2023 Best SUV Tyres Tested

Sadly Tyre Reviews isn't performing an SUV summer tyre test this year, but luckily the German publication AutoBild once again have us covered if you want to know what the best tyre is for your SUV!

This year AutoBild tested twelve SUV tyres for the crossover SUV segment in the 225/65 R17 tyre size.

As usual, all the tyres were tested in the dry and wet, and had their rolling resistance and noise / comfort levels graded, but as this category of tyre is also intended for some "light off-roading" they tested the twelve SUV tyres in mud, sand, dirt and even on wet grass! This means this really is the best test this year you show you what the best tyre is for your SUV!

There's a LOT of data from this test, so we won't preface anymore - This is how the best twelve SUV tyres fared in the dry, wet, gravel, mud, dirt and sand!

Wet

Wet braking was led by the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV. The Michelin looks a little out of place in this test, the Pilot Sport 4 SUV is an ultra high performance summer tyre, and all the other tyres in the test are more touring / comfort bias tyres. Perhaps the Michelin Primacy 4 would have been a better match for the test, but this does give us an excellent insight into the differences between the two categories of tyres.

It should come as no surprise that the Aplus A919 in last place was the cheapest tyre on test, but it might be a surprise that the Cooper Zeon 4XS Sport also struggled to stop the car.

The Michelin was also the fastest around the wet handling lap, beating the new Bridgestone Turanza 6.

The Michelin also had the best straight aquaplaning resistance, significantly ahead of all the tyres bar the Uniroyal RainSport 5, which usually wins the deep water tests!

Dry

The Pirelli Cinturato P7 managed to beat the Michelin to be best in dry braking, with the Aplus once again trailing the field buy a significant margin.

The more comfort bias Pirelli couldn't hold off the more sporty Michelin during the dry handling test.

Off Road

The dirt handling course was led by Pirelli, with the new Hankook Ventus Prime 4 a close second! 

The next three data points are gravel, sand and mud traction tests, measured as a pulling force. It's important to note that offroad testing is some of the hardest testing in the world, none more so than mud, so worry less about the precise order and more about general trends.

These general trends are that the budget Aplus might not be able to grip on wet roads, but is great on wet grass and in mud but not sand. The General Grabber GT Plus was best in sand but poor on grass... it seems even general trends are difficult with offroad testing!

Environment

External noise is a much easier test, and the Goodyear EfficientGrip 2 SUV proved to be the quietest tyre of the group by a huge margin!

The new Bridgestone Turanza 6 continued Bridgestones excellent performance in the rolling resistance tests, leading the Hankook and Uniroyal.

The Aplus was the cheapest tyre on test, but this time the Michelin wasn't the most expensive tyre of the group, it was the joint most expensive with Goodyear!

Results

1^st

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV

225/65 R17 106V XL

Exemplary.

Dry99.2%

Wet100%

Off road92.7%

Comfort97.7%

Rolling Resistance87.9%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (14)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	2nd / 12	35.2 m	+0.60 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	1st / 12	103.3 km/h	Best in this discipline
Wet BrakingLower is better	1st / 12	49.9 m	Best in this discipline
Wet HandlingHigher is better	1st / 12	86.8 km/h	Best in this discipline
Wet CircleLower is better	1st / 12	14.41 s	Best in this discipline
Straight AquaHigher is better	1st / 12	95.9 km/h	Best in this discipline
Curved AquaplaningHigher is better	1st / 12	2.95 m/sec2	Best in this discipline
Gravel TractionHigher is better	1st / 12	8265 N	Best in this discipline
Dirt HandlingHigher is better	7th / 12	66 km/h	-0.60 km/h
Sand TractionHigher is better	10th / 12	7744 N	-1,142.00 N
Grass TractionHigher is better	5th / 12	2474 N	-450.00 N
Mud TractionHigher is better	3rd / 12	3022 N	-239.00 N
NoiseLower is better	3rd / 12	68.9 dB	+1.60 dB
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	8th / 12	8.44 kg/t	+1.02 kg/t

EU Label

C/A/72

Price

610.00

2^nd

Bridgestone Turanza 6

225/65 R17 102H

Exemplary.

