Name: 2020 AutoBild Van All Season Commercial Tyre Test
Creator: Tyre Reviews
Published: 2020-04-02

As motorhome, van and commercial vehicle tyre testing is new to the Tyre Reviews website, we thought we'd start with the best of the best, and cover the 2020 Auto Bild 235/65 R16 C test, which used a VW Crafter van to test eight cargo rated all season tyres, and included a summer and winter tyre as reference!

As this is an all season tyre test, Auto Bild not only tested the dry and wet performance of all eight tyres, but also the snow ability of each pattern. Read on below for the full results of what is, another fascinating test by Auto Bild.

Dry

During the dry testing, the Pirelli proved to be the best all season tyre on test, but was still behind the summer tyre in both braking and handling. Of the all season tyres, Falken struggled the most, however it still had an advantage over the dedicated winter pattern.

Dry Braking
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	42.2 m	-2.60 m
1Pirelli Carrier All Season	44.8 m	Best
2Hifly All Transit	45.3 m	+0.50 m
3Maxxis VanSmart AS AL2	48.3 m	+3.50 m
4Continental VanContact 4Season	48.4 m	+3.60 m
5Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Cargo	49.7 m	+4.90 m
6Kleber Transpro 4S	49.9 m	+5.10 m
7Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season	50.1 m	+5.30 m
8Falken EuroAll Season Van11	50.7 m	+5.90 m
RefReference Winter	52.5 m	+7.70 m

The difference between best and worst was 24.4% (10.3 m ≈ 2.3 Car Lengths).

Dry Handling
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	59.9 km/h	+0.30 km/h
1Kleber Transpro 4S	59.6 km/h	Best
1Pirelli Carrier All Season	59.6 km/h	Best
3Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Cargo	59.3 km/h	-0.30 km/h
3Continental VanContact 4Season	59.3 km/h	-0.30 km/h
5Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season	58.9 km/h	-0.70 km/h
6Maxxis VanSmart AS AL2	58.8 km/h	-0.80 km/h
7Hifly All Transit	58.7 km/h	-0.90 km/h
8Falken EuroAll Season Van11	58.1 km/h	-1.50 km/h
RefReference Winter	57.9 km/h	-1.70 km/h

The difference between best and worst was 3.3% (2 Km/H).

Wet

The Pirelli also proved to have the best wet braking performance, again behind the summer tyre. Kleber, Falken and Vredestein were all a significant amount behind the best, while the winter tyre stopped the VW a huge 11 meters behind the best all season, and nearly thirteen meters behind the summer tyre!

Wet Braking
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	49.5 m	-2.30 m
1Pirelli Carrier All Season	51.8 m	Best
2Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Cargo	54.3 m	+2.50 m
3Continental VanContact 4Season	54.8 m	+3.00 m
4Maxxis VanSmart AS AL2	55.4 m	+3.60 m
5Hifly All Transit	55.8 m	+4.00 m
6Kleber Transpro 4S	57.8 m	+6.00 m
6Falken EuroAll Season Van11	57.8 m	+6.00 m
8Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season	58 m	+6.20 m
RefReference Winter	62.2 m	+10.40 m

The difference between best and worst was 25.7% (12.7 m ≈ 2.8 Car Lengths).

The wet handling test had the first outright win for an all season tyre, with the Continental VanContact 4S beating the summer tyre!

Wet Handling
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	68.6 km/h	0.00 km/h
1Continental VanContact 4Season	68.6 km/h	Best
2Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season	68.2 km/h	-0.40 km/h
3Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Cargo	68.1 km/h	-0.50 km/h
4Pirelli Carrier All Season	68 km/h	-0.60 km/h
5Kleber Transpro 4S	67.2 km/h	-1.40 km/h
5Maxxis VanSmart AS AL2	67.2 km/h	-1.40 km/h
7Falken EuroAll Season Van11	66.7 km/h	-1.90 km/h
RefReference Winter	66.5 km/h	-2.10 km/h
8Hifly All Transit	65.3 km/h	-3.30 km/h

The difference between best and worst was 4.8% (3.3 Km/H).

