2021 Tyre Reviews All Season Tyre Test

Do you want to know what all season tyre is best for year round driving whatever the weather? In this test we take nine of the very best 205/55 R16 all season tyres on the market, plus a well regarded summer and winter tyre as references, to see exactly what tyre performs best in the dry, wet, snow, comfort, noise and rolling resistance tests!

Dry BrakingMichelin CrossClimate 2: 36.90 MStar-Performer SPTS AS: 43.27 M
Dry HandlingMichelin CrossClimate 2: 45.8 sStar-Performer SPTS AS: 46.6 s
Wet Braking - CoolBridgestone Weather Control A005 EVO: 29.44 MStar-Performer SPTS AS: 39.09 M
Wet BrakingMichelin CrossClimate 2: 26.48 MStar-Performer SPTS AS: 32.54 M
Wet HandlingVredestein Quatrac: 48.48 sStar-Performer SPTS AS: 55.15 s
Straight AquaMichelin CrossClimate 2: 92.2 Km/HStar-Performer SPTS AS: 83.0 Km/H
Curved AquaplaningMichelin CrossClimate 2: 87.0 m/sec2Star-Performer SPTS AS: 81.7 m/sec2
Snow BrakingContinental AllSeasonContact: 16.91 MVredestein Quatrac: 18.08 M
Snow TractionMichelin CrossClimate 2: 05.45 sAvon AS7 Gen 2: 06.58 s
Snow HandlingNokian SeasonProof: 089 sAvon AS7 Gen 2: 094.11 s
Snow CircleNokian SeasonProof: 28.75 SAvon AS7 Gen 2: 31.99 S
Subj. ComfortNokian SeasonProof: 10 PointsAvon AS7 Gen 2: 09 Points
NoisePirelli Cinturato All Season SF2: 68.7 dBContinental AllSeasonContact: 71.4 dB
Rolling ResistancePirelli Cinturato All Season SF2: 7.20 kg / tAvon AS7 Gen 2: 9.16 kg / t
In last year's Tyre Reviews all season tyre test, the new Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3 reigned supreme, narrowly beating a very competitive pack to be best overall across dry, wet, snow, comfort and rolling resistance testing.

In the last 12 months, a lot has changed in the all season tyre market! The only tyres in this year's test which featured in last years are the test winning Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 and the excellent Continental AllSeasonContact.

Alongside those tyres we have the brand new Nokian SeasonProof and Vredestein Quatrac, and the updated Avon AS7 Gen 2, Bridgestone WeatherControl A005 EVO, Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2 the first test of the Michelin CrossClimate 2!

As with last year's test, we have a reference summer and winter tyre in the tests to highlight exactly where all season tyres lose out to their more specific cousins!

Dry

The lap at Wachauring is short, and has only one really hard braking zone, so is a good overview of the lateral grip of the tyres, and we conducted the dry and wet testing around 2-4c air temperature.

The worst tyre on test, and get used to this, was the "star performer", which definitely didn't live up to its name. It didn't feel horrible to drive, and didn't give you any nasty surprises, it just lacked grip everywhere and when you pushed a little bit too hard, it seemed to slide forever.

Next up was Avon and Nokian. The Avon felt nicely summer like with a good response to the inputs you made, but it didn't quite have the grip to back up the sporty feel, and the Nokian was another tyre that was really well balanced, enjoyable to drive quickly and progressive, it just couldn't quite match the best of this very competitive group.

The Bridgestone and Goodyear were next. The Bridgestone was lacking feedback and steering precision, but was actually felt grippy for the first half lap, but then the heat build up got to it and the grip fell away. I'm not sure how I feel about this as you would never track day it, but it was the tyre that came off the track looking the most worn, by quite a margin.

The Goodyear felt very similar, not the greatest feedback or steering precision, and was another that didn't like the heat, but it looked great after the laps in comparison.

Pirelli and Conti were next, both having good levels of grip, with the pirelli handling ok, but the conti surprisingly sporty and dynamic feeling, I really enjoyed it.

