TCS Summer Tyre Test: Budget Tyres at the Bottom of the Rankings

"The devil is in the detail" might be a suitable description for the current summer tyre test. It demonstrates how important the balance of a tyre is. Not without reason, the products are evaluated in 15 different test criteria, which are divided into the main areas of 'driving safety' and 'environmental balance'.

In the current test by the Test & Technology department of the Touring Club Suisse, 16 summer tyres sized 225/50 R17 98W/Y were examined. These are suitable for mid-range vehicles such as the VW Sharan, Audi A4, A5 or TT, BMW 2, 3 and 4 Series, Skoda Octavia Scout and Yeti, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Peugeot 3008, 5008 and Volvo S80, V40, V60 or V70. An Audi A4 Avant was used as the test vehicle.

Only three tyres fully convinced Three tyres received the final rating of 'highly recommendable': the Continental PremiumContact 7, the new Pirelli Cinturato (C3), and the Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2. These models consistently deliver high performance on all road types, supplemented by an impressive projected service life, low wear and good efficiency.

Just below 'highly recommendable': Six tyres with slight weaknesses Another six tyres fell just short of a 'highly recommendable' rating. The Firestone Roadhawk2 excels in driving characteristics but shows drawbacks in tread life and wear. The Falken Ziex ZE320 has slight weaknesses on dry roads and in projected service life. The Bridgestone Turanza 6 has small deficiencies in driving safety, yet scores with convincing results in environmental balance.

Similarly, the Michelin Primacy 5, tested for the first time, shows weaknesses in driving safety, especially on dry roads, yet achieves top marks in the test's environmental balance. The Maxxis Premitra HP6 underperforms mainly on wet roads; however, its merely satisfactory performance is primarily due to its tread life. The Kumho Ecsta HS52 shows deficits on dry roads, with wear and efficiency only rated as 'satisfactory'.

'Recommendable', but not quite balanced The subsequent ranks feature four more tyres with an overall 'recommendable' verdict. The weaknesses are somewhat more pronounced in these tyres.

The BFGoodrich Advantage shows deficiencies on wet roads, with its wear also only rated as 'satisfactory'. The Hankook Ventus Prime4 shows weaknesses on wet roads, which significantly affect its overall rating, preventing a rating higher than satisfactory. The Vredestein Ultrac+ displays weaknesses on dry roads, with the tyre barely achieving a satisfactory level in tread life.

At the tail end of this group is the Greentrac Quest-X. It shows significant deficiencies in braking on wet roads, only achieves a satisfactory rating in handling, and performs merely satisfactorily in tread life, wear and efficiency. The aggregation of several average ratings significantly impacts the overall result.

Lack of balance: The trailers All three tyres at the end of the test field are so-called budget tyres, often offered cheaply online. Notably, all these tyres originate from China. To avoid accidents, the available budget should be sensibly allocated for tyre purchases. If something unforeseen occurs, ultimately, it's the tyre that provides reserves with its few square centimetres of contact surface - or not.

The Lassa Revola narrowly misses a recommendable overall rating due to clear weaknesses on dry roads, thus only achieving 'conditionally recommendable'. Additionally, the tyre shows deficits in tread life and wear. Similarly, the Leao Nova-Force Acro has pronounced weaknesses on dry roads and also noticeably deteriorates on wet roads and in tread life and wear.

The tail end of the test is the Linglong Sport Master. It particularly illustrates that a tyre must be balanced and that it's insufficient to excel in only one discipline. Although it achieves the best results on wet roads - performance was consistently optimised in this direction - the downside of this design is the weakest values in driving behaviour on dry roads and efficiency, with the shortest tread life and highest wear in the entire test field.

TCS Recommendations If one drives an average number of miles per year, a tyre should be chosen that is rated well in both driving safety and environmental balance. If high value is placed on driving performance or if environmental and economic criteria are prioritised, a suitable tyre can be found faster thanks to the two-pillar structure.

The portal reifen.tcs.ch provides the opportunity to find the appropriate tyre with the corresponding search settings. A tyre that is at least 'recommendable' in the TCS test should be chosen.

Press contact:
Vanessa Flack, TCS Media Spokesperson
Tel. 058 827 34 41

vanessa.flack@tcs.ch

Editor's note: Image rights belong to the respective publisher. Image rights: Touring Club Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzero - TCS