Straight aquaplaning testing again had just a single all season tyre besting the summer tyre, this time the Maxxis VanSmart AS AL2.

Straight Aqua
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
1Maxxis VanSmart AS AL2	94.5 km/h	Best
RefReference Summer	93.7 km/h	-0.80 km/h
2Pirelli Carrier All Season	93.2 km/h	-1.30 km/h
3Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Cargo	92.8 km/h	-1.70 km/h
4Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season	92.6 km/h	-1.90 km/h
5Kleber Transpro 4S	91 km/h	-3.50 km/h
6Continental VanContact 4Season	90.9 km/h	-3.60 km/h
RefReference Winter	90 km/h	-4.50 km/h
7Falken EuroAll Season Van11	90 km/h	-4.50 km/h
8Hifly All Transit	89.9 km/h	-4.60 km/h

The difference between best and worst was 4.9% (4.6 Km/H).

Snow

Due to the unsafe performance of the summer tyre, Auto Bild chose not to run it during snow testing.

Snow braking was narrowly won by the winter tyre, with the Goodyear and Kleber all season tyres just 0.3 meters behind.

Snow Braking
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Winter	24.3 m	-0.30 m
1Kleber Transpro 4S	24.6 m	Best
1Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Cargo	24.6 m	Best
3Continental VanContact 4Season	25.3 m	+0.70 m
4Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season	25.7 m	+1.10 m
5Maxxis VanSmart AS AL2	26.3 m	+1.70 m
6Falken EuroAll Season Van11	26.5 m	+1.90 m
7Pirelli Carrier All Season	29.9 m	+5.30 m
8Hifly All Transit	30.2 m	+5.60 m

The difference between best and worst was 24.3% (5.9 m ≈ 1.3 Car Lengths).

Goodyear and Kleber also proved to be the best during snow traction, this time beating the winter tyre!

Snow Traction
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
1Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Cargo	4460 N	Best
2Kleber Transpro 4S	4410 N	-50.00 N
RefReference Winter	4350 N	-110.00 N
3Continental VanContact 4Season	4320 N	-140.00 N
4Falken EuroAll Season Van11	4130 N	-330.00 N
5Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season	4115 N	-345.00 N
6Maxxis VanSmart AS AL2	4030 N	-430.00 N
7Pirelli Carrier All Season	3860 N	-600.00 N
8Hifly All Transit	3840 N	-620.00 N

The difference between best and worst was 13.9% (620 N).

The winter tyre took back its advantage during snow handling testing, beating Continental and Vredestein.

Snow Handling
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Winter	45.3 km/h	+0.20 km/h
1Continental VanContact 4Season	45.1 km/h	Best
2Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season	45 km/h	-0.10 km/h
3Falken EuroAll Season Van11	44.9 km/h	-0.20 km/h
4Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Cargo	44.8 km/h	-0.30 km/h
5Hifly All Transit	44.5 km/h	-0.60 km/h
6Maxxis VanSmart AS AL2	44.3 km/h	-0.80 km/h
7Kleber Transpro 4S	44.2 km/h	-0.90 km/h
8Pirelli Carrier All Season	43.9 km/h	-1.20 km/h

The difference between best and worst was 3.1% (1.4 Km/H).

Environment

The Pirelli Carrier AllSeason was the quietest all season tyre on test, and the only tyre quieter than the summer tyre.

Noise
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
1Pirelli Carrier All Season	70.5 dB	Best
RefReference Summer	71 dB	+0.50 dB
2Hifly All Transit	71 dB	+0.50 dB
3Kleber Transpro 4S	71.6 dB	+1.10 dB
4Falken EuroAll Season Van11	72.3 dB	+1.80 dB
5Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Cargo	72.4 dB	+1.90 dB
6Maxxis VanSmart AS AL2	72.5 dB	+2.00 dB
6Continental VanContact 4Season	72.5 dB	+2.00 dB
RefReference Winter	74.7 dB	+4.20 dB
8Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season	74.7 dB	+4.20 dB

The difference between best and worst was 6% (4.2 dB).

