4 categories (10 tests)
Test Category | Best Performer | Worst Performer | Difference |
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Dry (2 tests) | |||
Dry Braking | ▲ Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125: 34.1 M | ▼ Semperit Speed Life 3: 37.7 M | 3.6 M (9.5%) |
Dry Handling | ▲ Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125: 96.5 Km/H | ▼ Uniroyal RainSport 5: 94.3 Km/H | 2.2 Km/H (2.3%) |
Wet (3 tests) | |||
Wet Braking | ▲ Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125: 46.2 M | ▼ Fulda EcoControl HP2: 52.8 M | 6.6 M (12.5%) |
Wet Handling | ▲ Kumho Ecsta HS51: 78.8 Km/H | ▼ BFGoodrich Advantage: 75.4 Km/H | 3.4 Km/H (4.5%) |
Straight Aqua | ▲ Uniroyal RainSport 5: 86.1 Km/H | ▼ Nexen N Blue HD Plus: 79.3 Km/H | 6.8 Km/H (8.6%) |
Comfort (1 tests) | |||
Noise | ▲ Kleber Dynaxer HP4: 66.6 dB | ▼ Firestone RoadHawk: 69.9 dB | 3.3 dB (4.7%) |
Value (4 tests) | |||
Wear | ▲ Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2: 47940 KM | ▼ Nokian WetProof: 26180 KM | 21,760.0 KM (83.1%) |
Value | ▲ Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2: 5.74 Price/1000 | ▼ Nokian WetProof: 9.93 Price/1000 | 4.2 Price/1000 (42.2%) |
Price | ▲ Debica Presto HP 2: 215 | ▼ Semperit Speed Life 3: 360 | 145.0 (40.3%) |
Rolling Resistance | ▲ Bridgestone Turanza T005: 7.01 kg / t | ▼ Kumho Ecsta HS51: 9.31 kg / t | 2.3 kg / t (24.7%) |
As the 2021 Tire Reviews summer test is covering UHP and SUV sizes, this will be the most complete reference we have this year for the 16" summer tire market, however if you'd like to watch a 16" summer tire test, you can check out ours from last year here.
Wear
Wear is a key part of a tires performance, but due to the time and costs involved in conducting accurate wear testing there aren't many publications which regularly test the tread life of the tires. Auto Bild are one of the few magazines which conduct wear testing, but even this is still drum testing on a bench and not real world road wear testing!
The wear difference between the best and worst tire on tests is huge, with the best on test projected to cover 47,940 km, and the worst 26,180 km. That's a 60% difference in tire life!
The best on test wasn't the usual Michelin Primacy 4, that had to settle for a very respectable second place overall, but instead the new Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 made good on its promise from 2020 and aced the test. Goodyear made some bold claims about the tires mileage in 2020, and it's great to see them backed up with further data.
The newly updated Kumho Ecsta HS51 finished third, just ahead of the Continental PremiumContact 6 in fourth, once again confirming that the wear issues Continental have experienced in the past are long behind them.
The losers of the test were sadly Pirelli, Hankook, Dunlop and Nokian, which all performed badly in the wear test. This was compounded when Auto Bild combined the projected tire life with the purchase price to give you a price per 1000 kilometers driven, meaning the Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2 was almost twice the cost per mile driven compared to the Goodyear.
One final thing to note, tread life is only one aspect of wear, the other is how the tire performs when worn. This isn't something Auto Bild have tested, but is something Tire Reviews hopes to test in the near future!
Dry
In the dry, the Hankook Ventus Prime3 has a significant advantage in both dry braking and dry handling. The Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2, Kumho HS51 and Maxxis Premitra HP5 also performed well.
Strangely, some of the tires that did well in dry braking, didn't perform too well in dry handling. The second placed Pirelli could only manage a midpack result during the dry handling lap, the the BF Goodrich Advantage performed really well over the handling lap, in spite of being one of the worst during the dry braking testing!
Wet
Hankook again proved its calibre as a good braking tire, finishing first in the wet braking test, while the Continental PremiumContact 6 and Pirelli rounded out the top three positions. The new Toyo Proxes Comfort seemed to struggle in the wet, but not as much as the Fulda EcoControl HP2.
