If you know about tires, you will be a fan of Nokian Tires. The Finnish company are almost a cult classic in the UK, thanks to an extremely strong all season and winter tire range. With the new Nokian PowerProof and WetProof, Nokian hopes to extend that performance to its summer tire range.

Around five years ago Nokian Tires released the Line touring tire, and zLine UHP tire which took the battle to premium manufacturers such as Michelin, Goodyear and Continental. The Line range was comprised of capable, rounded summer tires which delivered excellent wet grip and handling. Sadly, over the past five years, the competition has moved on and the Nokian summer range hadn't. Until now.

The two latest tires the company has just released, the Nokian WetProof in the premium touring segment, and the Nokian PowerProof in the ultra-high performance / maximum performance segment, promise to take that fight back to the current market leaders, such as the Michelin Pilot Sport 4.

Development

In order to develop these completely new tires, Nokian have been back to the drawing board. First, they surveyed a wide range of tire shoppers across Europe to find the key qualities for the new tire, and found that wet and dry grip, stability, low wear and low noise were the highest priority for the majority of drivers.

The new tires have been in development for four years, and after countless hours of computer simulations, over 130 prototype patterns and over one million miles of road testing, Nokian Tires are confident the new WetProof and PowerProof will once again be class leading.

To achieve the targets set, both new tires have what Nokian call the “dual zone safety concept”. This splits the tread into an outer “power zone” which offers excellent grip and stiffness for cornering, with the inner part of the tire the “wet safety zone”, keeping the tire in contact with the road and gripping well, in all conditions.

The power zone includes a new shoulder profile, firm tread blocks and sloped grooved design ensure the tire delivers excellent grip and steering precision, while the inner wet safety zone has a new tread design and polished grooves to allow for rapid water clearance.

Driving Impressions and Tests

To test the new WetProof and PowerProof, Tire Reviews was invited to South Portugal, to the incredible Portimao circuit. Unfortunately, during the day there wasn't a comparison tire available, so driving impressions of the two new tire patterns are limited, but the PowerProof proved to have an excellent blend of quietness, comfort and steering precision when driven on a varied road route using a Mercedes E Class, all while offering excellent steering response and grip when pushed hard on track, using a heavy, powerful Audi RS5.

Both new tires have also been independently tested by TUV SUD. The PowerProof was tested against the Continental Sport Contact 5, Dunlop SportMaxx RT2, Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 and Pirelli P Zero PZ4 SC, and the WetProof tested against Continental Premiumcontact 5, Dunlop Sp Fast Response, Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance, Michelin Primacy 4, Pirelli Cinturato P7. Both tires beat the average of the competitors in dry and wet braking, subjective dry and wet handling, and interior noise (TUV report 713135118 for full details)

Conclusion

All in all, this is a much needed, and exciting update for the Nokian summer tire range, and the two new tires have huge potential. Tire Reviews will be performing a 19" tire test next year, and the new Nokian PowerProof will almost certainly be included!

The Nokian PowerProof will be initially available in 51 sizes from 17 to 20 inches, and the smaller WetProof 46 sizes covering 14 to 20 inches. Both tires will be available in the UK in Spring 2019.