The Automobilclub von Deutschland (AvD) has deployed an abundance of bells and more than a few whistles for its tyre testing comeback after half a century out of the game. The motoring association worked together with Tempotire, the firm founded by former Auto Bild tyre test specialist Henning Klipp, to evaluate 27 all-season tyres in three popular sizes. Together they put these premium, mid-tier and budget 205/45 R17, 205/55 R16 and 235/60 R18 tyres through their paces in snow, wet and dry conditions.
Size 205/55 R16 all-season tyres
Compact cars such as the VW Golf typically wear 205/55 R16. AvD and Tempotire looked at ten tyres in this size, testing these at Bridgestone’s European Proving Ground in Italy (wet and dry testing) as well as the Bridgestone test facility in Sweden (snow testing).
No less than five of the ten tyres gained the highest AvD rating of ‘very good’, but the Continental AllSeasonContact 2 beat the competition with a score of 4.5 out of 5. Close behind with 4.4 points each were joint runners-up the Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6 and Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3. The Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 and Vredestein Quatrac tied for fourth place.
Although it narrowly missed AvD’s highest rating, the Kleber Quadraxer 3 nonetheless gained the test team’s price-performance winner recommendation in the 16-inch size. AvD rated the Kleber tyre as ‘good’.
AvD declared two tyres ‘recommendable’. The Linglong Grip Master 4S gained respectable results across the board for an overall score of 4.1, beating by a whisker the Toyo Celsius AS2.
The hosts at the Bridgestone test facilities must have been red-faced by the score AvD gave their Firestone Multiseason Gen 02. Although performing well in snow testing, the Firestone tyre’s wet performance in particular contributed to an overall score of 3.9 and a ‘conditionally recommendable’ rating.
Which is more than the Tomket Allyear 3 gained. It also delivered the goods in the snow, as well as in dry conditions, but once again the wet testing proved a downfall. A paltry 3 points in the wet test category contributed to an overall score of 3.6 and a non-rating of ‘not recommendable’.
Size 205/45 R17 all-season tyres
AvD used a Mazda MX-5 roadster for its test of nine budget to premium tyres in size 205/45 R17. On this occasion, the motoring association and Tempotire conducted their testing at the Contidrom facility in Germany and at a Continental track in northern Sweden.
Three tyres gained a ‘very good’ rating, with the highest score – but not the spoils of victory – shared by the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 and Continental AllSeasonContact 2. Despite both achieving 4.4 points in total, the Pirelli tyre’s better result in the wet secured its test win. The Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6 completed the podium with an overall score of 4.3.
The Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 also scored 4.3 points in total but had to make do with a ‘good’ rating. Although performing very good in snow and wet conditions, the tester noted a slight weakness when braking on dry surfaces. With 4.1 points each, AvD also rated the Linglong Grip Master 4S and Kleber Quadraxer 3 ‘good’, additionally crowning the Linglong tyre its price-performance winner in the 205/45 R17 size. “This shows once again that Chinese manufacturers are quickly catching up in terms of quality – not only in the automotive sector, but also in the tyre sector,” the association comments.
With a score of 3.9 points and a ‘conditionally recommendable’ rating, the Cooper Discoverer All Season finished in seventh place.
Although the cheapest tyres in the test, the Milever All Season Versat MC545 and Tomket Allyear 3 failed to enthuse the testers. AvD reports that neither tyre performed well in handling and braking on wet roads, and for this reason the motoring association declared both ‘not recommendable’.
Size 235/60 R18 all-season tyres
The 235/60 R18 tyre size is a favourite of mid-range SUVs and electric vehicles – in the AvD/Tempotire test, a Skoda Enyaq (EV) wore with eight different tyre brands. The test team put the Skoda through its paces in the snow at a Pirelli test site in Sweden, while testing handling on wet and dry roads in Vizzola and Balocco, Italy.
With 4.5 points, the Pirelli Scorpion All Season SF 3 is the 235/60 R18 test winner ahead of the Continental AllSeasonContact 2 and the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 SUV, both gaining 4.4 points to achieve a ‘very good’ rating.
AvD gave its ‘good’ rating to a quartet of size 235/60 R18 tyres. Fourth place belonged to the Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6 which, although scoring less than the two tyres that followed, proved more convincing in the safety-relevant wet handling tests. The Michelin CrossClimate 2 SUV and Falken EuroAll Season AS220 Pro nonetheless delivered solid performance. The fourth ‘good’ tyre is the Maxxis Premitra All Season AP3 SUV, which also took the title price-performance winner for the 235/60 R18 size, as it is comparatively inexpensive and scored good to very good in almost all categories.
Only one tyre, the Everton Contral A/S 4 Seasons, failed to gain an AvD recommendation. The motoring association considered it ‘not recommendable’ due to “several inadequate test results.”
