All season tyres are trying to be one tyre for every situation, but as we know no tyre can excel in every category, meaning tyre manufacturers often take away from one area to be better in another.
So, which all season tyre is best for YOUR own needs? To find out Tyre Reviews has ten of the most popular all season tyres on the market, and will be testing them in the snow, dry and wet, noise, comfort and rolling resistance!
The tyre size I'm testing is massively popular 225/45 R17, and while there might not be any new names in the test this year, a different size and different testing location means we're likely to get some interesting results! The Michelin Crossclimate 2 stormed to victory last year in 16", will this year be any different?
Before I start on the snow handling results, I'd like to remind everyone these are ALL season tyres, and depending where you live, the snow performance of them can range from not very important at all, to very important so don't write off a bad tyre in snow handling if you live in the south of the UK and see snow once every 5 years, the wet grip is more important.
The snow handling lap is long, but there's over 12% from best to worst so you can tell how some tyre companies are focusing on snow more than others.
In last place, a full 15 seconds behind the best was the Bridgestone WeatherControl A005 evo. This tyre never places too highly in the snow, but usually places well in the dry and wet. After driving it in this group of tyres, if you live in a climate that sees anything but the smallest amount of random snow, skip this. It is way better than a summer tyre in these conditions, but it should be used as a "get you out of trouble" tyre in snow. Difficult to drive compared to the rest.
The Vredestein Quatrac Pro and Falken AS210 were next around 9 seconds from the lead. They both took longer to recover once sliding compared to the tyres ahead, but of the two the Falken felt a little better on the brakes.
Seventh was the Pirelli Cinturato AllSeason SF2 just under 7 seconds or 5.7% off the best. And the tyre just had a touch of oversteer in the balance which was fun, but not the grippiest.
Sixth was the Tomket Allyear 3, 5% or 5.8 seconds off the best. The tyre had reasonable levels of grip, but it gave you the lowest amount of communication from the front axle meaning you didn't really know when it was sliding or not, and it had the most understeer of any tyre.
If snow is important to you, the top 5 tires are where you should focus.
The Continental AllSeasonContact was in 5th, under 5% from the best and Goodyear Vector 4Season Gen-3 a little ahead, 4% away from the leader. Both tyres felt fairly similar to drive, both were understeer primary tyres with reasonable levels of communication, both did feel good on the brakes too.
A little ahead, the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 had very good grip, but it was a little peaky, meaning when you started to slide it took a little more work to recover. Fast if you can manage it, but a tiny bit less friendly than the Conti and Goodyear.
Kleber Quadraxer 2 had impressive grip, in fact it felt a lot like the Conti and Goodyear, just a little more understeer than I'd want. But it was still 3.3 seconds or 3% from the best tyre, which was the Michelin CrossClimate 2.
I know the original CrossClimate wasn't always the best in snow as it was really focused on the dry and wet, but they have significantly improved the snow performance for the CrossClimate 2. It was literally a league of one, and was as far ahead at the front as the Bridgestone was at the rear in terms of grip and driveability. The CrossClimate 2 has winter tyre levels of snow grip.
Snow Handling
Snow handling time in seconds (Lower is better)
Michelin CrossClimate 2
110.00 s
Kleber Quadraxer 2
113.30 s
Hankook Kinergy 4S2
114.30 s
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
114.70 s
Continental AllSeasonContact
115.50 s
Tomket Allyear 3
115.80 s
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2
116.70 s
Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210
118.90 s
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
120.00 s
Bridgestone Weather Control A005 E
125.40 s
The CrossClimate 2 retained it's lead in snow traction and braking, with Kleber holding second placed. As in handling, the Bridgestone was the worst.
Snow Traction
Snow acceleration time (5 - 40 km/h) (Lower is better)
Michelin CrossClimate 2
5.50 s
Kleber Quadraxer 2
5.70 s
Tomket Allyear 3
5.90 s
Hankook Kinergy 4S2
6.00 s
Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210
6.20 s
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2
6.70 s
Continental AllSeasonContact
6.80 s
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
7.10 s
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
7.80 s
Bridgestone Weather Control A005 E
9.50 s
Snow Braking
Snow braking in meters (40 - 5 km/h) (Lower is better)
Michelin CrossClimate 2
31.10 M
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
31.50 M
Kleber Quadraxer 2
31.80 M
Hankook Kinergy 4S2
32.30 M
Continental AllSeasonContact
32.40 M
Tomket Allyear 3
32.70 M
Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210
33.20 M
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
34.40 M
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2
34.90 M
Bridgestone Weather Control A005 E
36.70 M
Wet
Unable to continue its reasonable performance in the snow, the Tomket budget tyre is an excellent option if you want to show off to your mates by drifting around your front wheel drive car in the wet, but not the best purchase if you want a safe, predictably balanced car with grip. It oversteered a lot, and it was slow, 12 seconds off the fastest. I might sound like a stuck record, but please avoid budget all season tyres, they can be fine in one area, but never all of them.
