2021 Tyre Reviews SUV Tyre Test

Test Publication:

235/55 R18 9 tyres 5 categories

Similar Tests

Test Publication:

https://www.tyrereviews.com

Test Size: 235/55 R18

Tyres Tested: 9 tyres

Test Categories:
5 categories (13 tests)

Similar Tests

We have 8 of the most popular SUV tyres in 235/55 R18, including the Michelin Primacy 4, the brand new Goodyear EfficientGrip 2 SUV, the extremely popular Uniroyal RainSport 5, the new Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3 SUV, the Nokian WetProof SUV, the Vredestein Ultrac Satin, the Avon ZX7, the BFGoodrich Advantage SUV, and a budget tyre represented by Westlake.

As tyres like these aren't intended for serious off-road use, we'll be using a VW Tiguan and focusing on the dry, wet and comfort characteristics of the tyres, AND thanks to Goodyear allowing us to use their awesome off-road test facility in Texas, we'll also look at some of the basic off-road performances such as damp grass and gravel, meaning you'll have a complete picture of what SUV tyre is best at what, allowing you to make the ideal purchase choice for your own particular needs.

Vehicles which this size applies to are SUV and Crossover SUVs such as the BMW X3, BMW X5, Audi Q3, Volvo XC40 / XC60, Audi A8, Citroen C4 Aircross, VW Tiguan, Jeep Compass, Kia Sportage, Mercedes Benz EQA, GLA, S Class, Nissan Qashqai and many more.

Let's start with the dry and wet performance of the nine sets of SUV tyres.

Dry

Dry braking was led by the Michelin Primacy 4, having an impressive lead over the rest of the group. BFGoodrich, Goodyear and Hankook were also good performers, while the budget Westlake had a big deficit to the rest of the group.

Handling tests might not be the most important criteria for an SUV, but they do still show us the peak lateral grip of the tyres, how safe they will be in emergency maneuvers, and if you're really keen, just how quickly you can get your child to school on a wet or dry morning.

The VW Tiguan is set up for understeer, and in the dry, that's what we got from all the tyres, just to different degrees, with the slowest tyres also being those with the most understeer.

Avon, Hankook and Goodyear were the nicest tyres to drive quickly, having relatively good steering response and balance. Again, the budget tyre was the slowest, and the BFGoodrich and Uniroyal had a slow steering reaction and a heavy understeer balance.

Wet

The wet braking testing had the Uniroyal Rainsport 5 move to the front, narrowly beating the Michelin Primacy 4. Like in the dry, the Goodyear and Hankook were the best of the rest, with the budget tyre performing extremely poorly, with the Tiguan still travelling around 40 km/h at the point the Uniroyal had stopped the SUV.

The Uniroyal continued its impressive run in the wet by being the fastest over the wet handling, beating the Goodyear and Hankook.

The Michelin Primacy 4 had trouble with the deeper parts of the wet handling lap, costing the tyre important time.

The aquaplaning tests highlighted both the Uniroyal's excellent ability in standing water, and the difficulties the Michelin had on the wet handling lap.

The Vredestein Ultrac Satin also performed well in aquaplaning, winning the curved aquaplaning test.

Off Road

On the slightly moist grass, there was semi correlation with wet braking, with Hankook, Michelin and Goodyear being the best of the best and Avon, Nokian and Westlake struggling a little more. There was over 10% between the best and the worst, which could be the difference of sliding around or getting moving.

On gravel Goodyear narrowly beat Uniroyal, which is interesting as the Uniroyal was the most "off-road" looking tyre, but the Goodyear had the highest starting tread depth which might have helped. Vredestein and Nokian were also good on gravel. Sadly a storm broke just as we were getting to the last set, which is why the data is missing for Westlake.

Environment

Comfort is an important quality for an SUV tyre, and the BFGoodrich and Uniroyal led the group, narrowly ahead of the Goodyear EfficientGrip 2 SUV

Conversely, the BFGoodrich had the highest external drive-by noise.

The Michelin Primacy 4 had another impressive lead, this time in fuel use, having 7% lower rolling resistance than the second placed Goodyear.

