2018 Auto Express Summer Tire Test

Test Summary
Wet Braking	Continental Premium Contact 6 Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Dry Braking	Continental Premium Contact 6
Wear	Continental Premium Contact 6

The 11th July 2018 issue of Auto Express magazine tested ten 225/45 R17 summer tires, using a VW Golf at the Continental test facility in Uvalde, Texas. The end result was closer than ever, with the worst tire on test just 3.7% overall behind the test winner.

As always with the Auto Express tests, we recommend heading over to the excellent Auto Express website for the full results of the test, as we've only summarised the basic information below.

Highlights

There were three surprises in this years Auto Express test.

Firstly, the new Premium Contact 6 won the test, beating the Michelin Pilot Sport 4. This might not be a surprise in itself, but it also was rated as the best handling, and most sporty feeling tire in the group, something the Michelin has been known for until now.

The second surprise was the Dunlop SportMaxx RT2 finishing joint second. This must have had a mid-life update as it's now an older tire pattern, and didn't test that well across 2017.

The final surprise was the poor result of the new Bridgestone Turanza T005. This tire has generally performed well in the European tire tests, but Auto Express found it to be "too good" in the rolling resistance testing, which hurt its dry and wet performance.

Results

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

1st: Continental Premium Contact 6
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 300 Dry: 100 Wet: 100 Overall: 100 A very well balanced tire, with an excellent dry and wet performance. Most sporty tire on test with the best steering feel and response. Average aquaplaning and rolling resistance scores. Read Reviews Buy from £89.17
2nd: Michelin Pilot Sport 4
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 297.4 Dry: 100 Wet: 97.7 Overall: 99.7 Well balanced tire, very strong in the dry, with confidence inspiring sporty handling and steering feel. Noisy, relatively high rolling resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £102.36
2nd: Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 296.6 Dry: 99 Wet: 97.9 Overall: 99.7 Excellent all round performance, excelling in the aquaplaning tests. Very low rolling resistance. Slightly weak in the dry. Read Reviews Buy from £80.73
4th: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 295.5 Dry: 99.3 Wet: 96.7 Overall: 99.5 Well balanced tire, excellent curved aquaplaning result. Low rolling resistance and quiet. Poor straight aquaplaning result, average in the wet. Read Reviews Buy from £80.10
5th: Pirelli P Zero
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 298.3 Dry: 99.6 Wet: 99.4 Overall: 99.3 The strongest tires in dry and wet braking, excellent in wet handling. Sporty steering feel and handling. Poor aquaplaning tests, highest rolling resistance. Read Reviews
5th: Falken Azenis FK510
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 295.4 Dry: 99.2 Wet: 96.9 Overall: 99.3 Excellent dry braking result, strong aquaplaning results. Noisy, average wet braking. Read Reviews
7th: Bridgestone Turanza T005
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 294.6 Dry: 97.9 Wet: 97.8 Overall: 98.9 Lowest rolling resistance on test by a large margin. Good wet handling. Weak in the dry. Read Reviews Buy from £77.99
8th: Hankook Ventus S1 evo2
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 296.5 Dry: 99.8 Wet: 97.9 Overall: 98.8 Good wet and dry handling. High rolling resistance, relatively noisy. Read Reviews Buy from £94.39
9th: Nokian zLine
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 294.1 Dry: 97.9 Wet: 97.7 Overall: 98.5 Low rolling resistance. Very weak dry performance, average wet performance. Read Reviews
10th: Avon ZV7
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 287.9 Dry: 98 Wet: 93.6 Overall: 96.3 Quietest tire on test. Weakest tire in the dry and wet. Read Reviews Buy from £72.97