In January 2013 I bent my nice new company Skoda Fabia estate on a stone wall near where we live in the Pennines to the west of Huddersfield. It was snowing, I wasn’t driving, I’d parked up to shovel snow on a slight incline and the car slid back, all its wheels locked until the open drivers’ door caught the stone wall. I had got through the bad winters since 2007 using snow chains on company cars. These are great and can get you almost anywhere but putting them on and taking them off is a pain, the maximum speed is 30 mph and as soon as you get back on tarmac, off they come; they are of little use on the mixed snow/ice/slush combination that we get on the UK’s roads in winter. Unlike a lot of people round here, I don’t like to park my car half a mile away on the main road; it could get hit by an skidding vehicle, it will get covered in salt and might get sprayed with wet snow from a snow plough that freezes and makes getting into the car the morning after somewhat difficult. The company won’t, as a matter of policy, fit winter tires, which were the obvious solution, so I the best I could do was argue for a set of Goodyear Vector4Season tires. These were fitted in November 2013 when the original Dunlop SP’s finally wore out after 50,000 miles. Then it didn’t snow in the 2013/14 winter, even up in the Pennines but the wet weather performance and the summer dry weather performance were tested to the full. On these measures the tires are good. In the wet weather they felt much more stable and didn’t have any tendency to aquaplane no matter how much water was on the road surface. They didn’t slip on the steep and turning road that approaches our house when the Dunlop’s frequently spun, even in dry weather. In the dry, I didn’t notice any difference but then I am not into “exploring the outer limits of handling of the car” as I was asked once in a well-known national chain of tire fitters so perhaps I wouldn’t notice any difference – well it is only a 1.2 diesel.
But it was the snow performance that I really wanted to test and I had to wait for 34,000 miles and 13 months until 27th and 28th December 2014 to see how the Goodyear’s performed on snow and ice. Finally, we woke to 5-10 cm of snow and the need to go somewhere early in the morning. I reversed down the road past the house and onto the side road that leads to the A62. This side road is never gritted or ploughed and it is steep and twisty. We negotiated it with without difficulty, got onto the A62, realised we had forgot something and went back, driving right up to the house without so much as a twitch of the traction control on the snow. We went over Scapegoat Hill, to over 1,000’ up and onto the snow covered A640, overtaking a 4x4 making slow progress on the way. With a clear wide road covered in snow and going downhill, I did a couple of hard braking tests and the car stopped in a straight line, with no fuss, no sliding and no drama.
On the way into Leeds, a dual carriage way had the left lane clear and full of cars doing 20 mph. The right lane was snow covered so I nudged the Fabia into the snow covered second lane and went past them all. The feeling of stability and control on the snow was amazing.
On the 28th, a beautifully sunny day, we went up to the top of the A62 on Standedge, took pictures walked around then drove back along the snow covered hilly back roads to the see various relations. There was a lot of black ice around and the tires coped well going uphill, and when driving appropriately with due regard to the conditions, went downhill in control. No non-studded tire will give good grip on ice – I have driven in Sweden in the depths of winter on studded tires – but at least the Goodyears with multiple Vee shaped cross grooves gives you a better chance of finding some traction on ice compared to the normal summer tires with their big circumferential grooves and tiny water clearing cross grooves.
In short, the best tires I have ever had on a car. They have lasted well, so far with 34,000 miles and still 5-6 mm of tread. It will be an interesting comparison when the car goes back in February 2015 to be replaced by our own Mini which be coming with a set of winter tires – Goodyear don’t make a Vector4Season in the size for the Mini. Any negatives? The fuel consumption got worse dropping from 67ish to less than 64, both figures being well short of what Skoda promise for its Greenline models but that is another story.

fine tires for very mild east-european winter
good in low temperatures (5*C to -5*C)
BUT... in higher temps (higher than 15*C) when comditions are dry the car is sliding everywhere, when it's raining the grip is very good,
during winter it was okay until the first snow ... when you're driving only in the city - it's okay, but outside it (and on a highway) those tires can try to kill you (even with all wheel drive!) ... they don't like snowy conditions... they accept them, but just do not like ;-)))

GY Vector 4 Seasons are like average winter tires with a bit harder rubber. I paid 600€ for 225/50R17 and i expected much more. You can buy good "new" premium winter tires made a few years before (so the rubber became harder) and you'll get the same... and you'll pay much less...

About to buy my 3rd set of these for my S-Max.
I use them all year round and have never had any problem. Motorway, town, country rain and snow I feel they are good tires and never had an issue just other people with the wheel slip foot down mentality.
Hill starts on snowy roads are no worry, possibly the only down side I can see is they dont clear snow from the tread as efficiently as a full blown winter tire. Since I use them all year round I just replace them in time for the winter, I tend to get about 24000 miles out of them before I think they need replacing. They would last longer if winter was not around the next corner.

