Test Summary
Wet Braking	Michelin CrossClimate SUV
Dry Braking	Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV
Wet Handling	Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV Nokian WeatherProof SUV
Rolling Resistance	Michelin CrossClimate SUV
Noise	Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV Vredestein Quatrac 5 SUV Hankook Kinergy 4S
Snow Handling	Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV Mastersteel ALL WEATHER M Yokohama Geolandar AT G015 General Grabber AT3

When it comes to trying new things in tire tests, the German publication Auto Bild leads the way, and with their latest SUV 4x4 all season tire tire test they are once again pushing new ground.

Not only do they test six all season tires in the SUV / 4x4 size of 235/60 R18 and include reference summer and winter tires, but they also include two all terrain (AT) off-road tires. These AT tires aren't specifically designed to work in snow and ice like the all season tires have been, instead they have a more off-road bias to their performance bend. Even with this added off-road performance, they still qualify as legal all season tires thanks to them being marked with the "three peaks mountain and snowflake" symbol.

As a result, the AT tires have a very different performance blend to the all season tires on test, and while their snow performance was surprisingly OK, this test shows how badly they perform on-road, specifically in the wet.

Read on for the full details! For reference, the two AT tires are the Yokohama Geolander AT G015, and the General Grabber AT3.

Dry

In the dry the results are fairly close other than the reference summer tire and summer-bias all season Michelin having a significant advantage during the dry braking tests. The winter tire manages to beat two of the all season tires, and the AT tires struggle to make any impact.

During dry handling the Summer and Michelin CrossClimate again lead the pack, with the Vredestein Quatrac 5 SUV having another excellent result. Once more, the General Grabber AT3 struggles in the dry and finishes in last place, buy a significant margin.

Wet

While the AT tires were weak in the dry, the wet testing shows an even bigger issue for the off-road tires. During wet braking the Michelin CrossClimate SUV and Vredestein Quatrac 5 SUV once again provided to be the class of the pack, beating even the summer tire when stopping the SUV. Both AT tires finished in last places, with the General Grabber AT3 taking a huge 19.5 meters longer to stop the test vehicle than the best tire on test.

While the wet handling test slightly altered the result of the best tires on test, it made no difference to the worse, with both AT tires once again finishing last.

The straight aquaplaning tests also favoured the all season tires.

Snow

The snow handling tests were slightly better for the AT tires than the wet testing, with the more off-road bias tires vastly out performing the summer tires, and in the mix with the all seasons, albeit towards the back of the group in both snow handling and snow braking.

Environment

Unsurprisingly, the AT tires had the highest rolling resistance on test, but surprisingly were both the quietest tires, not something we expected to see.

Results

The full results and testers comments can be found below. It's worth remembering that while the AT tires performed poorly in the wet compared to summer and all season tires, they're also designed to work off-road, in mud, sand, over rocks and on grass. In these conditions they would vastly outperform the summer tire, and would likely have an advantage over the all season tires too. That said, the wet performance of both the AT tires are significantly worse than normal summer and all season tires, so if your vehicle spends the majority of its life on-road, it's worth keeping this performance penalty in mind.

1st: Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV
235/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 39 Dry: 5 Wet: 8 Snow: 6 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 7 A good balanced performance, excellent in the snow and the wet with a high resistance to aquaplaning. Low noise level. High Price. Test winner. Read Reviews
2nd: Michelin CrossClimate SUV
235/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 41 Dry: 8 Wet: 7 Snow: 5 Comfort: 6 Rolling Resistance: 9 Noise: 6 Best in the dry, almost matching the summer tire, good in the wet, low fuel use. Long braking distances in the snow (but still many times better than a summer tire) Highly Recommended. Read Reviews    Buy from £155.98
3rd: Nokian WeatherProof SUV
235/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 35 Dry: 5 Wet: 7 Snow: 6 Comfort: 5 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 6 Short braking distances in the snow, good in the wet, high resistance to aquaplaning. Long braking distances in the dry, low lateral stability in the snow. Recommended. Read Reviews
3rd: Vredestein Quatrac 5 SUV
235/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 37 Dry: 7 Wet: 7 Snow: 5 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 5 Very high grip and short braking distances in the wet, a good performance on snow. Lower comfort, average aquaplaning resistance. Recommended. Read Reviews
5th: Hankook Kinergy 4S
235/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 34 Dry: 5 Wet: 6 Snow: 5 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 5 High resistance to aquaplaning, well priced. Higher noise levels, long braking distances on snow and dry roads. Recommended. Read Reviews
6th: Mastersteel ALL WEATHER M
235/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 30 Dry: 4 Wet: 4 Snow: 5 Comfort: 5 Rolling Resistance: 5 Noise: 7 Good snow traction, low price, low noise. Long braking distances in the dry and wet, an understeer balance in the snow and on dry roads. Conditionally recommended. Read Reviews
7th: Yokohama Geolandar AT G015
235/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 24 Dry: 5 Wet: 3 Snow: 3 Comfort: 3 Rolling Resistance: 3 Noise: 7 Good lateral stability in snow, good in the dry, low noise. Long braking distances in the wet and snow, high rolling resistance, low ride comfort. Read Reviews    Buy from £144.99
8th: General Grabber AT3
235/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 23 Dry: 3 Wet: 5 Snow: 2 Comfort: 4 Rolling Resistance: 2 Noise: 7 Low noise level. Very poor wet grip, high risk of aquaplaning, long stability and long braking distances in the snow. Not recommended. Read Reviews    Buy from £181.68