Results

1^st

Michelin Primacy 4

235/55 R18

• EU Label: B/A/69
• 3PMSF: no
• Weight: 11.43 kgs
• Tread: 6.76 mm

Shortest dry braking by a margin, very short wet braking, good on damp grass, lowest rolling resistance by some margin.

Lowest aquaplaning resistance on test, which also cost the tyre time on the wet handling lap, average gravel traction.

The Michelin Primacy 4 is an excellent tyre with very low fuel use and an excellent braking ability. Unfortunately the tyre has the shallowest tread depth on test, and while that's unlikely to be a wear issue for the French tyre, it did mean the tyre scored poorly in aquaplaning test, and struggled in the deeper parts of water on the wet handling lap.

Dry

97.9%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Dry Braking	1st	33.73 M			100%
Dry Handling	5th	104.8 s	103.54 s	+1.26 s	98.8%
Subj. Dry Handling	3rd	9.5 Points	10 Points	-0.5 Points	95%

Wet

88%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Wet Braking	2nd	35.57 M	35.4 M	+0.17 M	99.52%
Wet Handling	7th	69.82 s	68.98 s	+0.84 s	98.8%
Subj. Wet Handling	4th	8.5 Points	10 Points	-1.5 Points	85%
Straight Aqua	9th	75.31 Km/H	88.97 Km/H	-13.66 Km/H	84.65%
Curved Aquaplaning	9th	1.753 m/sec2	2.432 m/sec2	-0.68 m/sec2	72.08%

Off road

97.5%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Gravel Traction	6th	21.88 M	20.86 M	+1.02 M	95.34%
Grass Traction	2nd	4.542 M	4.522 M	+0.02 M	99.56%

Comfort

94.8%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Subj. Comfort	4th	9.2 Points	10 Points	-0.8 Points	92%
Noise	5th	71 dB	69.3 dB	+1.7 dB	97.61%

Value

100%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Rolling Resistance	1st	6.61 kg / t			100%

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2^nd

Goodyear EfficientGrip 2 SUV

235/55 R18

• EU Label: B/A/70
• 3PMSF: no
• Weight: 11.97 kgs
• Tread: 8.78 mm

Very well balanced tyre, no real weakness in any of the tests, good in the dry and wet with good steering response, short braking distances, good levels of comfort, highest traction on gravel and very good on grass, low rolling resistance, lowest noise on test.

Slightly weaker curved aquaplaning resistance compared to the best.

Once again Goodyear is proving they can develop tyres with seemingly no weaknesses. While the new EfficientGrip 2 SUV only won a single test, it was rarely out of the top three in every other test making it an EXCELLENT all round tyre.

Dry

98.8%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Dry Braking	3rd	34.84 M	33.73 M	+1.11 M	96.81%
Dry Handling	3rd	104.06 s	103.54 s	+0.52 s	99.5%
Subj. Dry Handling	1st	10 Points			100%

Wet

95.5%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Wet Braking	4th	37.42 M	35.4 M	+2.02 M	94.6%
Wet Handling	2nd	69.22 s	68.98 s	+0.24 s	99.65%
Subj. Wet Handling	1st	10 Points			100%
Straight Aqua	4th	83.7 Km/H	88.97 Km/H	-5.27 Km/H	94.08%
Curved Aquaplaning	5th	2.164 m/sec2	2.432 m/sec2	-0.27 m/sec2	88.98%

Off road

98.7%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Gravel Traction	1st	20.86 M			100%
Grass Traction	3rd	4.642 M	4.522 M	+0.12 M	97.41%

Comfort

97.5%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Subj. Comfort	3rd	9.5 Points	10 Points	-0.5 Points	95%
Noise	1st	69.3 dB			100%

Value

92.7%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Rolling Resistance	2nd	7.13 kg / t	6.61 kg / t	+0.52 kg / t	92.71%

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3^rd

Uniroyal RainSport 5

235/55 R18

• EU Label: C/A/71
• 3PMSF: no
• Weight: 11.52 kgs
• Tread: 8.5 mm

Excellent wet performance with the shortest wet braking distances, fastest wet handling, high levels of comfort, good grip on gravel, and best aquaplaning resistance overall.