There was a spread of 11.2kgs per set, or a difference of 2.8kg between the lightest and heaviest tyre on test.

Tyre Weight
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
1Hifly All Transit	56 Kg	Best
2Kleber Transpro 4S	59.2 Kg	+3.20 Kg
3Continental VanContact 4Season	60.8 Kg	+4.80 Kg
4Maxxis VanSmart AS AL2	61.6 Kg	+5.60 Kg
4Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season	61.6 Kg	+5.60 Kg
6Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Cargo	65.2 Kg	+9.20 Kg
7Pirelli Carrier All Season	66 Kg	+10.00 Kg
8Falken EuroAll Season Van11	67.2 Kg	+11.20 Kg

The difference between best and worst was 20% (11.2 Kg).

The lightest tyre was also the cheapest tyre.

Continental had a significant fuel saving advantage over the rest of the group.

Rolling Resistance
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best	Extra fuel / year
1Continental VanContact 4Season	6.36 kg/t	Best	£0
2Kleber Transpro 4S	6.8 kg/t	+0.44 kg/t	£30
RefReference Winter	6.8 kg/t	+0.44 kg/t	£30
3Pirelli Carrier All Season	6.84 kg/t	+0.48 kg/t	£33
4Hifly All Transit	6.9 kg/t	+0.54 kg/t	£37
RefReference Summer	6.98 kg/t	+0.62 kg/t	£43
5Falken EuroAll Season Van11	7.21 kg/t	+0.85 kg/t	£59
6Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Cargo	7.22 kg/t	+0.86 kg/t	£60
7Maxxis VanSmart AS AL2	7.23 kg/t	+0.87 kg/t	£60
8Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season	7.4 kg/t	+1.04 kg/t	£72

The difference between best and worst was 16.4% (1.04 kg / t). Over 19,000 km a year at £1.45/L, the Vredestein Comtrac 2 All Season uses about 50 L (£72) more fuel than the Continental VanContact 4Season.

Adjust the assumptions

Calculated estimates, not additional measurements. Use the controls to explore the assumptions.

Petrol/Diesel Electric

Annual Mileage

19,000 km

km (L)

miles (US gal)

Fuel Price

£1.45/L

GBP (£)

EUR (€)

USD ($)

Set my vehicle consumption

Estimates based on typical driving conditions. Rolling resistance accounts for approximately 20% of IC vehicle fuel consumption and 25% of EV energy consumption. Actual savings vary based on driving style, vehicle weight, road conditions, and tyre age. For comparative purposes only. Lifetime savings based on a 40,000km / 25,000 mile tread life.

Results

It's worth mentioning, for a climate like the majority of the UK which sees very little snow, the Pirelli Carrier All Season might actually be the best choice of all season tyres as it offers excellent dry and wet performances while being more usable than a summer tyre in the snow.

Test winner.

Dry96%

Wet97.1%

Snow98.1%

Comfort96.4%

Rolling Resistance100%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (11)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	4^th / 8	48.4 m	+3.60 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	3^rd / 8	59.3 km/h	-0.30 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	3^rd / 8	54.8 m	+3.00 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	1^st / 8	68.6 km/h	Best in this discipline
Straight AquaHigher is better	6^th / 8	90.9 km/h	-3.60 km/h
Snow BrakingLower is better	3^rd / 8	25.3 m	+0.70 m
Snow TractionHigher is better	3^rd / 8	4320 N	-140.00 N
Snow HandlingHigher is better	1^st / 8	45.1 km/h	Best in this discipline
NoiseLower is better	6^th / 8	72.5 dB	+2.00 dB
Tyre WeightLower is better	3^rd / 8	60.8 Kg	+4.80 Kg
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	1^st / 8	6.36 kg/t	Best in this discipline

Price: 630.00

Good.

