Given
64%
while driving a
SEAT Arona
(215/45 R18) on
a combination of roads
for 7,000
average miles
Pirelli Cinturato P7 came as standard fit on my new Seat Arona in UK
Intially I thought the tires were good, good grip, performed well. Seemed to be a good premium tire. This was during the warm summer months.
However as the temperatures started to fall I discovered they are not happy when cold, On a few occasions I was pulling out of a side turning in rain with tires scrabbling for grip, spinning the wheels in a 1 litre auto car was not what I expected. On one occasion a car came around a corner towards me, whilst I was struggling to grip the wet tarmac (which was quite dangerous, and has put me off the P7). However once the tires had done a mile and warmed a bit they were ok.
In the UK they are sold as all year tires, even if you pick up your new car in January in a blizzard, this is what is fitted, Seat UK (and other Volkswagen brands in UK) do not offer an all-season or winter tire, on new cars, even as an option. However these are summer tires, and quite poor in the rain when temperatures are lower.
When temperatures are close to freezing 0c they are hard and don't grip.
If you live in a hot country, or one where tires are changed by season then these are great tires. However performance in the rain is poor at temperatures below about +10c The UK can get cold rain (even in the summer) so these tires are unsuitable for countries like UK with maritime climates.
I have since discovered that Pirelli sell an all-season (but not available in the 215 / 45 R18 size that is standard wheel fitted to some Seat Arona models in UK). I simply can't recommend the P7 for use in UK as it gets hard and non-grippy unless it is a warm / hot day. Even though they are wearing well I want to get rid of them this autumn because wheelspin is too easy with them.