2020 Sport Auto All Season Tire Test

Test Size: 225/45 R18
Tires Tested: 9 tires
Test Categories:
5 categories (9 tests)
Similar Tests

Test Category Best Performer Worst Performer Difference
Dry (2 tests)
Dry Braking Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3: 39.6 M BFGoodrich g Grip All Season 2: 43.8 M4.2 M (9.6%)
Dry Handling Bridgestone Weather Control A005: 122.3 Km/H BFGoodrich g Grip All Season 2: 119.2 Km/H3.1 Km/H (2.6%)
Wet (3 tests)
Wet Braking Bridgestone Weather Control A005: 30.2 M Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210: 35.3 M5.1 M (14.4%)
Wet Handling Vredestein Quatrac Pro: 72.3 Km/H Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210: 68.7 Km/H3.6 Km/H (5.2%)
Straight Aqua Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3: 97.2 Km/H Michelin CrossClimate Plus: 90.2 Km/H7.0 Km/H (7.8%)
Snow (2 tests)
Snow Braking BFGoodrich g Grip All Season 2: 26.1 M Vredestein Quatrac Pro: 32.6 M6.5 M (19.9%)
Snow Handling BFGoodrich g Grip All Season 2: 45.7 Km/H Bridgestone Weather Control A005: 42.4 Km/H3.3 Km/H (7.8%)
Comfort (1 tests)
Noise BFGoodrich g Grip All Season 2: 70.8 dB Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210: 73 dB2.2 dB (3.0%)
Value (1 tests)
Rolling Resistance Michelin CrossClimate Plus: 7.8 kg / t Vredestein Quatrac Pro: 9.3 kg / t1.5 kg / t (16.1%)
The 2020 Sport Auto all season tire test has covered seven of the best all season tires in 225/45 18, using a new BMW 3 Series.

Most of the tires on test were also included in the 2020 Tire Reviews all season tire test, however as Sport Auto used a different size and vehicle, this test still makes for interesting reading!

Sport Auto found the Bridgestone WeatherControl A005 to be an excellent tire in the dry and wet, and even with its mid pack performance in the snow, crowned it best in test, a little ahead of the Michelin CrossClimate+, which performed better in the wet than it did in our test.

One interesting piece of information Sport Auto shared was the summer and winter reference tires used. Usually these remain anonymous, but in this test it was the Bridgestone Turanza T005 and the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005. This is especially interesting as the LM005 is winning most of the 2020 winter tests, so seeing how one of the best winter tires compares to some of the best all season tires is a great insight into the different balance between the all season and winter tires.

Dry

It will be no surprise to regular readers of the site that the summer tire had a significant advantage in the dry, stopping the BMW a full 3 meters ahead of the best all season tire, which for a change wasn't the Michelin CrossClimate+!

The summer tire retained its advantage in during dry handling tests, while the Bridgestone WeatherControl A005 jumped ahead of the rest of the all season tires.

Wet

The Bridgestone all season again proved best in the wet braking test with a significant advantage, with the winter tire performing well.

Surprisingly the winter tire was best during the wet handling testing.

The summer tire out performed all the all season tires during straight aquaplaning testing.

Snow

During snow braking the BFGoodrich all season tire surprisingly out performed the full winter tire, with the Continental AllSeasonContact a close third.

Snow handling kept the Winter, Continental and BFGoodrich as the top three tires, just this time in a different order.

Environment

As usual, the summer tire proved to have the lowest rolling resistance.

While all tires were relatively close on the external pass by noise test, the testers noted humming noises from a couple of the tires on test (see notes below)

Results

Score weighting - Dry 30%, Wet 40%, Snow 20%, Environment 10%

1st: Bridgestone Weather Control A005

Bridgestone Weather Control A005
  • 225/45 R18 95V
  • EU Label: C/A/71
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking2nd40 M39.6 M+0.4 M99%
Dry Handling1st122.3 Km/H100%
Wet Braking1st30.2 M100%
Wet Handling2nd72.2 Km/H72.3 Km/H-0.1 Km/H99.86%
Straight Aqua6th91.3 Km/H97.2 Km/H-5.9 Km/H93.93%
Snow Braking4th31.4 M26.1 M+5.3 M83.12%
Snow Handling7th42.4 Km/H45.7 Km/H-3.3 Km/H92.78%
Noise2nd71.5 dB70.8 dB+0.7 dB99.02%
Rolling Resistance3rd8.3 kg / t7.8 kg / t+0.5 kg / t93.98%
Very short braking distances and safe handling int he wet, easy controllable handling in the dry.
Limited snow performance for an all season tire.
Limited on snow but safest tire for cold and wet roads.

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2nd: Michelin CrossClimate+

Michelin CrossClimate Plus
  • 225/45 R18 95Y
  • EU Label: C/B/69
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking3rd40.3 M39.6 M+0.7 M98.26%
Dry Handling4th120.3 Km/H122.3 Km/H-2 Km/H98.36%
Wet Braking2nd31.1 M30.2 M+0.9 M97.11%
Wet Handling2nd72.2 Km/H72.3 Km/H-0.1 Km/H99.86%
Straight Aqua7th90.2 Km/H97.2 Km/H-7 Km/H92.8%
Snow Braking6th31.8 M26.1 M+5.7 M82.08%
Snow Handling3rd45 Km/H45.7 Km/H-0.7 Km/H98.47%
Noise3rd71.6 dB70.8 dB+0.8 dB98.88%
Rolling Resistance1st7.8 kg / t100%
Good performance in the wet, strong in the dry.
Sensitive to slipping so not recommended for vehicles without ESP. Average aquaplaning protection. Humming noise when cornering.
The Michelin was well balanced under all conditions.