Dry96.8%

Wet96.6%

Off road92.1%

Comfort97%

Rolling Resistance100%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (14)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	8th / 12	36.6 m	+2.00 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	3rd / 12	102.4 km/h	-0.90 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	6th / 12	53 m	+3.10 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	2nd / 12	86.4 km/h	-0.40 km/h
Wet CircleLower is better	3rd / 12	14.58 s	+0.17 s
Straight AquaHigher is better	6th / 12	89 km/h	-6.90 km/h
Curved AquaplaningHigher is better	6th / 12	2.76 m/sec2	-0.19 m/sec2
Gravel TractionHigher is better	2nd / 12	8254 N	-11.00 N
Dirt HandlingHigher is better	9th / 12	65.7 km/h	-0.90 km/h
Sand TractionHigher is better	4th / 12	8346 N	-540.00 N
Grass TractionHigher is better	12th / 12	2289 N	-635.00 N
Mud TractionHigher is better	4th / 12	2930 N	-331.00 N
NoiseLower is better	7th / 12	69.4 dB	+2.10 dB
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	1st / 12	7.42 kg/t	Best in this discipline

EU Label

B/A/69

Price

570.00

3^rd

Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun

225/65 R17 106H XL

Exemplary.

Dry96.4%

Wet96.1%

Off road92.9%

Comfort96.7%

Rolling Resistance86.4%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (14)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	6th / 12	36.2 m	+1.60 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	8th / 12	100.4 km/h	-2.90 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	5th / 12	52.9 m	+3.00 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	8th / 12	84.8 km/h	-2.00 km/h
Wet CircleLower is better	11th / 12	15.01 s	+0.60 s
Straight AquaHigher is better	3rd / 12	91 km/h	-4.90 km/h
Curved AquaplaningHigher is better	4th / 12	2.88 m/sec2	-0.07 m/sec2
Gravel TractionHigher is better	4th / 12	8140 N	-125.00 N
Dirt HandlingHigher is better	3rd / 12	66.4 km/h	-0.20 km/h
Sand TractionHigher is better	2nd / 12	8422 N	-464.00 N
Grass TractionHigher is better	7th / 12	2444 N	-480.00 N
Mud TractionHigher is better	7th / 12	2870 N	-391.00 N
NoiseLower is better	8th / 12	69.6 dB	+2.30 dB
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	10th / 12	8.59 kg/t	+1.17 kg/t

EU Label

C/A/69

Price

465.00

4^th

Goodyear EfficientGrip 2 SUV

225/65 R17 106V XL

Exemplary.

Dry96%

Wet96.7%

Off road92.2%

Comfort100%

Rolling Resistance87.4%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (14)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	7th / 12	36.5 m	+1.90 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	6th / 12	100.5 km/h	-2.80 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	2nd / 12	52.1 m	+2.20 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	6th / 12	85.2 km/h	-1.60 km/h
Wet CircleLower is better	6th / 12	14.74 s	+0.33 s
Straight AquaHigher is better	5th / 12	90.2 km/h	-5.70 km/h
Curved AquaplaningHigher is better	5th / 12	2.83 m/sec2	-0.12 m/sec2
Gravel TractionHigher is better	7th / 12	7871 N	-394.00 N
Dirt HandlingHigher is better	6th / 12	66.1 km/h	-0.50 km/h
Sand TractionHigher is better	6th / 12	8102 N	-784.00 N
Grass TractionHigher is better	4th / 12	2505 N	-419.00 N
Mud TractionHigher is better	4th / 12	2930 N	-331.00 N
NoiseLower is better	1st / 12	67.3 dB	Best in this discipline
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	9th / 12	8.49 kg/t	+1.07 kg/t

EU Label

C/A/71

Price

610.00

5^th

Hankook Ventus Prime 4

225/65 R17 102H

Exemplary.

Dry97.4%

Wet95.2%

Off road91.4%

Comfort95.9%

Rolling Resistance97.3%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (14)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	4th / 12	35.5 m	+0.90 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	6th / 12	100.5 km/h	-2.80 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	4th / 12	52.6 m	+2.70 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	5th / 12	85.4 km/h	-1.40 km/h
Wet CircleLower is better	5th / 12	14.72 s	+0.31 s
Straight AquaHigher is better	10th / 12	86.2 km/h	-9.70 km/h
Curved AquaplaningHigher is better	8th / 12	2.57 m/sec2	-0.38 m/sec2
Gravel TractionHigher is better	8th / 12	7796 N	-469.00 N
Dirt HandlingHigher is better	2nd / 12	66.5 km/h	-0.10 km/h
Sand TractionHigher is better	5th / 12	8304 N	-582.00 N
Grass TractionHigher is better	8th / 12	2435 N	-489.00 N
Mud TractionHigher is better	8th / 12	2803 N	-458.00 N
NoiseLower is better	11th / 12	70.2 dB	+2.90 dB
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	2nd / 12	7.63 kg/t	+0.21 kg/t

EU Label

B/A/69

Price

485.00

6^th

Pirelli CINTURATO P7

225/65 R17 106V XL

Good.

