The 2022 Auto Bild SUV all season tire test has tested eleven popular all season tires in 225/50 R18 tire size and included a summer and winter tire as comparison references! 225/50 R18 is a small sidewalled tire for an SUV, this is aimed at the more compact crossover SUV all season tire market, with Auto Bild using a BMW X2 for the testing.
5 categories (14 tests)
Test Category | Best Performer | Worst Performer | Difference |
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Dry (2 tests) | |||
Dry Braking | ▲ Michelin CrossClimate SUV: 35.6 M | ▼ Goodride All Season Elite Z 401: 40.9 M | 5.3 M (13.0%) |
Dry Handling | ▲ Bridgestone Weather Control A005 EVO: 110.7 Km/H | ▼ Toyo Celsius AS2: 107.4 Km/H | 3.3 Km/H (3.1%) |
Wet (5 tests) | |||
Wet Braking | ▲ Michelin CrossClimate SUV: 43.4 M | ▼ Goodride All Season Elite Z 401: 59.5 M | 16.1 M (27.1%) |
Wet Handling | ▲ Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 SUV: 84.3 Km/H | ▼ Goodride All Season Elite Z 401: 77.5 Km/H | 6.8 Km/H (8.8%) |
Wet Circle | ▲ Continental AllSeasonContact: 15.8 s | ▼ Goodride All Season Elite Z 401: 17.38 s | 1.6 s (9.1%) |
Straight Aqua | ▲ Michelin CrossClimate SUV: 85.1 Km/H | ▼ Goodride All Season Elite Z 401: 75.1 Km/H | 10.0 Km/H (13.3%) |
Curved Aquaplaning | ▲ Continental AllSeasonContact: 3.69 m/sec2 | ▼ Goodride All Season Elite Z 401: 2.48 m/sec2 | 1.2 m/sec2 (48.8%) |
Snow (4 tests) | |||
Snow Braking | ▲ Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 SUV: 25.1 M | ▼ Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3: 33 M | 7.9 M (23.9%) |
Snow Traction | ▲ Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 SUV: 2678 N | ▼ Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3: 1984 N | 694.0 N (35.0%) |
Snow Handling | ▲ Continental AllSeasonContact: 57.2 Km/H | ▼ Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3: 50.8 Km/H | 6.4 Km/H (12.6%) |
Snow Slalom | ▲ Continental AllSeasonContact: 4.24 m/sec2 | ▼ Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3: 3.36 m/sec2 | 0.9 m/sec2 (26.2%) |
Comfort (1 tests) | |||
Noise | ▲ Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2: 71.9 dB | ▼ Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3: 74.3 dB | 2.4 dB (3.2%) |
Value (2 tests) | |||
Price | ▲ Goodride All Season Elite Z 401: 290 | ▼ Michelin CrossClimate SUV: 800 | 510.0 (63.8%) |
Rolling Resistance | ▲ Bridgestone Weather Control A005 EVO: 7.26 kg / t | ▼ Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210: 8.49 kg / t | 1.2 kg / t (14.5%) |
There will be no surprise at the winners of the test, with the products from Michelin, Hankook, Continental and Goodyear all performing well across the important dry, wet and snow tests.
The included reference summer and winter tires made for some interesting data, especially when the winter tire didn't perform best in all the snow tests, and some of the all season tires ahead of the summer tire in the wet! Read on for all the stats.
Dry
Naturally the summer tire led the way in dry braking, with the Michelin CrossClimate SUV and Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 close behind.
Bridgestone managed to jump up the order for dry handling proving to be the fastest tire, and almost matching the summer tire around the lap! Goodyear was best of the rest, which is always a surprise given its lack of ability in dry braking, but it seems to be a trend consistent across many tests.
The winter tire managed to be better than the worst all season tire, which was the Toyo Celsius AS2.
Wet
The summer tire was also the best in wet braking with the Michelin again performing well. The Goodride All Season Elite Z401 had dangerously long wet braking, stopping the BMW nearly 20 meters after the summer tire!
The top four tires were very close around the wet handling lap, with the winter tire making a surprise midpack appearance!
The Michelin proved to be the best in the deeper water of the straight aquaplaning test.
Snow
The winter tire had an impressive advantage during snow braking.
But the winter tire couldn't match the best, or even second best all season tire during snow traction testing.
The winter won back its lead during snow handling, but the Continental AllSeasonContact had a very fast lap to almost match its average speed.
Environment
The Maxxis was significantly noisier than the other tires on test at 80 km/h. The winter tire did prove to be even noisier than all the all season tires on test, however this isn't a normal trend, winter tires can be just as quiet as all season tires, especially internally.
The Bridgestone WeatherControl A005 EVO had the lowest rolling resistance, with Maxxis and Falken costing you the most at the pumps.
The trend of getting what you pay for in terms of price vs overall results tracks almost perfectly, apart from the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 X coming in at a very reasonable price for its performance level, and the Bridgestone comparatively overpriced.
Results
1st: Michelin CrossClimate SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Exemplary all-season tire with impressive ride qualities in all weather conditions, good aquaplaning safety, short wet and dry braking distances. High price. Exemplary. Read Reviews Buy from £183.99 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd: Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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All-round talent with balanced performance, strong winter performance, stable handling in all weathers, short braking distances, low price. Moderate ride comfort. Exemplary. Read Reviews Buy from £145.69 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd: Continental AllSeasonContact | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balanced premium tire with the best winter qualities, dynamic wet handling, good safety reserves for aquaplaning, low rolling resistance.
Slightly understeering dry handling. Good. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd: Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A proven all-season tire with balanced high performance potential, stable handling, precise steering behavior, quiet passing noise, good comfort. Slightly longer dry braking distances. Good. Read Reviews Buy from £173.64 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5th: Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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An all-rounder with convincing driving characteristics on snowy and dry roads, very good snow traction, dynamic dry handling.
Average lateral grip on wet roads. Good. Read Reviews Buy from £165.99 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5th: Vredestein Quatrac Pro | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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All-season tires with good snow qualities, stable handling and short braking distances on wet surfaces, low rolling noise. Limited aquaplaning resistance. Good. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th: Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dynamic handling with precise cornering and short braking distances in the wet, good aquaplaning qualities, low price. Understeer behavior on snowy and dry roads. Good. Read Reviews Buy from £157.45 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8th: Bridgestone Weather Control A005 EVO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dry specialist with precise handling and short dry braking distances, low rolling resistance. Moderate steering precision and understeer on snow and wet roads. Adequate. Read Reviews Buy from £182.88 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9th: Toyo Celsius AS2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good snow and aquaplaning qualities, pleasantly quiet comfort, fuel-saving rolling resistance. Average grip in the wet, with understeer in the wet and dry. Adequate. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10th: Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Short dry braking distances, low price. Bad winter performance, clearly limited grip and understeering handling on ice and snow, longer wet braking distances. Not recommended. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11th: Goodride All Season Elite Z 401 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Low rolling resistance, low price level. Dangerously extended wet braking distances, limited wet grip, spongy driving behavior, delayed steering response in all weathers. Not recommended. Read Reviews |