Reviews
9th: Pirelli Cinturato P7 Blue
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 43.8 Dry: 8.6 Wet: 6.8 Comfort: 4.2 Rolling Resistance: 8.4 Wear: 9 Overall: 6.8 Very good in the dry, low wear and low fuel consumption A little weak in the wet Read Reviews
10th: Fulda EcoControl HP
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 41 Dry: 6.8 Wet: 6.2 Comfort: 5.2 Rolling Resistance: 7.6 Wear: 9 Overall: 6.2 Low wear Relatively weak in the wet, slightly weak on dry roads Read Reviews
11th: Giti GitiPremium H1
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 37.6 Dry: 6.6 Wet: 6 Comfort: 5.4 Rolling Resistance: 7.6 Wear: 6 Overall: 6 None mentioned Relatively weak in the dry and wet, slightly high wear Read Reviews
12th: Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 40.4 Dry: 8 Wet: 6.4 Comfort: 5.6 Rolling Resistance: 8.4 Wear: 6 Overall: 6 Good in the dry, low fuel consumption Slightly weak in the wet, high wear Read Reviews Buy from £71.19
13th: Nexen N Blue HD+
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 39.4 Dry: 7.6 Wet: 6.6 Comfort: 6 Rolling Resistance: 7.2 Wear: 6 Overall: 6 Very quiet Highest fuel use, high wear Read Reviews
14th: Cooper Zeon CS8
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 36.8 Dry: 5.6 Wet: 5.6 Comfort: 5.6 Rolling Resistance: 7.4 Wear: 7 Overall: 5.6 None mentioned Weak in the dry and wet Read Reviews Buy from £84.26
15th: Infinity Ecosis
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 35 Dry: 5.8 Wet: 5.6 Comfort: 5.6 Rolling Resistance: 8 Wear: 6 Overall: 4 None mentioned Relatively weak on dry and wet roads, high wear, ADAC high speed test failed, standard test ECE R-30 passed Read Reviews Buy from £63.48
16th: Vredestein Sportrac 5
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 42.6 Dry: 8.6 Wet: 6.6 Comfort: 5.8 Rolling Resistance: 8.6 Wear: 9 Overall: 4 Lowest fuel use, very good in the dry A little weak in the wet, ADAC high speed test failed, standard test ECE R-30 passed Read Reviews