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3rd: Continental AllSeasonContact

Continental AllSeasonContact
  • 225/45 R18 95Y
  • EU Label: C/B/69
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking4th41.9 M39.6 M+2.3 M94.51%
Dry Handling6th119.6 Km/H122.3 Km/H-2.7 Km/H97.79%
Wet Braking4th32.5 M30.2 M+2.3 M92.92%
Wet Handling4th71.7 Km/H72.3 Km/H-0.6 Km/H99.17%
Straight Aqua3rd93.8 Km/H97.2 Km/H-3.4 Km/H96.5%
Snow Braking2nd28.6 M26.1 M+2.5 M91.26%
Snow Handling1st45.7 Km/H100%
Noise6th71.8 dB70.8 dB+1 dB98.61%
Rolling Resistance4th8.7 kg / t7.8 kg / t+0.9 kg / t89.66%
Good cornering grip int he snow, neutral safe handling with high aquaplaning safety, stable under lane change.
Longer braking distances in the dry and wet with a slight oversteer balance in fast corners.

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3rd: Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3

Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3
  • 225/45 R18 95W
  • EU Label: C/C/71
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking1st39.6 M100%
Dry Handling2nd120.5 Km/H122.3 Km/H-1.8 Km/H98.53%
Wet Braking3rd32.1 M30.2 M+1.9 M94.08%
Wet Handling4th71.7 Km/H72.3 Km/H-0.6 Km/H99.17%
Straight Aqua1st97.2 Km/H100%
Snow Braking5th31.7 M26.1 M+5.6 M82.33%
Snow Handling5th43.8 Km/H45.7 Km/H-1.9 Km/H95.84%
Noise3rd71.6 dB70.8 dB+0.8 dB98.88%
Rolling Resistance6th9.3 kg / t7.8 kg / t+1.5 kg / t83.87%
Well balanced, good wet performance, good aquaplaning resistance.
Unbalanced snow grip, long wet braking distances, humming noise.

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5th: Vredestein Quatrac Pro

Vredestein Quatrac Pro
  • 225/45 R18 95Y
  • EU Label: E/B/71
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking5th42.7 M39.6 M+3.1 M92.74%
Dry Handling2nd120.5 Km/H122.3 Km/H-1.8 Km/H98.53%
Wet Braking5th33 M30.2 M+2.8 M91.52%
Wet Handling1st72.3 Km/H100%
Straight Aqua2nd95.8 Km/H97.2 Km/H-1.4 Km/H98.56%
Snow Braking7th32.6 M26.1 M+6.5 M80.06%
Snow Handling6th43 Km/H45.7 Km/H-2.7 Km/H94.09%
Noise3rd71.6 dB70.8 dB+0.8 dB98.88%
Rolling Resistance6th9.3 kg / t7.8 kg / t+1.5 kg / t83.87%
Good grip in the dry and wet, good levels of comfort.
Strong understeer and low grip on snow.

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6th: BFGoodrich g Grip All Season 2

BFGoodrich g Grip All Season 2
  • 225/45 R18 95V
  • EU Label: C/B/69
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking7th43.8 M39.6 M+4.2 M90.41%
Dry Handling7th119.2 Km/H122.3 Km/H-3.1 Km/H97.47%
Wet Braking6th34.2 M30.2 M+4 M88.3%
Wet Handling6th69.5 Km/H72.3 Km/H-2.8 Km/H96.13%
Straight Aqua5th91.8 Km/H97.2 Km/H-5.4 Km/H94.44%
Snow Braking1st26.1 M100%
Snow Handling1st45.7 Km/H100%
Noise1st70.8 dB100%
Rolling Resistance2nd8.2 kg / t7.8 kg / t+0.4 kg / t95.12%
Very short braking distances and high levels of grip on snow.
Poor dry and wet braking.

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7th: Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210

Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210
  • 225/45 R18 95V
  • EU Label: C/B/70
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking6th42.9 M39.6 M+3.3 M92.31%
Dry Handling4th120.3 Km/H122.3 Km/H-2 Km/H98.36%
Wet Braking7th35.3 M30.2 M+5.1 M85.55%
Wet Handling7th68.7 Km/H72.3 Km/H-3.6 Km/H95.02%
Straight Aqua4th92.3 Km/H97.2 Km/H-4.9 Km/H94.96%
Snow Braking3rd29.9 M26.1 M+3.8 M87.29%
Snow Handling4th44.9 Km/H45.7 Km/H-0.8 Km/H98.25%
Noise7th73 dB70.8 dB+2.2 dB96.99%
Rolling Resistance5th8.9 kg / t7.8 kg / t+1.1 kg / t87.64%
Acceptable performance on snow and dry roads.
Longer wet braking and poor wet handling with oversteer balance.

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