Time indexes in this video

01:01 - Ultra High Performance Tire Recommendations

03:39 - Touring / Highway Tire Recommendations

05:48 - All Season Recommendations

07:07 - SUV / 4x4 Recommendations

Videos Referenced

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rQoBeUH9hY

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41iQl1wzGD4

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rQoBeUH9hY&t=556

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PEqUfC3FbE

UHP Tires Recommended in the Video

Continental SportContact 6 
Continental PremiumContact 6 
Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 
Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 
Nokian PowerProof 
Vredestein Ultrac Vorti 
Falken Azenis FK510 
Maxxis Victra Sport 5 
Nexen N’Fera Sport 
Giti GitiSport S1 
Zeetex HP2000VFM 
Infinity EcoMax 

Touring Tires Recommended in the Video

Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 
Michelin Primacy 4 
Continental EcoContact 6 
Continental PremiumContact 6 
Hankook Ventus Prime 3 
Nokian WetProof 
Maxxis Premitra HP5 
Nexen N Blue HD Plus 
Giti GitiPremium H1 

All Season Tires Recommended in the Video

Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 
Michelin CrossClimate+ 

SUV Tires Recommended in the Video

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV 

Video Script

Ah, 2020. It's proving to be a funny year for so many reasons.

I wasn't actually planning on making this video for 2020, as not a huge amount has changed since the 2019 version, but as I've had thousands of polite requests to make an updated version, I thought I'd keep you guys happy and deliver.

As with previous years, I'll be looking at the very best tires available for hypercars to shopping cars, and even 4x4 and SUV. 

As not a lot has changed at the top end since last year, so this year I'm going to spend a little more time looking at the midrange sector of the market, just in case covid-19 has meant you're focusing your money on things other than your vehicle.

It's also worth noting that most years I have the tires I'm recommending delivered to me, so I can talk about them with them on camera, and film some sexy b-roll. As that seemed like putting our heroic delivery drivers through unnecessary risk, you'll just have to pretend I'm with the tires I'm talking about, and excuse some of the editing using footage from previous years.

Lastly, I'll be referencing other videos and tests throughout this video, which I'll be sure to leave links to in the description. And while you're down there, please consider hitting the subscribe button and bell icon. This isn't a spammy channel, we're averaging just 1 high quality video a month, and more subscribers means more opportunity to do some really cool testing!

As always, I'll start with UHP, or ultra high performance tires, but if you want to jump to touring, all season or SUV, the times will be in the description!

UHP tires are usually fitted in 17 inch and above, and are designed to give you ultimate grip in the dry and wet, a sporty feel, and better driving dynamics when enjoying your tires.

The three key brands have segmented their UHP tires into what I'm calling comfort bias UHP, and UUHP or "maximum performance" tires. The divide is usually around the 18" mark, so it's not often you have the option for both these tires in the same size, but if you do, this should help clear things up.

As with 2019, the very best UHP tires on the market are still from Continental, Goodyear and Michelin.

For the comfort bias UHP tires we have the Continental PremiumContact 6, Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4, and for their bigger, even more sporty brothers, we have the Continental SportContact 6, Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.

I consider these six tires the very best on offer covering 16" to 22", and all extremely close in performance, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time telling you why you should fit these.

Instead, go check out last year's video, our mega tire test, and the long term test of the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport vs the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, they're all linked in the description. Also, make sure you're subscribed for the highly requested long term test of the Continental PremiumContact 6, Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5, and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 I'm working on at the moment, that should be out in around a month! I'll be putting updates on instagram if you're interested.

A lot of people will be wondering where Bridgestone, Dunlop and Pirelli are, as I miss these out most years in the UHP segment. Well, the Bridgestone Potenza S001 seems to either have wear or wet grip issues, and while the S007 is now out, I've not seen it in any tests, or had any communication from Bridgestone about it. The Dunlop SportMaxx RT2 is a great tire, but now a generation behind the top three as it came out with the Asymmetric 3, and the PZ4 P Zero is a VERY good tire, but on average it just tests a little behind the Conti, Michelin and Goodyear trio, and on a personal note, I'm not the biggest fan of how it feels on the front axle. 

If you don't want to be paying top dollar, like last year I'll be recommending the Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3, Falken Azenis FK510 and Nokian PowerProof. All three of these tires come in a little under the top three price wise, and offer great grip and comfort, especially the Falken and Nokian. Think of those as more competitors for the comfort bias UHP tire segment. It's also DEFINITELY worth looking into the Vredestein Ultrac Vorti, as this has been testing really well this year, and it's a tire I really like.

If you want to save a little more again, the Maxxis Victra Sport 5 and Nexen N Fera Sport SU2 look to be the best of the rest, offering good dry and wet grip, at a lower price. They do however look to wear a little more quickly than some, so be mindful of that. 

Lastly, honourable mentions go to Zeetex with the HP2000 vfm, Giti with the GitiSport S1, and Infinity with the EcoMax, however it's worth noting at this end of the market you will be giving up certain areas of performance. 

Do your research on sites like tire reviews to workout exactly what trade off you're comfortable with.

Touring tires, or highway tires, are tires with less focus on sporty handling, and more on comfort, low noise and low fuel use.

However, unlike the UHP tires, we DO have a new challenger for this closely contested segment! Goodyear have released the Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2!

Sadly, no one in Europe has done a 16" tire test this year. I was MEANT to be doing a full 16" test a few weeks ago, but travelling to france to do the test wasn't the smartest idea, so that's been postponed to June. Subscribe for that :)

This means for now, we only have a 17" test, and a TUV test to see how the new Goodyear performs. Of the two, the 16" TUV test is the most interesting, as it shows the new EfficientGrip Performance 2 wearing 20% better than even the best Michelin can offer, while also having better wet braking performance. 

If this wear and wet grip combination carries over to other testing, this is the new tire to beat. Stay tuned for our test in June (assuming we can fly again)

Next up, we're falling back to the tires I recommended last year, which are the Michelin Primacy 4, Continental EcoContact / PremiumContact 6 (don't ask), Hankook Ventus Prime 3 and Nokian WetProof. Go check out last year's video to find out why.

As for what I can recommend from the next step down in price, again Giti, Maxxis, Nexen and look to be leading the way with the Giti GitiPremium H1, the Maxxis Premitra HP5, and the Nexen N Blue HD+. As before, these can save you quite a bit of money, but you will be making sacrifices in certain areas of performance.

If you'd like to run an all season tire year round, there's only really been one tire I've been recommending up to now for the UK climate, and that's the Michelin CrossClimate+. Thanks to it's impressive summer performance, and grip way beyond a summer tire in snow and ice,  this is still currently my top recommendation, but Goodyear have also just released the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3. The Gen-2 of this all season tire was more often than not  the"best of the rest" behind the Michelin for the UK, and sometimes the best choice for more extreme climates, so I expect the Gen-3 version to be right up there on performance!

I was also meant to be conducting an all season tire test around now, including the new goodyear, however that's also been delayed. Subscribe for that.

The SUV recommendations are going to be even more efficient, mostly because a lot of tire manufacturers don't split their UHP and touring tires into specific SUV patterns anymore, so if you can find any of the previous tires in the correct size, and most importantly, load rating, feel free to fit them!

Perhaps not surprisingly, of the dedicated SUV tires, testing has shown the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV to be the very best for on-road performance, with the SUV sizes of the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 pretty much matching it, and again the Falken FK510 SUV having a solid performance at a slightly lower price. 

In certain sizes, the Dunlop SportMaxx RT2 SUV also looks to be a good buy, so there's a recommendation for Dunlop!