Relatively poor performance in the dry with extended dry braking and heavy understeer in dry handling.

The Uniroyal RainSport 5 is living up to its name by having a class leading performance in the wet, regardless of water depth, and as always, very good levels of comfort. Unfortunately, as we've found previously with the RainSport range, that comes at the expense of performance in the dry where the tyre has lower levels of grip and a heavy understeer handling balance.

Dry

92.9%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Dry Braking	5th	35.3 M	33.73 M	+1.57 M	95.55%
Dry Handling	8th	105.39 s	103.54 s	+1.85 s	98.24%
Subj. Dry Handling	6th	8.5 Points	10 Points	-1.5 Points	85%

Wet

96.3%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Wet Braking	1st	35.4 M			100%
Wet Handling	1st	68.98 s			100%
Subj. Wet Handling	4th	8.5 Points	10 Points	-1.5 Points	85%
Straight Aqua	1st	88.97 Km/H			100%
Curved Aquaplaning	2nd	2.352 m/sec2	2.432 m/sec2	-0.08 m/sec2	96.71%

Off road

97.9%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Gravel Traction	2nd	20.9 M	20.86 M	+0.04 M	99.81%
Grass Traction	5th	4.716 M	4.522 M	+0.19 M	95.89%

Comfort

97.7%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Subj. Comfort	2nd	9.8 Points	10 Points	-0.2 Points	98%
Noise	6th	71.1 dB	69.3 dB	+1.8 dB	97.47%

Value

83.4%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Rolling Resistance	5th	7.93 kg / t	6.61 kg / t	+1.32 kg / t	83.35%

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4^th

Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 SUV

235/55 R18

• EU Label: C/A/72
• 3PMSF: no
• Weight: 12.7 kgs
• Tread: 7.94 mm

Fastest dry handling lap, very good in wet handling, short braking distances in the dry and wet, low noise, good traction on damp grass.

Average straight aquaplaning resistance, high rolling resistance, low traction on gravel.

The Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3 SUV is another well balanced tyre from the Korean manufacturer, performing well in all the grip tests. The tyres only major weakness was rolling resistance, where it was 20% off the leading tyre.

Dry

98.8%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Dry Braking	4th	34.98 M	33.73 M	+1.25 M	96.43%
Dry Handling	1st	103.54 s			100%
Subj. Dry Handling	1st	10 Points			100%

Wet

96.2%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Wet Braking	3rd	36.94 M	35.4 M	+1.54 M	95.83%
Wet Handling	3rd	69.36 s	68.98 s	+0.38 s	99.45%
Subj. Wet Handling	1st	10 Points			100%
Straight Aqua	6th	81.47 Km/H	88.97 Km/H	-7.5 Km/H	91.57%
Curved Aquaplaning	4th	2.287 m/sec2	2.432 m/sec2	-0.15 m/sec2	94.04%

Off road

96.8%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Gravel Traction	7th	22.31 M	20.86 M	+1.45 M	93.5%
Grass Traction	1st	4.522 M			100%

Comfort

93.3%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Subj. Comfort	5th	8.8 Points	10 Points	-1.2 Points	88%
Noise	2nd	70.3 dB	69.3 dB	+1 dB	98.58%

Value

79%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Rolling Resistance	7th	8.37 kg / t	6.61 kg / t	+1.76 kg / t	78.97%

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5^th

BFGoodrich Advantage SUV

235/55 R18

• EU Label: C/A/70
• 3PMSF: no
• Weight: 11.15 kgs
• Tread: 7.15 mm

Short braking in the dry, good aquaplaning resistance, good off road performance, very good levels of comfort, low rolling resistance.

Extended braking distances in the wet, slow handling in the dry and wet with high levels of understeer, highest external pass by noise.

The BF Goodrich Advantage SUV is a tyre with good levels of comfort, short dry braking distances, and good aquaplaning resistance in deeper water. The tyre struggles a little more in shallow water, with longer wet braking distances and understeer handling.