Dry99.7%

Wet97.7%

Off road86%

Comfort96%

Rolling Resistance88.9%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (14)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	1st / 12	34.6 m	Best in this discipline
Dry HandlingHigher is better	2nd / 12	102.7 km/h	-0.60 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	3rd / 12	52.2 m	+2.30 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	3rd / 12	85.7 km/h	-1.10 km/h
Wet CircleLower is better	2nd / 12	14.46 s	+0.05 s
Straight AquaHigher is better	4th / 12	90.9 km/h	-5.00 km/h
Curved AquaplaningHigher is better	3rd / 12	2.91 m/sec2	-0.04 m/sec2
Gravel TractionHigher is better	12th / 12	7140 N	-1,125.00 N
Dirt HandlingHigher is better	1st / 12	66.6 km/h	Best in this discipline
Sand TractionHigher is better	9th / 12	7998 N	-888.00 N
Grass TractionHigher is better	10th / 12	2397 N	-527.00 N
Mud TractionHigher is better	12th / 12	2337 N	-924.00 N
NoiseLower is better	9th / 12	70.1 dB	+2.80 dB
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	7th / 12	8.35 kg/t	+0.93 kg/t

EU Label

C/A/70

Price

590.00

7^th

Uniroyal RainExpert 5

225/65 R17 102H

Good.

Dry93%

Wet96.6%

Off road96.3%

Comfort97.1%

Rolling Resistance96.7%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (14)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	11th / 12	37.9 m	+3.30 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	11th / 12	97.9 km/h	-5.40 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	8th / 12	53.8 m	+3.90 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	7th / 12	85 km/h	-1.80 km/h
Wet CircleLower is better	9th / 12	14.83 s	+0.42 s
Straight AquaHigher is better	2nd / 12	94.5 km/h	-1.40 km/h
Curved AquaplaningHigher is better	2nd / 12	2.93 m/sec2	-0.02 m/sec2
Gravel TractionHigher is better	5th / 12	8104 N	-161.00 N
Dirt HandlingHigher is better	4th / 12	66.2 km/h	-0.40 km/h
Sand TractionHigher is better	3rd / 12	8398 N	-488.00 N
Grass TractionHigher is better	2nd / 12	2669 N	-255.00 N
Mud TractionHigher is better	2nd / 12	3204 N	-57.00 N
NoiseLower is better	5th / 12	69.3 dB	+2.00 dB
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	3rd / 12	7.67 kg/t	+0.25 kg/t

EU Label

C/A/71

Price

475.00

8^th

Toyo Proxes Comfort

225/65 R17 106V XL

Good.

Dry97.7%

Wet94.5%

Off road87.6%

Comfort97.1%

Rolling Resistance90.9%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (14)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	5th / 12	35.7 m	+1.10 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	5th / 12	101.7 km/h	-1.60 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	9th / 12	54.7 m	+4.80 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	4th / 12	85.5 km/h	-1.30 km/h
Wet CircleLower is better	4th / 12	14.64 s	+0.23 s
Straight AquaHigher is better	9th / 12	87.1 km/h	-8.80 km/h
Curved AquaplaningHigher is better	9th / 12	2.56 m/sec2	-0.39 m/sec2
Gravel TractionHigher is better	10th / 12	7523 N	-742.00 N
Dirt HandlingHigher is better	12th / 12	65.1 km/h	-1.50 km/h
Sand TractionHigher is better	11th / 12	7407 N	-1,479.00 N
Grass TractionHigher is better	3rd / 12	2589 N	-335.00 N
Mud TractionHigher is better	11th / 12	2522 N	-739.00 N
NoiseLower is better	5th / 12	69.3 dB	+2.00 dB
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	5th / 12	8.16 kg/t	+0.74 kg/t

EU Label

C/A/70

Price

430.00

9^th

General Grabber GT+

225/65 R17 102H

Fair.

Dry94.1%

Wet93.3%

Off road93%

Comfort97.4%

Rolling Resistance95.4%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (14)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	10th / 12	37.2 m	+2.60 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	10th / 12	98.4 km/h	-4.90 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	10th / 12	55 m	+5.10 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	10th / 12	84.3 km/h	-2.50 km/h
Wet CircleLower is better	10th / 12	14.9 s	+0.49 s
Straight AquaHigher is better	7th / 12	87.8 km/h	-8.10 km/h
Curved AquaplaningHigher is better	10th / 12	2.48 m/sec2	-0.47 m/sec2
Gravel TractionHigher is better	9th / 12	7752 N	-513.00 N
Dirt HandlingHigher is better	8th / 12	65.9 km/h	-0.70 km/h
Sand TractionHigher is better	1st / 12	8886 N	Best in this discipline
Grass TractionHigher is better	9th / 12	2415 N	-509.00 N
Mud TractionHigher is better	4th / 12	2930 N	-331.00 N
NoiseLower is better	4th / 12	69.1 dB	+1.80 dB
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	4th / 12	7.78 kg/t	+0.36 kg/t

EU Label

C/A/71

Price

510.00

10^th

Nexen N Fera Sport SUV

225/65 R17 102H

Fair.