The Vredestein in second place had impressive grip, but felt a bit like a blunt instrument as it didn't give you a whole lot of information about what it was up to, and the original king of the dry, the Michelin CrossClimate, retained it's crown with the new version, but only narrowly in terms of time. In terms of feedback, it still felt the most summer like.

The reference winter and summer tyre felt as you would expect. The winter tyre was a lovely friendly experience, but as with any tyre intended for winter, it just didn't have the grip to do dry handling laps, and the summer tyre was the fastest, and felt the fastest, making the car feel more tight and alive, but in this 16" size there wasn't a huge difference between the summer and the best feeling all season tyres.

Dry Braking again had the summer tyre in the lead, ahead of the Michelin and Pirelli.

Wet

The slowest tyre of wet handling was again the budget Star Performer. Weirdly it felt quite balanced, but balanced with no grip, meaning you were sliding everywhere, constantly, consistently. Fun, but not fast.

The next group was Nokian, Avon and Continental around 5% off, or 2.5 seconds. All three of these tyres had very similar subjective notes, I enjoyed driving on them all, they all had a safe, neutral balance, but they just didn't quite have the grip of the best.

Pirelli and Michelin come in at fifth and fourth place, another half second quicker than the previous group. These tyres weren't quite as enjoyable to drive on as the previous two, with neither tyre giving great levels of feedback, but the grip was there and so was the time.

Goodyear and Bridgestone in third and second both around 1.5 seconds off the best and both much nicer to drive. The goodyear was extremely compliant and even tyre with good cornering grip and a stable rear, giving you lots of confidence to push hard, but it gave you no surprises even when pushing on. The Bridgestone, well this felt mega under braking, and had great traction, but the cornering couldn't match. If it could, maybe it would have matched the test winning Vredestein.

The Vredestein felt like a different category of tyre it had so much grip, and the grip was really rounded. It was the most sporty of the bunch, the most fun of the bunch, the easiest to drive fast of the bunch, just so much fun to drive. 

The summer tyre was a little closer on time, but less fun. Like in the dry the turn in was a little more positive, but not massively so in this 16" size, and the main difference was when the grip dropped away, it dropped away more quickly than the all seasons and you felt like you were fighting the car for grip. At the test temperature of 3c the tyre felt nervous, like it was sitting on the surface of the road rather than keying in.

Wet braking was conducted at 4c at the track and at 15c at Nokians test facility in Finland. The biggest change in the order was the summer tyre, which moved from being one of the worst on test at 4c to the best at 15c, showing just how much temperature affects grip!

Straight aquaplaning data can be found below, and curved aquaplaning data can be found in the overall results at the bottom of the page.

Snow

Unfortunately due to travel restrictions during the winter testing window, Tyre Reviews was unable to travel to finland, so instead hired a Finnish independent tyre tester to perform the winter testing at Nokians impressive "white hell" facility.

The fastest tyre around the snow handling lap was the Nokian, and once again the Continental and Michelin rounded out the top three. The test driver noted the nokian had really good front axle grip and I was easy to maintain the driving line, the continental had good overall grip and a friendly understeer balance, and the Michelin was easy to drive quickly.

Goodyear placed a respectable 4th, just 1% behind the best and another tyre with good front end grip, and Pirelli finished 5th, with a little too much oversteer in the balance to challenge the best. As in the other snow tests, the Star Performer, Vredestein and Avon struggled, you can read the subjective testing notes on the tyre reviews website, where you can see the results of the snow circle data too!

Shockingly, the summer tyre was essentially undrivable in the snow, with almost no ability to get the car moving and taking nearly twice the amount of time to finish the snow handling lap.

The safety critical snow braking testing was led by Continental, with Nokian in second place and Michelin in third. In both traction and braking Avon, Vredestein and the star performer tyres performed poorly.

Michelin promised a big improvement in snow performance with the CrossClimate 2, and they certainly delivered it in the snow traction test, with the french tyre leading the pack by nearly 2%. The Goodyear started coming into its own with a second place, and the new Pirelli rounded out the top three.