Dry

93.4%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Dry Braking	2nd	34.81 M	33.73 M	+1.08 M	96.9%
Dry Handling	7th	105.33 s	103.54 s	+1.79 s	98.3%
Subj. Dry Handling	6th	8.5 Points	10 Points	-1.5 Points	85%

Wet

91.8%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Wet Braking	6th	38.82 M	35.4 M	+3.42 M	91.19%
Wet Handling	8th	70.98 s	68.98 s	+2 s	97.18%
Subj. Wet Handling	7th	8.2 Points	10 Points	-1.8 Points	82%
Straight Aqua	3rd	84.04 Km/H	88.97 Km/H	-4.93 Km/H	94.46%
Curved Aquaplaning	3rd	2.294 m/sec2	2.432 m/sec2	-0.14 m/sec2	94.33%

Off road

96.9%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Gravel Traction	5th	21.59 M	20.86 M	+0.73 M	96.62%
Grass Traction	4th	4.654 M	4.522 M	+0.13 M	97.16%

Comfort

98.2%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Subj. Comfort	1st	10 Points			100%
Noise	9th	71.9 dB	69.3 dB	+2.6 dB	96.38%

Value

89.9%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Rolling Resistance	3rd	7.35 kg / t	6.61 kg / t	+0.74 kg / t	89.93%

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6^th

Nokian Wetproof SUV

235/55 R18

• EU Label: C/A/70
• 3PMSF: no
• Weight: 12.53 kgs
• Tread: 8.01 mm

A balanced performance with good grip in the dry and on gravel.

Not leading in any test, relatively poor grip on damp grass.

The Nokian Wetproof SUV is a balanced tyre, and while it doesn't excel in any particular area, it's not drastically bad in any either.

Dry

93.3%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Dry Braking	5th	35.3 M	33.73 M	+1.57 M	95.55%
Dry Handling	4th	104.37 s	103.54 s	+0.83 s	99.2%
Subj. Dry Handling	6th	8.5 Points	10 Points	-1.5 Points	85%

Wet

90.6%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Wet Braking	5th	37.46 M	35.4 M	+2.06 M	94.5%
Wet Handling	6th	69.75 s	68.98 s	+0.77 s	98.9%
Subj. Wet Handling	8th	8 Points	10 Points	-2 Points	80%
Straight Aqua	5th	81.6 Km/H	88.97 Km/H	-7.37 Km/H	91.72%
Curved Aquaplaning	6th	2.134 m/sec2	2.432 m/sec2	-0.3 m/sec2	87.75%

Off road

95%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Gravel Traction	4th	21.19 M	20.86 M	+0.33 M	98.44%
Grass Traction	8th	4.944 M	4.522 M	+0.42 M	91.46%

Comfort

91.2%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Subj. Comfort	6th	8.5 Points	10 Points	-1.5 Points	85%
Noise	6th	71.1 dB	69.3 dB	+1.8 dB	97.47%

Value

82.3%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Rolling Resistance	6th	8.03 kg / t	6.61 kg / t	+1.42 kg / t	82.32%

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7^th

Vredestein Ultrac Satin

235/55 R18

• EU Label: C/B/71
• 3PMSF: no
• Weight: 12.24 kgs
• Tread: 7.93 mm

Very good aquaplaning resistance, relatively low rolling resistance, good grip on gravel.

Long braking distances in the dry and wet, lower levels of comfort.

The Vredestein Ultrac Satin is a tyre we'd like to see trade some of its aquaplaning performance for some more rubber on the ground for improvements in the grip tests, as subjectively the tyre was nice to drive on, it just lacked grip.

Dry

94.1%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Dry Braking	8th	36.03 M	33.73 M	+2.3 M	93.62%
Dry Handling	6th	104.96 s	103.54 s	+1.42 s	98.65%
Subj. Dry Handling	5th	9 Points	10 Points	-1 Points	90%

Wet

96.1%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Wet Braking	7th	39.47 M	35.4 M	+4.07 M	89.69%
Wet Handling	5th	69.71 s	68.98 s	+0.73 s	98.95%
Subj. Wet Handling	3rd	9.5 Points	10 Points	-0.5 Points	95%
Straight Aqua	2nd	85.97 Km/H	88.97 Km/H	-3 Km/H	96.63%
Curved Aquaplaning	1st	2.432 m/sec2			100%

