In a data-extravaganza, Autobild have taken eleven SUV summer tyres in the popular 235/55 R19 size, and even though this size is an ultrahigh performance fitment, and is fitted to soft-roaders such as the Audi Q5, BMW X3, Honda CR-V and many others, tested them exhaustively in off-road tests along with the usual dry and wet testing!
5 categories (14 tests)
Test Category | Best Performer | Worst Performer | Difference |
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Dry (2 tests) | |||
Dry Braking | ▲ Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 33.4 M | ▼ Ceat Sport Drive SUV: 36.3 M | 2.9 M (8.0%) |
Dry Handling | ▲ Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6: 108.6 Km/H | ▼ Pirelli Scorpion: 106.3 Km/H | 2.3 Km/H (2.2%) |
Wet (5 tests) | |||
Wet Braking | ▲ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV: 49.3 M | ▼ Maxxis Victra Sport VS5 SUV: 59.3 M | 10.0 M (16.9%) |
Wet Handling | ▲ Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 83.7 Km/H | ▼ Maxxis Victra Sport VS5 SUV: 78.1 Km/H | 5.6 Km/H (7.2%) |
Wet Circle | ▲ Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 20.36 s | ▼ Ceat Sport Drive SUV: 21.75 s | 1.4 s (6.4%) |
Straight Aqua | ▲ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV: 93.3 Km/H | ▼ Ceat Sport Drive SUV: 84.2 Km/H | 9.1 Km/H (10.8%) |
Curved Aquaplaning | ▲ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV: 2.74 m/sec2 | ▼ Ceat Sport Drive SUV: 2.3 m/sec2 | 0.4 m/sec2 (19.1%) |
Off road (5 tests) | |||
Gravel Handling | ▲ Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 88.7 Km/H | ▼ Giti GitiSport S2 SUV: 85.6 Km/H | 3.1 Km/H (3.6%) |
Gravel Traction | ▲ Ceat Sport Drive SUV: 8184 N | ▼ Vredestein Ultrac Vorti Plus: 7153 N | 1,031.0 N (14.4%) |
Sand Traction | ▲ Maxxis Victra Sport VS5 SUV: 11025 N | ▼ Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 SUV: 8608 N | 2,417.0 N (28.1%) |
Grass Traction | ▲ Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV: 2438 N | ▼ Giti GitiSport S2 SUV: 1485 N | 953.0 N (64.2%) |
Mud Traction | ▲ Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 2477 N | ▼ Maxxis Victra Sport VS5 SUV: 2099 N | 378.0 N (18.0%) |
Comfort (1 tests) | |||
Noise | ▲ Pirelli Scorpion: 68.6 dB | ▼ Kumho Ecsta PS71 SUV: 72.8 dB | 4.2 dB (5.8%) |
Value (1 tests) | |||
Rolling Resistance | ▲ Pirelli Scorpion: 7.2 kg / t | ▼ Bridgestone Potenza Sport: 9.23 kg / t | 2.0 kg / t (22.0%) |
Dry
The Bridgestone Potenza Sport was the best in dry braking, closely followed by the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6.
The Goodyear also topped the dry handling test with the fastest laptime, narrowly ahead of the Toyo Proxes Sport 2.
Wet
The Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV was the best in wet braking, with the Bridgestone and Goodyear close behind.
Bridgestone was back at the front for wet handling, with the Goodyear again performing well in second place.
Bridgestone and Goodyear also led the wet circle test.
Michelin was best overall in the straight and curved aquaplaning tests.
Off road
Before getting into these results it's worth noting two things. Firstly, none of these tyres have been developed with any sort of off-roading in mind, and secondly off-road testing is very difficult, which is why you might see results jumping about.
For example, the Ceat was best in gravel traction, average in gravel handling and the worse in mud traction, and the Michelin had the best traction on grass, an average performance on gravel and was one of the worst on sand. These are just two examples of many interesting variations in the offroad testing results.
The fastest tyre around the gravel handling lap was the Bridgestone Potenza Sport, a tyre more at home on the race track than lose travel.
The Bridgestone dropped to "below average" for gravel traction, which was led by the Ceat with the Maxxis in a close second place.
Maxxis was again good in sand, with the Kumho and Giti close behind.
Grass traction was led by Michelin and Pirelli.
Bridgestone was back at the front for mud traction.
Comfort
The Pirelli Scorpion was the quietest tyre on test, with the Goodyear and Maxxis following closely.
Value
The Pirelli Scorpion also had the lowest rolling resistance by a good margin.
Results
1st: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overall test winner with excellent driving characteristics on any surface, sporty dynamic handling qualities, precise steering response, short wet and dry braking distances, low rolling resistance. None mentioned. Read Reviews Buy from £143.53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Convincing premium tyre with a balanced high performance level, very good safety reserves against aquaplaning, short wet and dry braking distances. Moderate sand traction. Read Reviews Buy from £168.40 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd: Bridgestone Potenza Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Premium profile with good driving dynamics, convincing off-road characteristics, precise steering behavior, short wet and dry braking distances. Increased rolling resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £137.48 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th: Kumho Ecsta PS71 SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Safe driving behavior under all conditions, good off-road qualities, very good traction on sand, short braking distances, moderate price. Moderate comfort, slightly increased rolling noise. Read Reviews Buy from £121.33 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5th: Pirelli Scorpion | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Very good traction on grass and mud, short dry braking distances, convincing rolling comfort, fuel-saving rolling resistance. Slightly spongy driving behavior on dry roads. Read Reviews Buy from £159.67 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6th: Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balanced, safe driving qualities under all road conditions, short wet and dry braking distances, good value for money. Moderate traction in sand, slight understeer in wet conditions. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th: Toyo Proxes Sport 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good off-road qualities, short braking distances, and dynamic driving behavior on dry roads, affordable price. Moderate wet grip, delayed steering response, slightly increased rolling resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £123.77 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8th: Giti GitiSport S2 SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good sand traction, stable safety margins against aquaplaning, short dry braking distances. Understeering handling on dusty and dry roads, spongy steering response, moderate comfort. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9th: Vredestein Ultrac Vorti+ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good traction on muddy terrain, safe aquaplaning characteristics, good comfort. Significantly understeering driving behavior, limited off-road qualities, increased rolling resistance. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10th: Maxxis Victra Sport VS5 SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good traction on gravel and sand, low rolling resistance, very affordable price level. Satisfactory traction in mud, understeering driving behavior, and extended braking distances in wet conditions. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11th: Ceat Sport Drive SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good off-road qualities, low rolling resistance, affordable price. Only satisfactory aquaplaning characteristics, moderate grip on wet roads, understeering driving behavior on both wet and dry roads. Read Reviews |