| Test Summary | |
| Wet Braking |
Continental Premium Contact 6 |
| Dry Braking |
Continental Premium Contact 6 |
| Wet Handling |
Continental WinterContact TS 860 |
| Wear |
Continental WinterContact TS 860 |
| Rolling Resistance |
Nokian WeatherProof |
| Snow Handling |
Continental WinterContact TS 860 |
For 2018, Auto Express have tested six 225/45 R17 all season tyres, and included a summer and winter tyre pattern for comparison. This in itself isn't unusual, but unlike many European tyre tests who don't tell you what the reference tyres are, Auto Express have named the summer and winter reference tyres they've used, and they're the multiple test winning Continental WinterContact TS860, and the brand new Continental Premium Contact 6. These are two of the very best summer and winter tyres money can buy, which makes for an insightful comparison.
The Reference Tyres
So, how did they stack up? Well, pretty much exactly as you would expect. The summer tyre was best in the dry and wet but failed in the snow, and the winter tyre was best in the snow and worse during dry braking.
When you start to look further into the results, things get a little more interesting. Not only was the reference winter tyre best in the snow, the Continental WinterContact TS860 also beat the all season tyres in the wet, stopping a huge 5% better than the best all season tyre (Michelin) during wet braking, and held its own in dry handling, finishing mid pack. Its only blemish was dry braking, but it still beat the Falken all season tyre and almost matched the Nokian.
The summer tyre was naturally useless in the snow, but had a bigger than usual advantage in the dry, stopping the car 10.9% better than the best all season tyre (Michelin), which was already 5% ahead of the second best all season tyre. If you take the average all season tyre, the summer tyre was 20% better, which is a huge difference.
Are All Season Tyres Right for You?
What can we conclude from this? All season and winter tyres obviously have huge benefits in the snow, but even the best all season tyre on test can't get close to the best summer tyres during dry braking, a key safety quality. As we've recommended before on Tyre Reviews, consider your own driving patterns as to whether you'd be best of running a summer tyre year round, an all season tyre year round, or switching between a dedicated summer / winter setup.
Results
- 3PMSF: no
- 3PMSF: no
- 3PMSF: no
- 3PMSF: no
- 3PMSF: no
- 3PMSF: no
- 3PMSF: no
- 3PMSF: no