New Tyres

Cooper Tire Europe will continue its exclusive tyre supply to the FIA World Rallycross and FIA European Rallycross championships for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons. This year’s World Rallycross season, the  8th contested on Cooper tyres, commences with the World RX of Norway on 12 June.

The Toyota Yaris has bulked up to meet market demand for small SUVs. Meet the Yaris Cross, a new and larger version of the popular supermini. Toyota designed this B-segment SUV specifically for the European market and has chosen Goodyear as an original equipment tyre supplier. The Toyota Yaris Cross will wear the Goodyear EfficientGrip […]

WhatTyre’s inaugural Tyre of the Year Awards are designed to celebrate the best tyres currently available for the biggest group of drivers. We have focused on the tyres that offer the best performance characteristics for regular drivers: the commuters getting to work and home in the busiest traffic, parents operating taxi services for their children, older drivers for whom motoring means extended independence, holidaymakers travelling (when possible again) to destinations in the UK, or in neighbouring countries, and the key workers, whose physical presence is required to do their jobs no matter what. Our winners, highly recommended finalists, and commended nominees all offer proven performance that leads the other 95 per cent-plus of tyres available for the cars most commonly driven in the UK.

The UK tyre market’s interest in winter tyres may not be high, but there are many excellent products available, as WhatTyre’s list of “Commended” winter tyre products proves. While the UK’s moderate winter climate, the need to store a spare set of tyres (and wheels) year-round, the inconvenience of a seasonal tyre change twice a year, and the increasing quality of all-season tyres are all understandable reasons for not fitting winter tyres, the fact remains that if we are considering performance and safety above all else, specialist winter tyres will help you get the most out of your car when temperatures drop. Below, we crown our 2021 winner, and run down the other models we highly recommend.

When looking at the 13 nominees for our What Tyre summer Tyre of the Year category, it quickly became apparent that our TyreScore had done its job superbly. It also serves us well when identifying the category finalists, all of which bring together high levels of performance, safety and economy/mileage in various combinations. Our five finalists are taken from the three top summer tyre sizes in the UK (205/55 R16, 225/45 R17, 195/55 R15), and we set a TyreScore of 8 as a minimum prerequisite. A test win or a recommendation of ‘good’ or better in a 2020/21 tyre test is also a must have.

It is now time to name the finalists for the WhatTyre UHP Tyre of the Year, and again we’re looking at the popular sizes 245/45 R18, 245/35 R19, 265/35 R20 in Y or higher speed ratings. We have added the requirement that our finalists should have at least one original equipment approval to their name – car makers have exacting requirements when selecting OEM tyres, and manufacturer approval thus serves as a useful barometer of tyre competence and quality.

All-season tyres are growing in popularity on the UK and European roads so, following the announcement of our WhatTyre all-season tyre of the year nominations, we are excited as anyone to learn the identities of the top five tyres in our database of over 250,000 variations.

Following the unveiling of the first WhatTyre SUV Tyre of the Year nominees earlier this month, the time has come to name the finalists. In order to identify the best of the best, we entered the top three SUV tyre sizes (235/60 R18; 215/55 R18; and 215/60 R17) into our unique comparison engine in order to filter the database of a quarter of a million variations down to the most relevant products. Our system boils down all the legally-required European tyre label performance data as well as our library of third-party magazine test cross-references into a single figure.

What are the best electric car tyres in 2021? The recent boom in electric vehicle sales has meant that tyre manufacturers are paying more attention to the demands of this market. While new car demand has stalled in most segments during the pandemic, full electric car sales have continued to grow. In Europe, estimates put full electric or hybrid car sales at around 12 per cent of the full market. And with various countries around the world introducing legislation to bring petrol and diesel production to an end over the next two decades, growth is certain to continue. Likewise, this will inevitably mean more manufacturers will provide replacement tyres tuned to these vehicles, especially as the second-hand market blossoms.