Tire Tests

For the 2021 Auto Express winter tire test, Auto Express tested eight 225/45 R17 winter tires using a VW Golf.

As usual we'll keep commentary to a minimum, instead encouraging you to head over to the Auto Express website to check out the full test.

The tires included were very similar to the 2020 Auto Express winter tire test, with Bridgestone winning the test again, with the new Continental second.

If you've ever wondered how the modern breed of ultra high performance all season tires compared in the snow when compared to a summer tire and a winter tire, this is the test for you!

In this video the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S, Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 and Michelin X-Ice Snow are tested for traction, braking and a timed snow lap, to see all the differences between three of the best tires in each category!

Racing slick tires are used by some of the fastest cars in the world, but just how much faster is a slick tire when compared to a track day tire, or even a normal ultra high performance road tire on a regular road car?

To find out, we're putting the ultra high performance Pirelli P Zero PZ4 road tire against the the Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R track day tire and two different types of Pirelli slick race tires to find out exactly how much faster a slick tire can be!

Auto Express have asked Tire Reviews not to cover too much of their test, so if you'd like to see the full results of this 225/45 R17 summer tire test head over to the Auto Express website!

Here's a very basic overview of the results. One thing to keep in mind is there's a mix of tire types in this test, with more performance bias patterns such as the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 up against touring bias tires such as the Bridgestone Turanza T005 and Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2.

The 2021 Auto Zeitung SUV winter tire test has tested ten suv winter tires in 235/55 R18 size using a VW Tiguan crossover SUV.

As this is a smaller test when compared to other winter tire tests we'll keep the introduction short. All ten sets of tires were placed through the usual blend of dry, wet and snow testing, plus rolling resistance and noise.

If you live in a part of the world that sees an extreme winter such as the Northern USA, Canada, and the Northern parts of Europe, you'll know that regular central European winter tires just don't cut it. 

Winters which see snow on the roads for many months and lots of ice need extreme winter tires, and there are two types to choose from. The original is the studded winter tire, a tire which has studs (pieces of metal) inserted into the soft winter compound allowing the tire to really bite into the snow and ice below. 

Sadly, as great as studs are, they're damaging to the roads which is why tire companies invented a category of winter tire called studless friction winter tires. While these don't have studs, they do have a vastly improved ability on snow and ice when compared to a "normal" winter tire, and with advances in compounding technology they are quickly becoming an excellent alternative for all but the most extreme climates.

The 2022 Auto Bild Allrad SUV tire test tested ten SUV / 4x4 winter tires in the popular 235/55 R18 size, and included a reference summer tire.

As in the Tire Reviews winter tire test, there was a tie for first place with the Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ SUV and Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 SUV tying for the win.

Both tires had slightly different approaches to grip, the Goodyear the more balanced tire, only winning the wet handling test but scoring well in nearly all other tests, where as the Michelin won every snow test but performed relatively poorly in the wet testing.

The Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 performed well again, it's a tire that seems to perform well in all tests with its only real weakness the worst dry braking on test, and the Vredestein Wintrac Pro placed fourth with an excellent wet braking and snow grip result.

The 2021 Auto Bild winter tire test started its life as a fifty tire wet and snow braking test, with the best performing twenty tires proceeding to this test. This means the twenty tires in this test are some of the best winter tires for 2021 on the market!

Additionally Auto Bild have included the usual reference summer tire, but also a budget winter tire. It wasn't clear from the article how this tire was chosen, but I imagine it was one of the worst tires from the fifty tire braking test intended to highlight just how bad cheap tires can be. The results confirm the theory, with the cheap winter tire performing well below average in nearly all tests.

The results, as always, were close at the top, with the new Continental WinterContact TS870 narrowly beating the Michelin Alpin 6. The new German tire had a very consistent test, performing well in nearly all categories, and having the best wear on test!

The 2021 Auto Bild all season tire test has tested sixteen of the best all season tires in the popular 225/50 R17 size.

Auto Bild are the European leaders in tire testing, and go to lengths with their tests no other publication can. Firstly, to select the sixteen all season tires in this test, they placed thirty two sets through a dry and wet braking test with the top sixteen qualifying, ensuring these sixteen are some of the very best on the market.

For the 2021 autumn season, Auto Bild have tested thirty two all season tires in the popular 225/50 R17 size in dry and wet braking.