Dry94.8%

Wet97.4%

Snow99.8%

Comfort95.4%

Rolling Resistance88.1%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (11)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	5^th / 8	49.7 m	+4.90 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	3^rd / 8	59.3 km/h	-0.30 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	2^nd / 8	54.3 m	+2.50 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	3^rd / 8	68.1 km/h	-0.50 km/h
Straight AquaHigher is better	3^rd / 8	92.8 km/h	-1.70 km/h
Snow BrakingLower is better	1^st / 8	24.6 m	Best in this discipline
Snow TractionHigher is better	1^st / 8	4460 N	Best in this discipline
Snow HandlingHigher is better	4^th / 8	44.8 km/h	-0.30 km/h
NoiseLower is better	5^th / 8	72.4 dB	+1.90 dB
Tyre WeightLower is better	6^th / 8	65.2 Kg	+9.20 Kg
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	6^th / 8	7.22 kg/t	+0.86 kg/t

Price: 600.00

Satisfactory.

Dry94.9%

Wet94%

Snow99%

Comfort97.8%

Rolling Resistance93.5%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (11)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	6^th / 8	49.9 m	+5.10 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	1^st / 8	59.6 km/h	Best in this discipline
Wet BrakingLower is better	6^th / 8	57.8 m	+6.00 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	5^th / 8	67.2 km/h	-1.40 km/h
Straight AquaHigher is better	5^th / 8	91 km/h	-3.50 km/h
Snow BrakingLower is better	1^st / 8	24.6 m	Best in this discipline
Snow TractionHigher is better	2^nd / 8	4410 N	-50.00 N
Snow HandlingHigher is better	7^th / 8	44.2 km/h	-0.90 km/h
NoiseLower is better	3^rd / 8	71.6 dB	+1.10 dB
Tyre WeightLower is better	2^nd / 8	59.2 Kg	+3.20 Kg
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	2^nd / 8	6.8 kg/t	+0.44 kg/t

Price: 595.00

Satisfactory.

Dry95.7%

Wet96.2%

Snow94.2%

Comfort96.2%

Rolling Resistance88%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (11)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	3^rd / 8	48.3 m	+3.50 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	6^th / 8	58.8 km/h	-0.80 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	4^th / 8	55.4 m	+3.60 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	5^th / 8	67.2 km/h	-1.40 km/h
Straight AquaHigher is better	1^st / 8	94.5 km/h	Best in this discipline
Snow BrakingLower is better	5^th / 8	26.3 m	+1.70 m
Snow TractionHigher is better	6^th / 8	4030 N	-430.00 N
Snow HandlingHigher is better	6^th / 8	44.3 km/h	-0.80 km/h
NoiseLower is better	6^th / 8	72.5 dB	+2.00 dB
Tyre WeightLower is better	4^th / 8	61.6 Kg	+5.60 Kg
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	7^th / 8	7.23 kg/t	+0.87 kg/t

Price: 440.00

Satisfactory.

Dry100%

Wet99.5%

Snow88.8%

Comfort97.4%

Rolling Resistance93%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (11)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	1^st / 8	44.8 m	Best in this discipline
Dry HandlingHigher is better	1^st / 8	59.6 km/h	Best in this discipline
Wet BrakingLower is better	1^st / 8	51.8 m	Best in this discipline
Wet HandlingHigher is better	4^th / 8	68 km/h	-0.60 km/h
Straight AquaHigher is better	2^nd / 8	93.2 km/h	-1.30 km/h
Snow BrakingLower is better	7^th / 8	29.9 m	+5.30 m
Snow TractionHigher is better	7^th / 8	3860 N	-600.00 N
Snow HandlingHigher is better	8^th / 8	43.9 km/h	-1.20 km/h
NoiseLower is better	1^st / 8	70.5 dB	Best in this discipline
Tyre WeightLower is better	7^th / 8	66 Kg	+10.00 Kg
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	3^rd / 8	6.84 kg/t	+0.48 kg/t

Price: 510.00

Satisfactory.