Kleber and Pirelli were the next two tyres, but we're already within 5% of the best and way better subjectively than the budget. Instead of lots of oversteer, there was now predictability and assurance with a primary understeer balance. Not bad, but not the best for sure.
The incredible snow domination of the Michelin CrossClimate 2 seems to have unfortunately come at the expense of wet handling, and while it was only 2.4% off the best, I'm a little disappointed. The CC2 had a nice safe understeer primary balance, but it did lack a little detail though the steering wheel mid corner where you'd spend a lot of time waiting for the throttle.
I was shocked to see the Bridgestone WeatherControl A005 Evo in sixth, as wet handling is usually one of Bridgestones strengths. There was nothing bad about the tyre, it was grippy and consistent, it just wasn't the best of the group. It felt great on the brakes so let's see how it does in braking.
Continental was fifth, and we're now only 1.5% off the lead so you can see how close it is at the time. The AllSeasonContact felt surprisingly sporty for an all season tyre, and I really enjoyed driving it. Good steering, a tiny amount oversteer in the balance but progressive enough to still be safe. It worked well with this VW Golf.
Falken was fourth with… well… I'm not sure how to describe the handling. My notes say "sporty and spongy" which are two opposing qualities. Sporgy? It had a quick turn in, but then there was what felt like some excess deflection onto the sidewall which made the car wobble a bit. But the grip was excellent and it's an impressive tyre.
Goodyear and Hankook were a very close third and second. In this tyre test there have been some tyres with too much oversteer and some tyres with too much understeer, but the Goodyear was the goldilocks tyre as it had just the right amount of both. If I didn't emphasize enough already, there's not a huge amount of differences between all these tyres (apart from the budget) so the differences are subtle, but they're there and fun to find out.
Hankook was almost as lovely to drive, and the hankook had a MIGHTY first lap pace, fastest of all, but it did also have the most drop off in time across the four laps we do to get the average, which meant its average was a little behind the fastest tyre overall, the Vredestein Quatrac Pro.
We wondered during snow handling if the asymmetric pattern was going to pay back in the wet, and it did as it felt sporty and had good grip. The tyre did have a bit of oversteer in it, which is perhaps not the most ideal in the real world but it was controllable which really helped the time. Great job Vredestein.
Wet Handling
Wet handling time in seconds (Lower is better)
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
96.60 s
Hankook Kinergy 4S2
97.10 s
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
97.50 s
Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210
97.70 s
Continental AllSeasonContact
98.10 s
Bridgestone Weather Control A005 E
98.60 s
Michelin CrossClimate 2
99.00 s
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2
100.30 s
Kleber Quadraxer 2
101.30 s
Tomket Allyear 3
108.60 s
Nicely tying up with wet handling, the Vredestein Quatrac Pro, Hankook Kinergy 4S2 and Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 were also the best in wet braking.
Wet Braking
Wet braking in meters (80 - 5 km/h) (Lower is better)
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
30.50 M
Hankook Kinergy 4S2
31.60 M
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
31.90 M
Bridgestone Weather Control A005 E
32.00 M
Michelin CrossClimate 2
32.20 M
Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210
32.50 M
Continental AllSeasonContact
33.20 M
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2
35.90 M
Kleber Quadraxer 2
36.70 M
Tomket Allyear 3
41.00 M
The Hankook had a significant advantage in straight aquaplaning, with the asymmetric patterned Vredestein and Tomket struggling the most.
Straight Aqua
Float Speed in Km/H (Higher is better)
Hankook Kinergy 4S2
80.50 Km/H
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
79.30 Km/H
Michelin CrossClimate 2
78.80 Km/H
Kleber Quadraxer 2
78.80 Km/H
Continental AllSeasonContact
78.30 Km/H
Bridgestone Weather Control A005 E
78.10 Km/H
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2
77.90 Km/H
Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210
77.00 Km/H
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
74.10 Km/H
Tomket Allyear 3
72.10 Km/H
Dry
While no tyres were awful in the dry, even the budget, the big disappointment was the Vredestein, but I guess it goes to prove having good wet and dry at the same time is difficult. In spite of its asymmetric pattern and its excellent performance in the wet, it didn't have the most responsive steering or the most grip in the dry meaning it wasn't sporty as I hoped.
