Given
75%
while driving a
Nissan
(175/70 R13 T) on
mostly country roads
for 22,000
average miles
I fitted 4 new Yokohama BluEarth AE01's on my Nissan Almera 1392cc hatchback 12 months and 22k miles ago, and they transformed the grip and handling of the car. Prior to fitting, the car had a selection of different branded tires with varied tread depths and ages. Prior to fitting the Yoko's it would easily spin the front tires up in the wet and felt skittish on wet roundabouts even at low speeds.
With the Yoko's fitted it is all but impossible to spin up the front wheels and it feels very planted and stable when cornering, even on greasy roundabouts. Obviously the car is not a high-powered vehicle, but swiftly accelerating from a standstill is now much safer.
I have no idea about the progressiveness of the tires as I have never attempted to breach the limits of the Nissan's modest handling.
Road noise was drastically reduced on fitting these tires, they have worn evenly but are now looking like they could do with being changed as the tread is getting to around 3mm all round. I swapped the front and rear tires over after approximately 6 months as the fronts were wearing quicker than the rears, though this is only to be expected with a FWD car. The road noise has increased as the tread has worn down, though the appalling state of UK roads does this no favours at all.
I think I will need to replace the tires in the next 5000 miles (3 months) due to tread wear, I will probably try a different tire in the same price bracket (£50 - £60 per tire) to compare the grip and longevity to the Yokos. I have had positive experience with Avon ZV5s in the past, so will probably try those next.
Overall I would recommend these tires, though be aware they are only moderately durable. I would suggest that these fall further towards the grip end of the grip - durability scale, certainly I cannot speak highly enough of the difference they made to my Nissan's road manners but have worn quicker than I'd have liked.