Off road

95.9%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Gravel Traction	3rd	21.03 M	20.86 M	+0.17 M	99.19%
Grass Traction	6th	4.887 M	4.522 M	+0.36 M	92.53%

Comfort

90.2%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Subj. Comfort	8th	8.2 Points	10 Points	-1.8 Points	82%
Noise	3rd	70.5 dB	69.3 dB	+1.2 dB	98.3%

Value

83.7%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Rolling Resistance	4th	7.9 kg / t	6.61 kg / t	+1.29 kg / t	83.67%

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8^th

Avon ZX7

235/55 R18

• EU Label: C/A/69
• 3PMSF: no
• Weight: 12.73 kgs
• Tread: 7.68 mm

Excellent handling in the dry, with sporty direct steering, good in wet handling.

Longer braking distances in the dry and wet, poor aquaplaning resistance, low grip on gravel and grass, highest rolling resistance on test.

The Avon ZX7 was an enjoyable tyre to drive in the dry and wet, feeling even sporty at times, however the braking and aquaplaning performance of the tyre couldn't match the best on test.

Dry

96.6%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Dry Braking	7th	35.55 M	33.73 M	+1.82 M	94.88%
Dry Handling	1st	103.54 s			100%
Subj. Dry Handling	3rd	9.5 Points	10 Points	-0.5 Points	95%

Wet

87.9%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Wet Braking	8th	39.64 M	35.4 M	+4.24 M	89.3%
Wet Handling	4th	69.39 s	68.98 s	+0.41 s	99.41%
Subj. Wet Handling	4th	8.5 Points	10 Points	-1.5 Points	85%
Straight Aqua	7th	78.33 Km/H	88.97 Km/H	-10.64 Km/H	88.04%
Curved Aquaplaning	7th	1.894 m/sec2	2.432 m/sec2	-0.54 m/sec2	77.88%

Off road

91.2%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Gravel Traction	8th	23.11 M	20.86 M	+2.25 M	90.26%
Grass Traction	7th	4.911 M	4.522 M	+0.39 M	92.08%

Comfort

91.2%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Subj. Comfort	6th	8.5 Points	10 Points	-1.5 Points	85%
Noise	8th	71.2 dB	69.3 dB	+1.9 dB	97.33%

Value

75.8%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Rolling Resistance	9th	8.72 kg / t	6.61 kg / t	+2.11 kg / t	75.8%

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9^th

Westlake SU318 HT

235/55 R18

• 3PMSF: no
• Weight: 13.61 kgs
• Tread: 8.23 mm

Relatively quiet external pass by noise.

Low grip in all tests, extremely long wet braking distances, poor aquaplaning resistance, low levels of comfort, high rolling resistance.

Once again the cheapest tyre on test, performed the worst, however it's worth noting, while this tyre was sold as a summer tyre when shopping for the test, it is marketed as an all season tyre in north america, meaning it's likely to have a higher level of snow performance than the other eight tyres which could explain some of the offset in the dry and wet.

Dry

86.1%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Dry Braking	9th	39.5 M	33.73 M	+5.77 M	85.39%
Dry Handling	9th	105.71 s	103.54 s	+2.17 s	97.95%
Subj. Dry Handling	9th	7.5 Points	10 Points	-2.5 Points	75%

Wet

80.1%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Wet Braking	9th	47.43 M	35.4 M	+12.03 M	74.64%
Wet Handling	9th	72.09 s	68.98 s	+3.11 s	95.69%
Subj. Wet Handling	9th	7 Points	10 Points	-3 Points	70%
Straight Aqua	8th	75.57 Km/H	88.97 Km/H	-13.4 Km/H	84.94%
Curved Aquaplaning	8th	1.831 m/sec2	2.432 m/sec2	-0.6 m/sec2	75.29%

Off road

88.6%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Grass Traction	9th	5.103 M	4.522 M	+0.58 M	88.61%

Comfort

88.9%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Subj. Comfort	9th	8 Points	10 Points	-2 Points	80%
Noise	4th	70.8 dB	69.3 dB	+1.5 dB	97.88%

Value

76.2%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Rolling Resistance	8th	8.68 kg / t	6.61 kg / t	+2.07 kg / t	76.15%

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