Nokian rounded out an excellent run of snow results, winning the snow circle test.

Environment

The Pirelli new Pirelli was the quietest tyre on test, the only tyre ahead of the summer tyre.

The Pirelli, Goodyear and Nokian were also the most comfortable tyre on test.

Pirelli also had an impressive lead in the rolling resistance test.

Overall Results

View Results as a single table and adjust the score weighting

1st: Michelin CrossClimate 2

Michelin CrossClimate 2
  • 205/55 R16 94V
  • EU Label: B/B/69
  • Weight: 8.3kgs
  • Tread: 7mm
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking1st100%
Dry Handling1st100%
Wet Braking - Cool6th+1.51 M95.12%
Wet Braking1st100%
Wet Handling4th+2.17 s95.72%
Straight Aqua1st100%
Curved Aquaplaning1st100%
Snow Braking3rd+0.42 M97.58%
Snow Traction1st100%
Snow Handling3rd+0.29 s99.68%
Snow Circle2nd+0.23 S99.21%
Subj. Comfort4th-0.5 Points95%
Noise2nd+0.4 dB99.42%
Rolling Resistance3rd+0.46 kg / t93.99%
Clear leader in the dry, good wet handling, shortest wet braking at warmer temperatures, best aquaplaning resistance in both tests, one of the best tyres overall in the snow, low levels of noise, low rolling resistance.
Average wet braking at cooler temperatures, expensive.
The new Michelin CrossClimate 2 had a near flawless test, with the only weakness coming in the wet at cooler temperatures where it couldn't quite match the best. It was the most summer-like tyre in the dry, led both deep water tests, was one of the best in the snow, and had low noise and low rolling resistance. A really impressive performance from the new tyre, and a worthy upgrade to the CrossClimate+.

Read Reviews    Buy from £71.69

2nd: Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2

Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2
  • 205/55 R16 94V
  • EU Label: B/B/68
  • Weight: 9kgs
  • Tread: 7.6mm
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking2nd+0.77 M97.96%
Dry Handling4th+0.2 s99.57%
Wet Braking - Cool4th+1.44 M95.34%
Wet Braking5th+1.57 M94.4%
Wet Handling5th+2.21 s95.64%
Straight Aqua2nd-3.3 Km/H96.42%
Curved Aquaplaning7th-4.8 m/sec294.48%
Snow Braking8th+1.1 M93.89%
Snow Traction3rd+0.29 s94.95%
Snow Handling5th+1.52 s98.32%
Snow Circle5th+0.69 S97.66%
Subj. Comfort1st100%
Noise1st100%
Rolling Resistance1st100%
Excellent new tyre, very balanced across most tests, particularly strong in the dry, good snow traction, lowest noise levels on test, excellent levels of comfort, by far the lowest rolling resistance on test.
Average performance in the snow with long snow braking distances.
The Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2 is in a clear second place, which is a big improvement when compared to the previous tyre. The new Pirelli is a rounded tyre, with very strong dry braking, a good wet performance and a quiet comfortable ride with the lowest rolling resistance on test.

Read Reviews    Buy from £76.59

3rd: Continental AllSeasonContact

Continental AllSeasonContact
  • 205/55 R16 94V
  • EU Label: B/B/72
  • Weight: 8kgs
  • Tread: 8.1mm
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking7th+3.09 M92.27%
Dry Handling3rd+0.11 s99.76%
Wet Braking - Cool3rd+1.14 M96.27%
Wet Braking4th+1.11 M95.98%
Wet Handling6th+2.4 s95.28%
Straight Aqua5th-4.4 Km/H95.23%
Curved Aquaplaning2nd-0.2 m/sec299.77%
Snow Braking1st100%
Snow Traction4th+0.4 s93.16%
Snow Handling2nd+0.19 s99.79%
Snow Circle4th+0.66 S97.76%
Subj. Comfort4th-0.5 Points95%
Noise9th+2.7 dB96.22%
Rolling Resistance4th+0.62 kg / t92.07%
Very short wet braking distances at both temperatures, excellent dry handling, good aquaplaning resistance, excellent grip in all snow tests, low rolling resistance.
Long dry braking, average wet handling.
The Continental AllSeasonContact performed well in nearly all conditions, and was particularly strong in the snow. A well balanced all season tyre, excellent for climates which see regular snow across the winter months.