Dry94.1%

Wet94.7%

Snow96.1%

Comfort93.8%

Rolling Resistance86%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (11)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	7^th / 8	50.1 m	+5.30 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	5^th / 8	58.9 km/h	-0.70 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	8^th / 8	58 m	+6.20 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	2^nd / 8	68.2 km/h	-0.40 km/h
Straight AquaHigher is better	4^th / 8	92.6 km/h	-1.90 km/h
Snow BrakingLower is better	4^th / 8	25.7 m	+1.10 m
Snow TractionHigher is better	5^th / 8	4115 N	-345.00 N
Snow HandlingHigher is better	2^nd / 8	45 km/h	-0.10 km/h
NoiseLower is better	8^th / 8	74.7 dB	+4.20 dB
Tyre WeightLower is better	4^th / 8	61.6 Kg	+5.60 Kg
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	8^th / 8	7.4 kg/t	+1.04 kg/t

Price: 585.00

Satisfactory.

Dry98.7%

Wet94.1%

Snow88.9%

Comfort99.4%

Rolling Resistance92.2%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (11)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	2^nd / 8	45.3 m	+0.50 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	7^th / 8	58.7 km/h	-0.90 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	5^th / 8	55.8 m	+4.00 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	8^th / 8	65.3 km/h	-3.30 km/h
Straight AquaHigher is better	8^th / 8	89.9 km/h	-4.60 km/h
Snow BrakingLower is better	8^th / 8	30.2 m	+5.60 m
Snow TractionHigher is better	8^th / 8	3840 N	-620.00 N
Snow HandlingHigher is better	5^th / 8	44.5 km/h	-0.60 km/h
NoiseLower is better	2^nd / 8	71 dB	+0.50 dB
Tyre WeightLower is better	1^st / 8	56 Kg	Best in this discipline
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	4^th / 8	6.9 kg/t	+0.54 kg/t

Price: 385.00

Satisfactory.

Dry92.9%

Wet93.6%

Snow95.1%

Comfort95.1%

Rolling Resistance88.2%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (11)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	8^th / 8	50.7 m	+5.90 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	8^th / 8	58.1 km/h	-1.50 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	6^th / 8	57.8 m	+6.00 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	7^th / 8	66.7 km/h	-1.90 km/h
Straight AquaHigher is better	7^th / 8	90 km/h	-4.50 km/h
Snow BrakingLower is better	6^th / 8	26.5 m	+1.90 m
Snow TractionHigher is better	4^th / 8	4130 N	-330.00 N
Snow HandlingHigher is better	3^rd / 8	44.9 km/h	-0.20 km/h
NoiseLower is better	4^th / 8	72.3 dB	+1.80 dB
Tyre WeightLower is better	8^th / 8	67.2 Kg	+11.20 Kg
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	5^th / 8	7.21 kg/t	+0.85 kg/t

Price: 510.00

Discussion

7 comments

Abadon58 Mar 2, 2021 archived

I would be interested in the conditions of the test. What temperature were they carried out in as that is more important they work better at temps below 7c where they should exceed summer tyres. Only reason for me to buy all season is to meet the legal requirement for many EU countries and be safer than regular camper tyres.

#6517
Néocray Jun 12, 2020 archived

That's quite a shame that they didn't include the Michelin Agilis CrossClimate which seems to work wonderfully.

#5876
1. TyreReviews Néocray Jun 12, 2020 archived
  
  Agreed, it's performed well in other van tests
  
  #5877
  1. 4cvg TyreReviews Jun 13, 2020 archived
    
    Is it possible to post summaries of these too? (One merit of TR, which this would serve, is acting as a one-stop-shop for magazine test summaries.)
    
    #5879
    1. TyreReviews 4cvg Jun 17, 2020 archived
      
      I'll see what I can dig out from 2020 :)
      
      #5889
4cvg Apr 3, 2020 archived

I share your enthusiasm for AutoBild's work. They also do "classic" tyre tests. Would it be possible to feature these as well?

#5689
1. TyreReviews 4cvg Jun 12, 2020 archived
  
  Sorry I missed this, I'll try and look them out!
  
  #5878

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