In a change of form for the Firestone Roadhawk, it found itself as the fastest tire around the wet handling lap, tying with Kumho. Again, Pirelli proved to be an impressive tire finishing in third place.
As we've come to expect from aquaplaning, the Uniroyal Rainsport 5 won the straight aquaplaning test, and impressively the Kumho was second place, which is surprising for a tire with so much dry and wet grip.
Environment
If you're looking for a quiet and comfortable tire, this test has the Kleber Dynaxer HP4 and Michelin Primacy 4 leading the way.
Bridgestone offered the lowest rolling resistance.
Results
It's an interesting result overall. Clearly the Kumho Ecsta HS51 has had a big update this year, and Continental will be happy with second and third place overall (Semperit is owned by Continental.) Unfortunately for Goodyear, their sub brand Debica beat the main brand, with the Presto HP2 looking to be a tire which offers exceptional value.
Any questions, be sure to ask below!
1st: Kumho Ecsta HS51 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Precise steering, dynamic handling and short braking distances in the dry and wet, well priced. High rolling resistance. Exemplary. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd: Continental Premium Contact 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Premium summer tire with balance driving behaviour, short wet braking, stable handling, low wear. Average straight aquaplaning resistance. Exemplary. Read Reviews Buy from £79.99 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd: Semperit Speed Life 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wet specialist with sport dynamic handling and s hort wet braking distances, good aquaplaning safety, low noise, good price level. Average comfort. Exemplary. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th: Debica Presto HP 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cheap summer tire with dynamic dry handling and low wear and low price. Average wet handling. Exemplary. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5th: Bridgestone Turanza T005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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High grip and excellent handling in the dry, short dry braking, lowest rolling resistance on test. Average comfort. Exemplary. Read Reviews Buy from £67.94 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6th: Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Best tire in the dry with the fastest lap and shortest dry braking, very good in the wet with the shortest wet braking, cheap price. High wear. Good. Read Reviews Buy from £89.59 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th: Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good aquaplaning resistance, good handling with short wet and dry braking. High wear resulting in poor value. Good. Read Reviews Buy from £88.09 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8th: Michelin Primacy 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Premium tires with short wet and dry braking distances, very low rolling resistance very low wear, good comfort. Sluggish handling. Good. Read Reviews Buy from £86.67 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9th: Firestone RoadHawk | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Precise driving behaviour in the wet and dry, saafe aquaplaning characteristics, short dry braking. High wear / low value. Good. Read Reviews Buy from £70.70 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9th: Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lowest wear on test, best value tire on test, very low rolling resistance, good ride comfort. Slightly delayed steering. Good. Read Reviews Buy from £70.62 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11th: Uniroyal RainSport 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Best aquaplaning resistance, stable balanced handling in the wet. Understeer in the dry, high rolling resistance. Acceptable. Read Reviews Buy from £63.54 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11th: Toyo Proxes Comfort | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good in the dry, short dry braking. Long wet braking, high rolling resistance. Acceptable. Read Reviews Buy from £68.64 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11th: Maxxis Premitra HP5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good aquaplaning resistance, dynamic wet and dry handling, short dry braking. High wear, high rolling resistance. Acceptable. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11th: BFGoodrich Advantage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dynamic handling and precise steering in the dry. Understeer in the wet. Acceptable. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15th: Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balanced handling and short braking in the dry, well priced. Average steering precision and low grip in the wet. Acceptable. Read Reviews Buy from £90.76 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15th: Fulda EcoControl HP2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Very good aquaplaning resistance, nice balanced handling in the wet. Longest wet braking, slow steering in the dry. Acceptable. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17th: Nokian WetProof | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good in the dry and wet. Highest wear on test, lowest value on test. Acceptable. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17th: Kleber Dynaxer HP4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Low noise, low rolling resistance. Understeer and sluggish steering in the dry and wet. Acceptable. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19th: Dunlop Sport BluResponse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good aquaplaning resistance, short dry braking, low rolling resistance. Understeer in the dry and wet, slow steering, low value. Acceptable. Read Reviews Buy from £70.03 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20th: Nexen N Blue HD+ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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STable safe handling and short braking in the dry, low price. Slow steering and understeer in the wet, average wear. Acceptable. Read Reviews |