Dry97.4%

Wet94.7%

Off road89.6%

Comfort98.5%

Rolling Resistance86.4%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (14)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	3rd / 12	35.3 m	+0.70 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	9th / 12	99.9 km/h	-3.40 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	7th / 12	53.6 m	+3.70 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	9th / 12	84.4 km/h	-2.40 km/h
Wet CircleLower is better	8th / 12	14.79 s	+0.38 s
Straight AquaHigher is better	7th / 12	87.8 km/h	-8.10 km/h
Curved AquaplaningHigher is better	7th / 12	2.64 m/sec2	-0.31 m/sec2
Gravel TractionHigher is better	11th / 12	7499 N	-766.00 N
Dirt HandlingHigher is better	11th / 12	65.3 km/h	-1.30 km/h
Sand TractionHigher is better	6th / 12	8102 N	-784.00 N
Grass TractionHigher is better	6th / 12	2454 N	-470.00 N
Mud TractionHigher is better	9th / 12	2747 N	-514.00 N
NoiseLower is better	2nd / 12	68.3 dB	+1.00 dB
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	10th / 12	8.59 kg/t	+1.17 kg/t

EU Label

D/A/71

Price

350.00

11^th

Cooper Zeon 4XS Sport

225/65 R17 102H

Conditionally recommended.

Dry96%

Wet90.4%

Off road87.6%

Comfort95.6%

Rolling Resistance89%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (14)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	9th / 12	37.1 m	+2.50 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	4th / 12	102 km/h	-1.30 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	11th / 12	61.1 m	+11.20 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	11th / 12	84 km/h	-2.80 km/h
Wet CircleLower is better	7th / 12	14.77 s	+0.36 s
Straight AquaHigher is better	12th / 12	83.8 km/h	-12.10 km/h
Curved AquaplaningHigher is better	11th / 12	2.41 m/sec2	-0.54 m/sec2
Gravel TractionHigher is better	3rd / 12	8239 N	-26.00 N
Dirt HandlingHigher is better	10th / 12	65.6 km/h	-1.00 km/h
Sand TractionHigher is better	12th / 12	7230 N	-1,656.00 N
Grass TractionHigher is better	11th / 12	2332 N	-592.00 N
Mud TractionHigher is better	10th / 12	2573 N	-688.00 N
NoiseLower is better	12th / 12	70.4 dB	+3.10 dB
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	6th / 12	8.34 kg/t	+0.92 kg/t

EU Label

C/A/70

Price

420.00

12^th

Aplus A919

225/65 R17 102H

Not recommended.

Dry90.1%

Wet88.1%

Off road97.4%

Comfort96%

Rolling Resistance77.6%

Category scores (% of best)

All discipline results (14)

Discipline positions compare the ranked tyres in this test, not the whole market. These are individual measurements, not weighted overall scores.

Test	Position in discipline	Result	Gap to best
Dry BrakingLower is better	12th / 12	40.3 m	+5.70 m
Dry HandlingHigher is better	12th / 12	97.4 km/h	-5.90 km/h
Wet BrakingLower is better	12th / 12	63.6 m	+13.70 m
Wet HandlingHigher is better	12th / 12	82.5 km/h	-4.30 km/h
Wet CircleLower is better	12th / 12	15.23 s	+0.82 s
Straight AquaHigher is better	11th / 12	83.9 km/h	-12.00 km/h
Curved AquaplaningHigher is better	12th / 12	2.35 m/sec2	-0.60 m/sec2
Gravel TractionHigher is better	6th / 12	8068 N	-197.00 N
Dirt HandlingHigher is better	4th / 12	66.2 km/h	-0.40 km/h
Sand TractionHigher is better	8th / 12	8012 N	-874.00 N
Grass TractionHigher is better	1st / 12	2924 N	Best in this discipline
Mud TractionHigher is better	1st / 12	3261 N	Best in this discipline
NoiseLower is better	9th / 12	70.1 dB	+2.80 dB
Rolling ResistanceLower is better	12th / 12	9.56 kg/t	+2.14 kg/t

EU Label

E/C/71

Price

300.00