The top sixteen of these tires will feature in the full Auto Bild all season tire test which will be on the site in the next few days.

For now, check out all the other latest all season tire tests on Tire Reviews!

The 2021 Auto Motor und Sport winter tire test tested ten popular central European winter tires in 195/55 R16. This size is used for vehicles such as the Audi A1, Dacia Sandero, Ford Fiesta, Mazda 2, Peugeot 208 and many more.

The Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 took another convincing test win, proving to be excellent in the wet and dry while still having reasonable snow performance. 

ADAC tire tests are some of the most influential in the world, and for the 2021 winter season ADAC have chosen to test eighteen 225/50 R17 tires and sixteen 195/65 R15 winter tires, across two tests. This article covers the 17" test, to see the 15" test please click here.

ADAC tire tests are some of the most influential in the world, and for the 2021 winter season ADAC have chosen to test eighteen 225/50 R17 tires and sixteen 195/65 R15 winter tires, across two tests. This article covers the 15" test, to see the 17" test please click here.

It's the start of the 2021 all season and winter tire test season, and what better way to start than the massive Auto Bild winter tire shootout.

This year Auto Bild have tested FIFTY 205/55 R16 winter tires in wet braking, then tested the best thirty five in snow braking. With the wet and snow braking distances combined, the top twenty tires, from Bridgestone to Nokian, will feature in the full Auto Bild winter tire test out in a few weeks.

In this tire test we take nine of the best performance winter tires in the popular 225/40 R18 size and test them in the dry, wet and of course snow to see what the best winter tire is for the 2021/22 autumn and winter.

Do you want to know what all season tire is best for year round driving whatever the weather? In this test we take nine of the very best 205/55 R16 all season tires on the market, plus a well regarded summer and winter tire as references, to see exactly what tire performs best in the dry, wet, snow, comfort, noise and rolling resistance tests!

The German SUV specialist publication Auto Bild Allrad have become the second magazine in 2021 to publish their all season tire test, and the first to include the new Michelin CrossClimate 2 (much to our disappointment, we wanted to be first!)

While the Allrad tests aren't quite as in depth as the industry leading Auto Bild tests, they're still an excellent reference point for the market, and especially useful if you drive an SUV, or are interested in how an all season tire compares to a summer and winter tire, as both are included as references.

The tested size is 215/65 R17, which fits many popular SUVs such as the VW Tiguan test vehicle, the Audi Q5, Mercedes GLA, Nissan Qashqai and many others. It's worth remembering that sometimes SUV tire sizes have different constructions to their regular cousins, meaning that surprising results can be a feature in this sort of test!

The 2021 Auto Zeitung all season tire test tested nine all season tires in the popular 205/55 R16 size.

While this test doesn't have the new Michelin CrossClimate 2 or Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2, it does have the new Vredestein Quatrac, and even more interestingly, it tested at multiple temperatures. We didn't get precise temperature data, but the magazine did detail that the cooler temperature was under 10c, and the warmer temperature over 20c.

The Michelin CrossClimate 2 has finally been launched in Europe, and Tire Reviews has the exclusive first test comparing the new Michelin CrossClimate 2 to the outgoing Michelin CrossClimate+.

In this test we look at the improvements made in dry grip, including dry braking which was already very impressive, the step forward in wet grip and aquaplaning resistance, the huge improvement in rolling resistance meaning lower fuel consumption / better MPG for your car, and the serious step forward Michelin have made in the snow performance of the new tire.

Watch the video to see how the new Michelin CrossClimate 2 is better than the Michelin CrossClimate+ in nearly every way!

The German publication ProMobil have tested eight summer tires in the popular 235/55 R17 size using a VW T 6.1 Camper!

This test is slightly more relevant than usual tests to Camper Van / SUV overs, as the magazine tested the "regular" 235/55 R17 tire option instead of the 215/65 R16 C commercial size with is often fitted to the VW Transporter the VW is based on.

This tire size isn't just limited to camper vans though, it's also on many large saloons and midsize crossover SUVs such as the BMW 7 Series, BMW X3, Audi Q3, Ford S-Max, Honda CRV, VW Tiguan, VW, California, VW Caravelle and many others!

As usual the eight sets of summer tires were put through the usual array of dry, wet, noise and rolling resistance tests to find out exactly what tire is best in each key area.