The "very good" group of tyres were Hankook, Conti and Goodyear, all working surprisingly well in the dry, and the "really" good tyre was the Bridgestone, it might have been midpack in the wet but in the dry, in this 17" size it was a really nice blend of dynamics, feedback and grip. Very drivable and very enjoyable (for an all season tyre!)
You may have noticed I've not mentioned the Michelin Crossclimate 2. It had the fastest one lap pace, but the compound seemed to struggle a little more over three laps than some of the other tyres, this is a very punishing track, meaning the average lap time didn't show a significant lead once I'd averaged the three laps. The tyre still was one of the best, but the reason I'm talking about this separately is that the Michelin CrossClimate was a game changer when launched, it was a summer tyre with some winter capabilities and it really felt like that in the dry. Either the CrossClimate 2 has lost some of that, or the competition is catching up fast as it doesn't have a huge lead anymore in dry handling.
Dry Handling
Dry handling time in seconds (Lower is better)
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
78.70 s
Continental AllSeasonContact
78.80 s
Bridgestone Weather Control A005 E
78.90 s
Hankook Kinergy 4S2
79.30 s
Michelin CrossClimate 2
79.30 s
Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210
79.70 s
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
80.10 s
Tomket Allyear 3
80.20 s
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2
80.60 s
Kleber Quadraxer 2
80.80 s
The Michelin did retain its lead in dry braking, with the Hankook and Bridgestone close behind!
Dry Braking
Dry braking in meters (100 - 5 km/h) (Lower is better)
Michelin CrossClimate 2
38.60 M
Hankook Kinergy 4S2
39.20 M
Bridgestone Weather Control A005 E
39.30 M
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2
39.50 M
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
39.90 M
Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210
40.10 M
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
41.60 M
Continental AllSeasonContact
41.60 M
Kleber Quadraxer 2
42.60 M
Tomket Allyear 3
43.50 M
Environment
The Falken had the lowest internal noise, however the group was split by less than 1db.
Noise
Internal noise in dB (Lower is better)
Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210
69.10 dB
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
69.30 dB
Kleber Quadraxer 2
69.40 dB
Tomket Allyear 3
69.40 dB
Hankook Kinergy 4S2
69.40 dB
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2
69.50 dB
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
69.50 dB
Michelin CrossClimate 2
69.60 dB
Continental AllSeasonContact
69.70 dB
Bridgestone Weather Control A005 E
69.80 dB
The Bridgestone and Pirelli had the joint lowest rolling resistance, with the Falken and Vredestein having the highest.
Rolling Resistance
Rolling resistance in kg t (Lower is better)
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2
7.50 kg / t
Bridgestone Weather Control A005 E
7.50 kg / t
Michelin CrossClimate 2
7.90 kg / t
Continental AllSeasonContact
8.10 kg / t
Tomket Allyear 3
8.20 kg / t
Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3
8.20 kg / t
Hankook Kinergy 4S2
8.50 kg / t
Kleber Quadraxer 2
8.50 kg / t
Falken EUROALL SEASON AS210
9.10 kg / t
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
9.40 kg / t
At time of test, the Falken was the cheapest tyre to purchase.
The best snow performance on test by a margin, rivaling winter tyre ability, shortest dry braking with good grip in dry handling, high aquaplaning resistance, low rolling resistance.
Limited grip in the wet grip tests with high levels of understeer.
The Michelin CrossClimate 2 wins the test in the balanced scoring, but does drop down to third in the mild climate results. Why? The CrossClimate 2 is quite frankly ridiculously good in the snow, Tyre Reviews ran the all season test alongside the winter test in the same size and if the Crossclimate 2 was in the winter tyre test, it would have been better than half of the winter tyres in the snow! It also had a very low rolling resistance, and it had the shortest dry braking, the CrossClimate party piece. However, it seems to have lost its significant lead in the dry, just 1.5% ahead of the hankook in dry braking, and it no longer has the subjective lead in dry handling, the Bridgestone won that show. But the biggest reason it could only finish third in the mild climate results was because of its wet performance, it was great in straight aquaplaning but it was only midpack in wet braking and struggled a little during the wet handling laps. The CrossClimate 2 is certainly an exceptional all season tire, and worthy of the test winning award, but we hope for the next generation of CrossClimate Michelin trade some of that incredible snow performance for a little more ability in the dry and particularly the wet to bring back the "summer tyre with winter capabilities" theme the Crossclimate is so loved for.
Best aquaplaning resistance, extremely short wet braking and excellent wet handling, excellent grip in all snow tests, high grip levels in the dry, low noise.
High rolling resistance.