Fantastic tires. I bought them for the predicted bad winter which we never hadthis winter. I am disappointed I have not had the chance to try them in the snow, but all reports tell me they excel. What I can say is that in the dry,wet,cold and warm they perform brilliantly. I will never buy another tire again. The all season tire is here and available to all. If more people fitted these our roads would be a lot less hazardous come the ice and snow and the gridlock we seem to experience at these times would be greatly reduced.

I have had these tires on my car for one year, driving 12,000 miles on a mixture of country roads, motorway & town and have been delighted with their performance. The Goodyears out-grip my original fitment summer tires in all conditions, they are also quieter and more comfortable. I live in rural Aberdeenshire and these tires safely got me through the long Scottish winter with no 'white knuckle' incidents. I was worried that wear would be a problem when running the all season tires but was pleasantly surprised to find that they still had 7mm tread depth at the annual service last month. I will definitely buy these tires again.

I have just completed my first full year on these tires in the Scottish Highlands where winters can be severe, although not so much last year. These tires coped fantastically well in all conditions.i had been a bit concerned that they might wear too fast but after 13,000 miles they still have loads of tread left on them and should last another full 12 months. I am very impressed with these tires and will definitely buy another set.

Excellent all season tires.
Great grip especially in the wet and with snow and ice.
Do not feel as precise in summer as the Pirelli PZeros that were on the car before but the difference is not that great.
Very comfortable and wear very well.

Bought these in the Autumn for my BMW E39 530d. Living in Devon, in the last few months they've been through all the weather imaginable - dry sunny days, rain, snow, ice, sludge, etc.

Nothing seems to be too much for these tires. I'm not known for driving miss daisy amongst my friends yet the feedback, grip, and comfort offered by these tires always inspires confidence no matter the weather. They grip so well I don't get traction control kicking in on my car ever. Even kickdown at the lights in the rain.

Now when I drive anyone else's car it genuinely feels to me like something is wrong with it, as these are just head and shoulders above the cack cars get sold with, or get put on them just to pass an MOT.

I've also had the luck of comparing these to the Kleber Quadraxers. There is no comparison. Avoid the Quadraxers.

I just hope everyone else buys a set so that there's less risk of accidents and hold ups in typical British weather. With the sudden unpredictable adverse weather conditions we're now subject to here we really can't afford the risk of any old rubber.

I chose these because I live on a hill that is very rarely ever gritted when the snow arrives! most folk living in the area will park their cars at the top of the hill when snow is forecast, then walk the 1\2 mile to\from their home\car ...not pleasant when shopping bags have to be unloaded. These past few days have seen snowfall of up to 6 inches here and the usual car park at the top of the hill has sprung up again! Not for me though! I have been amazed at how easily the car can climb the hill with these tires - no more long march home slipping & sliding with shopping bags.

The only downside of these tires is road noise - it sounds like a bearing's gone, but I know it's the tires! I'm hoping they'll quieten down as they wear to suit the car's geometry setup.

Goodyear Vector 4Season M+S
- I have just returned from a 6000KM Christmas / New Year trip from St Malo in France, across Europe, through Sweden, Finland and Norway, and back to St Malo on all conditions from +14C to -18C, dry roads, freezing slush, fresh snow, pack ice, rain, the lot.
This is our second long trip on these tires, the previous journey being last year January, over the Alps in to Austria.
We have Goodyear Vector 4Season 205/60/15 on an Octavia 4x4 and I totally recommend these tires.
Although there are tires that might offer more grip specifically in the dry, or the snow, these feel consistent on all conditions, and allowed us to travel with confidence everywhere.
On the Autobahn we travelled at 150KPH (95MPH) with no problems, and cruised generally at around 120KPH (75MPH).
We were surprised in Finland that when it snowed heavily many of the local cars fitted with ice tires struggled for grip, and coming through Helsinki a lot of locals were sliding around where we were not.
When we really pushed it on a slushy motorway ramp and forced a slide, handling remained predictable, and it was easy to maintain control.
By the time we got through Lillehammer my wife was overtaking snow plows! Driving on salted snow we could easily maintain 110KPH (65MPH)
Fuel consumption was only slightly affected, Dropping from 5.6L/100KM (51MPG) to 5.7L/100KM (49MPG).
In summer the handling is slightly softer than normal summer tires, but again predictable and easy to control. I do put the summer wheels back on the car in April/May, but only because we have those wheels anyway.
On cold wet British winter roads the Vectors far outperform our summer tires, so I make sure I change back once the temperature is in to single figures, but like I say, I would be happy to stay on the Vectors all year 'round.
If I knew I would only be travelling on winter roads I would probably get the Ultragrip, but with varied conditions the Vector 4Season really does everything.

I had put on two months ago and have done quite a few miles since, these tires are the best I have ever had on a car, very good in the wet, again very good in the dry and quiet. I have yet to try them out in the snow. I will definately buy these again.

Great tires for ice and snow, bad on wet road, noisily. I like them. My best tires for winter. Better than Continental WinterContact TS 810, Pirelli P6 all seasons!