Read Reviews    Buy from £70.79

4th: Vredestein Quatrac

Vredestein Quatrac
  • 205/55 R16 94V
  • EU Label: C/B/70
  • Weight: 8.7kgs
  • Tread: 7.5mm
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking3rd+1.35 M96.47%
Dry Handling2nd+0.03 s99.93%
Wet Braking - Cool2nd+0.96 M96.84%
Wet Braking2nd+0.19 M99.29%
Wet Handling1st100%
Straight Aqua4th-4.3 Km/H95.34%
Curved Aquaplaning6th-3.4 m/sec296.09%
Snow Braking9th+1.17 M93.53%
Snow Traction5th+0.43 s92.69%
Snow Handling7th+3.34 s96.38%
Snow Circle6th+0.77 S97.39%
Subj. Comfort4th-0.5 Points95%
Noise8th+2.2 dB96.9%
Rolling Resistance7th+1.08 kg / t86.96%
Excellent wet and dry handling with short braking distances whatever the temperature, good aquaplaning resistance.
Poor performance in the snow with long snow braking distances, high levels of external noise, high rolling resistance.
The Vredestein Quatrac is the wet and dry specialist, performing extremely well in all the grip tests. Unfortunately, the snow performance of the tyre was lacking compared to the best, but this is still a very good all season tyre for the milder climate.

Read Reviews    Buy from £66.99

5th: Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3

Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
  • 205/55 R16 94V
  • EU Label: C/B/70
  • Weight: 8.1kgs
  • Tread: 8mm
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking8th+3.41 M91.54%
Dry Handling5th+0.31 s99.33%
Wet Braking - Cool7th+1.79 M94.27%
Wet Braking8th+3 M89.82%
Wet Handling3rd+1.7 s96.61%
Straight Aqua3rd-3.7 Km/H95.99%
Curved Aquaplaning5th-2.5 m/sec297.13%
Snow Braking5th+0.69 M96.08%
Snow Traction2nd+0.09 s98.38%
Snow Handling4th+0.86 s99.04%
Snow Circle3rd+0.47 S98.39%
Subj. Comfort1st100%
Noise3rd+0.5 dB99.28%
Rolling Resistance2nd+0.42 kg / t94.49%
Good handling in all conditions, excellent snow traction, good aquaplaning resistance, low noise, high levels of comfort, low rolling resistance.
Long braking distances in the dry and wet.
The Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 was a tyre with mixed fortunes. It performed well in nearly all tests, however an unusually long dry and wet braking result meant the tyre could only finish in fifth place overall.

Read Reviews    Buy from £76.94

6th: Bridgestone Weather Control A005 EVO

Bridgestone Weather Control A005 EVO
  • 205/55 R16 94V
  • EU Label: C/A/71
  • Weight: 8.7kgs
  • Tread: 7.3mm
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking4th+1.9 M95.1%
Dry Handling6th+0.41 s99.11%
Wet Braking - Cool1st100%
Wet Braking6th+2.13 M92.56%
Wet Handling2nd+1.5 s97%
Straight Aqua8th-6.5 Km/H92.95%
Curved Aquaplaning8th-5.1 m/sec294.14%
Snow Braking4th+0.53 M96.96%
Snow Traction7th+0.45 s92.37%
Snow Handling6th+2.05 s97.75%
Snow Circle7th+1.5 S95.04%
Subj. Comfort4th-0.5 Points95%
Noise6th+1.2 dB98.28%
Rolling Resistance6th+0.91 kg / t88.78%
Shortest wet braking in cooler temperatures, quick wet handling lap, good snow braking, good dry braking.
Longer braking distances in the wet at warmer temperatures, increased rolling resistance, poor aquaplaning resistance in both tests, poor snow traction.
The Bridgestone WeatherControl A005 Evo continues Bridgestone dominance in the the shallow water tests, and it had good braking in nearly all conditions, but the tyre had a high rolling resistance and performed poorly in aquaplaning testing, which is important for an all season tyre.

