What's the best ultra high performance all season tire on the market? To find out, I test 7 of the most popular ultra high performance all season tires, and test them in dry handling, dry braking, wet handling, wet braking, noise and comfort tire tests, to see which is the top UHP AS tire.
Ultra high performance all season tires are performance sports tires that are designed to be used all year, and perform well in hot summer conditions and cold winter weather, while having more snow performance than a summer tire.
Dry
During dry braking testing, the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 had an impressive lead to the second placed Bridgestone Potenza RE880AS.
Dry Braking
Dry braking in meters (60 - 0 M) (Lower is better)
Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
34.97 M
Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
35.47 M
Cooper Zeon RS3 G1
35.82 M
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06
36.17 M
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate
36.53 M
Fuzion UHP Sport AS
36.53 M
Kumho Ecsta PA51
37.66 M
The Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate proved to be the most dynamic UHP all season tyre during the dry handling testing, with the Michelin a close second.
Dry Handling
Dry handling time in seconds (Lower is better)
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate
49.54 s
Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
49.65 s
Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
49.97 s
Kumho Ecsta PA51
50.45 s
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06
50.52 s
Cooper Zeon RS3 G1
50.67 s
Fuzion UHP Sport AS
50.90 s
Subjectively the Goodyear also had a small lead over the Michelin and Bridgestone, with the Cooper, Continental and Kumho all having similar overall scores, but delivering the result in different ways.
Subj. Dry Handling
Subjective Dry Handling Score (Higher is better)
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate
10.00 Points
Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
9.50 Points
Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
9.50 Points
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06
8.00 Points
Cooper Zeon RS3 G1
8.00 Points
Kumho Ecsta PA51
8.00 Points
Fuzion UHP Sport AS
7.00 Points
Wet
Michelin retained its advantage during wet braking testing, but this time had to share the top spot with the Cooper Zeon RS3 G1. The budget Fuzion tyre took significantly longer than the other tyres to stop the car.
Wet Braking
Wet braking in meters (45 - 0 M) (Lower is better)
Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
18.84 M
Cooper Zeon RS3 G1
18.84 M
Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
19.03 M
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate
19.03 M
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06
19.22 M
Kumho Ecsta PA51
20.46 M
Fuzion UHP Sport AS
21.87 M
In a very close group, the Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 proved to have the quickest laptime, but any of the top five tyres were extremely close.
Wet Handling
Wet handling time in seconds (Lower is better)
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06
49.65 s
Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
49.66 s
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate
49.71 s
Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
49.84 s
Cooper Zeon RS3 G1
49.88 s
Kumho Ecsta PA51
51.07 s
Fuzion UHP Sport AS
52.17 s
As in the dry, subjectively all the top tyres were very close during the wet handling testing.
Subj. Wet Handling
Subjective Wet Handling Score (Higher is better)
Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
10.00 Points
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate
9.50 Points
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06
9.00 Points
Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
8.50 Points
Kumho Ecsta PA51
8.00 Points
Cooper Zeon RS3 G1
7.50 Points
Fuzion UHP Sport AS
6.00 Points
Snow - Updated 16th Febuary 2021
Snow braking testing showed the Michelin to have a clear advantage over the group, with only the Continental anywhere close in terms of raw grip.
Snow Braking
Snow braking in meters (20 - 5 mph) (Lower is better)
Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
13.66 M
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06
14.74 M
Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
15.93 M
Kumho Ecsta PA51
16.14 M
Fuzion UHP Sport AS
16.24 M
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate
16.46 M
Cooper Zeon RS3 G1
16.58 M
Snow handling saw a very similar order to snow braking, with the Michelin retaining its vast lead, and the Continental being the best of the rest.
Snow Handling
Snow handling time in seconds (Lower is better)
Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
99.66 s
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06
106.74 s
Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
106.91 s
Fuzion UHP Sport AS
108.23 s
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate
108.98 s
Kumho Ecsta PA51
110.08 s
Cooper Zeon RS3 G1
110.53 s
Snow traction moved Kumho slightly up the order, with Michelin again dominating the snow testing.
Snow Traction
Snow acceleration time (5 - 20 mph) (Lower is better)
Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
4.86 s
Kumho Ecsta PA51
5.53 s
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06
5.70 s
Fuzion UHP Sport AS
5.82 s
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate
5.89 s
Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
5.93 s
Cooper Zeon RS3 G1
6.10 s
Environment
The Cooper had the best subjective comfort on test, with the Goodyear and Continental a close second.
Subj. Comfort
Subjective Comfort Score (Higher is better)
Cooper Zeon RS3 G1
10.00 Points
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06
9.50 Points
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate
9.50 Points
Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
8.00 Points
Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
6.50 Points
Kumho Ecsta PA51
6.50 Points
Fuzion UHP Sport AS
6.50 Points
The Kumho had the best subjective noise qualities on test.
Subj. Noise
Subjective in car noise levels (Higher is better)
Kumho Ecsta PA51
10.00 Points
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate
9.50 Points
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06
8.50 Points
Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
8.00 Points
Cooper Zeon RS3 G1
8.00 Points
Fuzion UHP Sport AS
7.50 Points
Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
6.50 Points
There seems to be a link between tyre weight and comfort levels, as the heavier tyres on test were some of the least comfortable.
Tyre Weight
Tyre Weight Per Set (Lower is better)
Continental Extremecontact DWS 06
42.48 Kg
Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate
45.00 Kg
Fuzion UHP Sport AS
45.56 Kg
Cooper Zeon RS3 G1
47.36 Kg
Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4
47.72 Kg
Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS
49.72 Kg
Kumho Ecsta PA51
50.08 Kg
The Fuzion was significantly cheaper than all but the Kumho, with a set of 4 Fuzion tyres costing over 300 dollars less to buy.
Good grip in the dry and wet, significant lead in dry braking and shortest wet braking.
Expensive purchase price, average levels of noise and comfort.
The new Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 earns a win in its first test, proving to have a balanced performance in almost all tests, and an impressive ability to top the vehicle quickly and safely in all conditions.
Excellent all round tire, sporty handling in the dry and wet, good levels of comfort, low noise, well priced.
Average dry braking.
The Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate is an impressively sporty feeling ultra high performance tyre, that manages to blend good handling with good levels of nose and comfort.
Excellent performance in the dry and wet, quick feeling sporty steering.
Low levels of comfort, high levels of noise, lacked steering detail at the very limit, expensive.
The Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS is a dynamic feeling ultra high performance all season tyre with excellent grip in the dry and wet, that just lacks a little detail at the limit of grip.
Excellent wet braking, good dry braking, highest levels of comfort.
Average dry and wet handling, subjectively it felt more like a touring tire than a UHP tire.
The Cooper Zeon RS3-G1 proved to have excellent levels of comfort and good grip in dry and wet braking, but didn't feel as sporty as the best tyres on test.
Excellent wet handling, good levels of comfort, low levels of noise.
Average dry performance, subjectively it felt more like a touring tire than a UHP tire.
The Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 was very strong in the wet and had good levels of comfort, but had an average performance in the dry, feeling more like a comfort bias tire.
Low purchase price, quietest tire on test, good handling in the dry.
Longest dry braking distance, slow wet handling time, low levels of comfort.
The Kumho Ecsta PA51 had good dry handling, and felt sporty at lower speeds, but it had limited grip during dry and wet braking and low levels of comfort compared to the best on test.
The Fuzion UHP Sport AS was the least expensive tire on test, and had reasonable levels of comfort, but it lacked outright grip and couldn't match the more expensive tires in any of the objective tests.
