2018 Test World Summer Tire Test

Test Summary
Wet Braking	Michelin Pilot Sport 4 Continental Premium Contact 6 Vredestein Ultrac Vorti Hankook Ventus S1 evo2
Dry Braking	Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Wear	Michelin Pilot Sport 4
Rolling Resistance	Bridgestone Turanza T005
Snow Handling	Continental Premium Contact 6
Snow Handling	Gislaved Ultra Speed Cooper Zeon CS8 Falken Azenis FK510
Ice Handling	Michelin Pilot Sport 4 Nokian Hakka Black 2 Bridgestone Turanza T005

It's rare you find tire tests specifically scoring subjective handling qualities as it's a very difficult thing for tire testers to quantify, but this latest tire test from the Finish publication Test World scores the tires subjective behaviour out of a possible ten points in both the dry and wet. This is particularly interesting if you're not worried about that final 0.1 seconds of dry lap time, but do rate the subjective qualities of a tire such as steering feel, feedback and car balance.

This test covers sixteen 225/45 R17 UHP tire patterns using an Audi A3 - perhaps not the last word in dynamic handling but it is still an insight to the tires we don't usually get.

Dry

Strangely Test World didn't publish dry handling lap times, instead looking at dry braking from 90 km/h and subjective points. Continental, Hankook and Michelin all scored well in the dry tests, offering short dry braking and good subjective handling.

Wet

In the wet, Test World added wet handling and an aquaplaning test. As we've previously seen in 2018, the new Falken dominated wet braking, and was 0.4 seconds off during the wet handling lap.

Environment

Test world published the rolling resistance scoring as a percentage difference from the best tire on test. The Bridgestone had the lowest rolling resistance so was the 100% reference, Pirelli was mid pack using 2.6% more fuel than the Bridgestone, and the Yokohama tire finished last but still only 5.7% more fuel use than the winning tire.

Again, the in-cabin noise levels were very close, with the best and worst tires on test less than 2 dB apart.

Results

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

1st: Michelin Pilot Sport 4
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 79.9 Dry: 10 Wet: 28 Subjective: 9 Wet Subjective: 10 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 8 Overall: 8.9 Short braking distances in the dry and wet, excellent handling in all conditions, excellent balance during emergency maneuvers, excellent feedback in all conditions. Relatively high rolling resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £102.36
2nd: Nokian Hakka Black 2
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 76.5 Dry: 9 Wet: 24 Subjective: 9 Wet Subjective: 10 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 9 Overall: 8.5 Good handling and short braking distances in the dry and wet, low rolling resistance, low noise. None mentioned. Read Reviews
3rd: Falken Azenis FK510
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 75.3 Dry: 9 Wet: 25 Subjective: 8 Wet Subjective: 8 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 10 Overall: 8.3 Shortest wet braking, low noise levels, quick and accurate steering, very well priced. None mentioned. Read Reviews
4th: Continental Premium Contact 6
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 72.1 Dry: 10 Wet: 21 Subjective: 10 Wet Subjective: 9 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 8 Overall: 8.1 Precise reactions to steering movements, predictable behavior and very high grip on a dry surface. Average wet braking, weak aquaplaning resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £89.17
5th: Bridgestone Turanza T005
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 72.9 Dry: 8 Wet: 22 Subjective: 6 Wet Subjective: 10 Rolling Resistance: 10 Noise: 9 Overall: 7.9 God handling and stability in the wet, low rolling resistance. Relatively long wet braking. Read Reviews Buy from £77.99
6th: Vredestein Ultrac Vorti
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 69.8 Dry: 10 Wet: 24 Subjective: 6 Wet Subjective: 9 Rolling Resistance: 4 Noise: 9 Overall: 7.8 Good handling in the wet, short dry braking, low noise. Oversteer balance in the dry, high rolling resistance. Read Reviews
7th: Hankook Ventus S1 evo2
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 68.7 Dry: 10 Wet: 22 Subjective: 8 Wet Subjective: 8 Rolling Resistance: 4 Noise: 9 Overall: 7.7 A balanced tire with good dry and wet grip. Oversteer balance when making emergency maneuvers. Read Reviews Buy from £91.99
8th: Kumho Ecsta PS71
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 67.5 Dry: 7 Wet: 24 Subjective: 7 Wet Subjective: 6 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 9 Overall: 7.5 Good wet braking. Poor balance during emergency maneuvers. Read Reviews Buy from £85.98
8th: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 68.5 Dry: 8 Wet: 21 Subjective: 7 Wet Subjective: 9 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 9 Overall: 7.5 Good wet handling. Understeer in the dry. Read Reviews Buy from £80.10
8th: Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 66.5 Dry: 6 Wet: 22 Subjective: 6 Wet Subjective: 8 Rolling Resistance: 8 Noise: 9 Overall: 7.5 Good handling in the wet, low rolling resistance. Poor dry handling. Read Reviews Buy from £80.73
11th: Pirelli CINTURATO P7
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 62 Dry: 6 Wet: 20 Subjective: 6 Wet Subjective: 8 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 9 Overall: 7 Low noise. Understeer in the dry and wet. Read Reviews Buy from £76.20
12th: Cooper Zeon CS8
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 58.1 Dry: 6 Wet: 19 Subjective: 6 Wet Subjective: 5 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 10 Overall: 6.1 Lowest noise, stable handling in the dry, low rolling resistance. Understeer in the dry and wet. Read Reviews Buy from £109.20
13th: Yokohama Advan Sport V105
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 53 Dry: 8 Wet: 17 Subjective: 6 Wet Subjective: 8 Rolling Resistance: 2 Noise: 6 Overall: 6 None mentioned. Long wet braking, oversteer during emergency maneuvers. Read Reviews Buy from £91.07
14th: Nankang Sportnex AS2+
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 48.4 Dry: 3 Wet: 21 Subjective: 4 Wet Subjective: 6 Rolling Resistance: 3 Noise: 6 Overall: 5.4 None mentioned. Poor dry and wet braking, poor balance during emergency maneuvers. Read Reviews Buy from £77.89
15th: Triangle Sportex TSH11
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 47.1 Dry: 3 Wet: 16 Subjective: 6 Wet Subjective: 4 Rolling Resistance: 5 Noise: 8 Overall: 5.1 Acceptable dry handling. Poor dry and wet braking, poor balance during emergency maneuvers. Read Reviews
16th: Gislaved Ultra Speed
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 44.4 Dry: 3 Wet: 12 Subjective: 3 Wet Subjective: 3 Rolling Resistance: 9 Noise: 10 Overall: 4.4 Low noise, low rolling resistance. Long dry and wet braking, understeer and oversteer at different points in the dry and wet. Read Reviews