Read Reviews    Buy from £62.89

7th: Nokian SeasonProof

Nokian SeasonProof
  • 205/55 R16 91H
  • EU Label: C/B/69
  • Weight: 8kgs
  • Tread: 8.3mm
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking6th+3.03 M92.41%
Dry Handling7th+0.59 s98.73%
Wet Braking - Cool8th+2.15 M93.19%
Wet Braking7th+2.95 M89.98%
Wet Handling8th+2.63 s94.85%
Straight Aqua5th-4.4 Km/H95.23%
Curved Aquaplaning3rd-1 m/sec298.85%
Snow Braking2nd+0.3 M98.26%
Snow Traction5th+0.43 s92.69%
Snow Handling1st100%
Snow Circle1st100%
Subj. Comfort1st100%
Noise5th+1.1 dB98.42%
Rolling Resistance5th+0.72 kg / t90.91%
Excellent in the snow, high levels of comfort, reasonable aquaplaning resistance.
Long braking distances in the dry and wet.
The Nokian Seasonproof was excellent in the snow and had good levels of comfort, but the poor braking performance of the tyre in the wet and dry makes it a poor choice for a mild climate.

Read Reviews    Buy from £66.49

8th: Avon AS7 Gen 2

Avon AS7 Gen 2
  • 205/55 R16 94V
  • EU Label: C/B/70
  • Weight: 9.4kgs
  • Tread: 8mm
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking5th+2.32 M94.08%
Dry Handling8th+0.76 s98.37%
Wet Braking - Cool5th+1.5 M95.15%
Wet Braking3rd+0.97 M96.47%
Wet Handling7th+2.5 s95.1%
Straight Aqua7th-4.9 Km/H94.69%
Curved Aquaplaning4th-2 m/sec297.7%
Snow Braking7th+0.97 M94.57%
Snow Traction9th+1.13 s82.83%
Snow Handling9th+5.11 s94.57%
Snow Circle9th+3.24 S89.87%
Subj. Comfort9th-1 Points90%
Noise3rd+0.5 dB99.28%
Rolling Resistance9th+1.96 kg / t78.6%
Good wet braking, especially at warmer temperatures, good subjective handling in the dry and wet, low external noise.
Poor performance in snow, highest rolling resistance on test.
The Avon AS7 Gen-2 is a significant step ahead of the budget tyre, and has good grip in the wet, but it had poor performance in every snow test making this a tyre more suited to the milder winter climate.

Read Reviews

9th: Star Performer SPTS AS

Star-Performer SPTS AS
  • 205/55 R16 94V
  • EU Label: E/C/71
  • Weight: 9.5kgs
  • Tread: 9mm
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking9th+6.37 M85.28%
Dry Handling9th+0.8 s98.28%
Wet Braking - Cool9th+9.65 M75.31%
Wet Braking9th+6.06 M81.38%
Wet Handling9th+6.67 s87.91%
Straight Aqua9th-9.2 Km/H90.02%
Curved Aquaplaning9th-5.3 m/sec293.91%
Snow Braking6th+0.9 M94.95%
Snow Traction8th+0.68 s88.91%
Snow Handling7th+3.34 s96.38%
Snow Circle8th+2.22 S92.83%
Subj. Comfort4th-0.5 Points95%
Noise7th+2 dB97.17%
Rolling Resistance8th+1.92 kg / t78.95%
Low purchase price.
Very low grip in all tests, extremely long dry and wet braking, long snow braking with poor traction, high levels of noise, high rolling resistance.
The Star Performer SPTS AS might be a cheap tyre to purchase, but it has very low levels of grip in all conditions and cannot be recommended for any type of driving.

Read Reviews    Buy from £61.29

Similar Tyre Tests




Discussion:

comments powered by Disqus