The Hankook Kinergy 4S2 H750 finishes an impressive second in the balanced results, but even more impressively it wins with the mild climate score weighting! The Hankook was just incredibly consistent, finishing first place in both aquaplaning tests, second in wet handling, wet braking and dry braking, third in snow handling, and fourth in snow traction, snow braking and dry handling! It's only let down, which we've seen in other tests, is an increased rolling resistance, but given how exceptional it is in every other category, I highly recommend this tyre. Outstanding work by Hankook.
Excellent grip in the wet with short braking distances and good handling, very high aquaplaning resistance, excellent braking and handling in the snow, fastest dry handling time.
Lower snow traction, long dry braking distances.
The Goodyear Vector 4Season Gen 3 had a poor result in the Tyre Reviews all season test last year, but that was certainly an outlier rather than the rule, and now the tyre is back exactly where it should be. The only drawback, which we've seen many times before, was average dry braking, but it was consistently amongst the best in the wet, including aquaplaning results, and the snow.
Good handling in the wet and dry, good snow braking and handling, low rolling resistance.
High internal noise, weak snow traction, extended dry braking.
The Continental AllSeasonContact might be one of the oldest all season tyres in the group now, but it's still performing well with a solid balanced result in all categories. Consistency is important in an all season tyre, and while the Continental didn't win any test, it didn't do badly in any test either, with a solid string of 4th and 5th places putting it in fourth place overall in the balanced score weighting, and fifth in the mild climate. Recommended.
Excellent grip in the wet and dry, good aquaplaning resistance, short dry braking, lowest rolling resistance on test.
Extremely limited snow performance with the longest braking, lowest traction and most difficult snow handling lap. Highest internal noise.
The Bridgestone WeatherControl A005 EVO might just be the all season of the group designed specially for climates which get minimal snow, as in the balanced score weighting it finished fifth but in the mild climate score weighting it jumped up to second place overall! As the results imply, this tire was great in the dry, pretty good in the wet and it had the joint lowest rolling resistance on test, BUT it was a firm last in the snow. Even though there wasn't a summer reference tire in this test, we cna be sure that the Bridgestone will still vastly outperform any summer tire on snow, however compared to a good all season tire its performance was extremely limited. Definitely an all season tyre for a climate where snow is the exception rather than the rule.
Lowest internal noise on test, good snow traction and wet handling.
Average grip in the snow and the dry, low aquaplaning resistance, very high rolling resistance.
The Falken Euroall Season AS210 finishes in sixth with a very similar overall performance and score to the Vredestein - in fact the Vredestein and Falken were so close their places swap in each score weighting. Like the Vredestein it was most at home in the wet, and like the Vredestein its snow performance couldn't match the best, or even the average of the group. It also had a high rolling resistance but it did however have the lowest internal noise.
Best wet grip on test with the shortest wet braking and fastest wet handling lap, low internal noise.
Low grip in the snow and in the dry, low aquaplaning resistance, highest rolling resistance in the test.
The Vredestein Quatrac Pro finishes in seventh place overall. This tyre was an absolute beast in the wet with the shortest wet braking by over a meter, and the fastest wet handling lap by a significant margin! Sadly, a midpack dry braking was the next best highlight as the tyre struggled in both aquaplaning tests, had low grip on the snow and a very high rolling resistance.
Lowest rolling resistance on test, short braking distance in the dry.
Limited snow and wet grip in braking and handling.
In eighth place overall was the Pirelli Cinturato AllSeason SF2. This was a disappointing result for the SF2, and while it did have the lowest rolling resistance on test and very good dry braking, it was let down by an average snow performance and low grip in the wet. I've actually spoken to Pirelli about this result as the SF2 seems to have variable results in tests depending on size, and Pirelli have informed me that unfortunately this tyre was an older spec tyre which has now been updated with significantly more grip in all conditions. I'll be sure to retest this next year.
Excellent grip in the snow, high aquaplaning resistance, low internal noise.
Low grip in the wet and dry with long braking distances and slow to react handling. High rolling resistance.
The Kleber Quadraxer 2 had an excellent performance in all the snow tests and one of the best aquaplaning performances, but sadly couldn't keep up in the dry and wet grip tests where it had long braking and poor handling results.
Good snow traction, low internal noise, reasonable rolling resistance.
Dangerously long braking distances in the wet and dry, inharmonious handling in the wet with oversteer, very low aquaplaning resistance.
The Tomket Allyear 3 once again proves that a budget tyre can be fine in one category, it was reasonable in the snow, but then be a disaster in other areas, with a 10.5 meter difference stopping the golf from just 50 mph and really difficult wet handling making the allyear 3 a tyre to avoid.
