Bridgestone Potenza Sport vs Ceat SportDrive
Across Auto Express, ADAC, and a 52-tyre shootout, the Potenza Sport repeatedly set the benchmark for braking and handling in both dry and wet, while the Ceat tended to trail the field in objective grip tests. However, the Ceat counters with lower rolling resistance, quieter operation, and better fuel economy, hinting at a different value proposition for everyday drivers who prioritize efficiency over lap times.
Test Results
Independent comparison tyre tests are the best source of data to get tyre information from, and the good news is there have been three tests which compare both tyres directly!
| Tyre | Test Wins | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Bridgestone Potenza Sport | three |
While it might look like the Bridgestone Potenza Sport is better than the Ceat SportDrive purely based on the higher number of test wins, tyres are very complicated objects which means where one tyre is better than the other can be more important in real world use.
Let's look at how the two tyres compare across multiple tyre test categories.
Key Strengths
- Outstanding wet performance: up to ~18-19% shorter wet braking and top-tier wet handling
- Strong dry grip and pace: fastest or near-fastest laps with consistent, precise feedback
- Improved longevity versus past results: ADAC top-quartile mileage and class-leading abrasion in shared data
- Robust aquaplaning resistance overall (wins in straight and curved tests in ADAC)
- Low rolling resistance and ~5% lower fuel consumption (ADAC)
- Quieter and more refined subjective noise performance
- Often competitive value/pricing (won ADAC value assessment)
- Occasional strength in curved aquaplaning and easygoing road manners
Dry Braking
Looking at data from three tyre tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during three dry braking tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport stopped the vehicle in 8.01% less distance than the Ceat SportDrive.
Best In Dry Braking: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Dry Braking winner was calculated >>
Dry Handling [s]
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during one dry handling [s] tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was 2.15% faster around a lap than the Ceat SportDrive.
Best In Dry Handling [s]: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Dry Handling winner was calculated >>
Wet Braking
Looking at data from three tyre tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during three wet braking tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport stopped the vehicle in 17% less distance than the Ceat SportDrive.
Best In Wet Braking: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Wet Braking winner was calculated >>
Wet Braking - Concrete
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during one wet braking - concrete tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport stopped the vehicle in 17.62% less distance than the Ceat SportDrive.
Best In Wet Braking - Concrete: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Wet Braking - Concrete winner was calculated >>
Wet Handling [s]
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during one wet handling [s] tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was 7.27% faster around a wet lap than the Ceat SportDrive.
Best In Wet Handling [s]: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Wet Handling winner was calculated >>
Wet Circle
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during one wet circle tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was 2.09% faster around a wet circle than the Ceat SportDrive.
Best In Wet Circle: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Wet Circle winner was calculated >>
Straight Aqua
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during two straight aqua tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport floated at a 4.14% higher speed than the Ceat SportDrive.
Best In Straight Aqua: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Straight Aqua winner was calculated >>
Curved Aquaplaning
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during one curved aquaplaning tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport slipped out at a 4.66% higher speed than the Ceat SportDrive.
Best In Curved Aquaplaning: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Curved Aquaplaning winner was calculated >>
Subj. Noise
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Ceat SportDrive was better during one subj. noise tests. On average the Ceat SportDrive scored 2.22% more points than the Bridgestone Potenza Sport.
Best In Subj. Noise: Ceat SportDrive
See how the Subj. Noise winner was calculated >>
Noise
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Ceat SportDrive was better during one noise tests. On average the Ceat SportDrive measured 3.12% quieter than the Bridgestone Potenza Sport.
Best In Noise: Ceat SportDrive
See how the Noise winner was calculated >>
Wear
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during one wear tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport is predicted to cover 10.69% miles before reaching 1.6mm than the Ceat SportDrive.
Best In Wear: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Wear winner was calculated >>
Value
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Ceat SportDrive was better during one value tests. On average the Ceat SportDrive proved to have a 16.7% better value based on price/1000km than the Bridgestone Potenza Sport.
Best In Value: Ceat SportDrive
See how the Value winner was calculated >>
Rolling Resistance
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Ceat SportDrive was better during one rolling resistance tests. On average the Ceat SportDrive had a 15.15% lower rolling resistance than the Bridgestone Potenza Sport.
Best In Rolling Resistance: Ceat SportDrive
See how the Rolling Resistance winner was calculated >>
Fuel Consumption
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Ceat SportDrive was better during one fuel consumption tests. On average the Ceat SportDrive used 5.17% less fuel than the Bridgestone Potenza Sport.
Best In Fuel Consumption: Ceat SportDrive
See how the Fuel Consumption winner was calculated >>
Abrasion
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport was better during one abrasion tests. On average the Bridgestone Potenza Sport emitted 20.75% less particle wear matter than the Ceat SportDrive.
Best In Abrasion: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
See how the Abrasion winner was calculated >>
Real World Driver Reviews
Tyre Reviews also collects real world driver reviews for the Bridgestone Potenza Sport and Ceat SportDrive.
In total the Bridgestone Potenza Sport has been reviewed 120 times and drivers have given the tyre 80% overall.
The Ceat SportDrive has been reviewed 0 times and drivers have given the tyre 0% overall.
This means in real world driving, people prefer the Bridgestone Potenza Sport.
View all Ceat SportDrive driver reviews >>
Conclusion
Ceat's SportDrive is more about calm, economical commuting. It was consistently quieter, had notably lower rolling resistance, and returned ~5% better fuel consumption in ADAC, with competitive value in that test. However, its wet grip is a step behind-over 6 m longer than the leader in Auto Express wet braking and below average in ADAC wet metrics-so it best suits gentle driving in milder, predictable conditions. The practical takeaway: choose Bridgestone for confident, fast, and safe driving in all summer weather; pick Ceat if you mainly want lower energy use and noise, and you drive conservatively.
Key Differences
- Overall results: Bridgestone 1/52, 2/18, 2/9 vs Ceat 28/52, 12/18, 9/9-Potenza Sport consistently near the top; SportDrive mid-pack to last
- Wet braking gap: typically 13-19% in Bridgestone's favor (e.g., 27.6-30 m vs 33-36.8 m)
- Dry braking gap: 6-9% shorter for Bridgestone (e.g., 32.6-34.9 m vs 35.8-38.3 m)
- Handling pace and confidence: Bridgestone quicker and more precise; Ceat exhibits stability limits and temperature sensitivity at the limit
- Efficiency: Ceat has lower rolling resistance and ~5% better fuel use; Bridgestone incurs higher RR and fuel consumption
- Durability and wear: Bridgestone leads on abrasion and posted higher projected mileage in ADAC; Ceat's wear performance was lower in the shared data
Overall Winner: Bridgestone Potenza Sport
Based on the tyre test data and user reviews we have in our database, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport has demonstrated better overall performance in this comparison. However, as you can see from the spider diagram above, each tyre has its own strengths which should be considered in your final tyre buying choice.Similar Comparisons
Looking for more tyre comparisons? Here are other direct comparisons involving these tyres:
Ceat SportDrive Top Comparisons
Footnote
This page has been developed using tyre industry testing best practices. This means we are only comparing tests which have had both tyres in the same test.
Why is this important? Tyre testing is heavily affected by things like surface grip levels and surface temperature, which means you can only compare values from the same day. During a tyre test external condition changes are calculated into the overall results, but it is not possible to calculate this between tyre tests performed on different days or at different locations.
As a result you will see other tests on Tyre Reviews which feature both the %s and %s, but as they weren't conducted on the same day, the results are not comparable.
Lots of other websites do this sort of tyre comparison, Tyre Reviews doesn't.