Premium Touring Passenger Car Tyre Tests

Polish automotive publication Motor tested seven all-season tyres in size 215/55 R17 for issue 48/2025. The lineup included two premium tyres from Michelin and Continental, three mid-segment options from Nokian Tyres, Vredestein, and Yokohama, and two budget choices from Polish brand Dębica and Chinese manufacturer Sunny. 

The most interesting result is Nokian Tyres' new Seasonproof 2 taking overall victory despite being a mid-segment tyre competing against premium products. It scored maximum points in wet conditions, winning every wet test category. The testers noted this as evidence that mid-segment tyres are now a real threat to premium products in the rankings.

This test was conducted by TÜV SÜD Product Service GmbH between January and February 2025 (report number 713351940-PM), testing five premium all-season tyres in size 205/55 R16 94V XL. The test was commissioned by Nokian Tyres as part of their Premium Tyre Mark certification for the Seasonproof 2, with the Nokian tyre compared against the Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6, Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3, Michelin CrossClimate 2, and Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF 3. While TÜV SÜD is a fully independent testing organization with a strong reputation for objectivity, it is important to note that this test was requested and paid for by Nokian Tyres.

As this is currently the only public test data available for the new Pirelli Cinturato Winter 3, I thought it would be useful to share it. But please understand the following:

This test was conducted by TÜV SÜD Product Service GmbH between February and March 2025, testing five premium winter tyres in size 225/45 R17 94V XL. The test was commissioned by Pirelli as part of their final product benchmarking for the Cinturato Winter 3, with the Pirelli tyre compared against the Bridgestone Blizzak 6, Continental WinterContact TS 870, Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3, and Michelin Alpin 7. While TÜV SÜD is a fully independent testing organization with a strong reputation for objectivity, it is important to note that this test was requested and paid for by Pirelli.

Teknikens Värld tested 20 winter tyres in size 235/45 R18, comprising nine studded, eight Nordic friction (studless), and three Central European friction tyres. One studded tyre was disqualified for regulatory violations, leaving 19 in the final rankings. Testing used a Volvo V60 T6 plug-in hybrid across multiple locations in Sweden, covering braking, handling, aquaplaning, emergency maneuvers, comfort, and fuel efficiency.

For the 2025/26 Tyre Reviews Nordic Studless Winter Tyre Test, I have tested five friction winter tyres plus two reference sets (a studded tyre and a Central European winter tyre) across 21 tests in 6 categories: snow, ice, wet, dry, comfort/noise, and rolling resistance. If you drive in regions with frequent snow and ice, this is the group test you need. All these tyres are available to buy in North America and Europe!

We look forward to the big Autobild braking tests in every season, and this year Autobild have tested 51 winter tyres in wet braking (plus a summer tyre), with the best 31 moving onto a snow braking test.

The top 20 combined distances from the wet and snow braking tests will feature in the full AutoBild winter tyre test, on the site next week.

The Finnish publication Tekniikan Maailma has published its 2025 winter tyre test, evaluating a total of fourteen tyres, tested in conjunction with UTAC. The test was split into two categories, with seven studded winter tyres and seven Nordic non-studded (friction) winter tyres being compared. All tyres were tested in the popular 205/55 R16 size, using a Volkswagen Golf as the test vehicle. The tests covered a wide range of conditions, including performance on ice, snow, wet asphalt, and dry asphalt, as well as subjective handling characteristics and economy.

Vi Bilägare evaluated eight different tyre models in the popular SUV size of 235/60 R18. The test, featured in issue number 12, utilized a Volvo XC60 AWD as the primary vehicle to assess performance on ice, snow, and both wet and dry asphalt. The lineup included five premium brands—Continental, Goodyear, Michelin, Nokian, and Pirelli—alongside three more budget-focused offerings from Nexen, Goodride, and Triangle.

Tire Rack has published its latest group test, titled "Premium Touring Tyres to Elevating the Journey". The 2024 report evaluates a large group of eleven popular touring tyres using a 2025 Toyota Camry as the test vehicle. The test focuses primarily on the Grand Touring All-Season and All-Weather categories, with nine patterns tested. To provide a broader market comparison, two representative Standard Touring All-Season tyres were also included in the evaluation.

AUTO BILD has completed their comprehensive 2025 all-season tyre test in the popular 225/40 R18 size, evaluating 30 models with the top 15 advancing to full testing. In a surprising turn of events, the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF 3 claimed overall victory, while Michelin's highly anticipated new CrossClimate 3 range delivered mixed results.

ADAC are one of the most respected sources of tyres tests for a good reason, they are fully independent, and do things most others cannot do such as wear tests, real world fuel usage tests instead of a machine measurement of rolling resistance, and even ice testing for their all season and winter tests.

For their 2025 winter tyre test, ADAC have tested a huge 32 patterns in 225/40 R18. 

The 2025 Autobild All Season tyre braking shootout put 30 of the latest all season tyres in the 'sporty' 225/40 R18 size through dry and wet braking tests.

As usual the top 15 from this test will go through to the full Autobild all season test which should be out in a few weeks.

In their 2025 winter tyre comparison, the team from Die Reifentester evaluated seven leading winter tyres, plus an all‑season control tyre, in the popular 215/55 R17 dimension. 

For their 2025 winter tyre test, Auto Express have tested eight popular winter tyres in 225/45 R17.

As always we suggest you visit the Auto Express website on the link below for the full details, but here is our summary.

This years Tyre Reviews all season tyre test has 9 of the most popular all season tyres, and one of the best summer tyres, the Continental PremiumContact 7 and one of the best winter tyres, the Continental WinterContact TS870 P as reference tyres.

I'm also using a RWD Mazda MX-5 to find out whether rear wheel drive makes any difference to the established results!

A new test conducted by "auto motor und sport" evaluated the performance of the new CrossClimate 3 and 3 Sport all season tyres against the traditional summer touring and summer performance tyres. The test vehicle was a Golf GTI Clubsport, utilizing a tyre size of 225/40 R18 for all tests. 

The tyres tested were the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 (ultra-high-performance summer), Michelin Primacy (premium touring summer), Michelin CrossClimate 3 Sport (ultra-high-performance all-season), and the Michelin CrossClimate 3 (premium touring all-season). The objective was to quantify performance differences in dry and wet conditions.

Currently, there isn't a lot of EV tyre testing performed so EV owners are in the dark about new EV specific options. For this reason, we are republishing data from a TUV report with the new Hankook iON FlexClimate vs some key rivals. 

Usually we wouldn't publish this data as while TUV tests are independant, Hankook would have chosen the size, test vehicle and competitors, but as there's no test data out for the FlexCimate  this is worth a republish. The test vehicle was a Tesla Model 3 Performance for the majority of tests, with the VW T6 stepping in for other duties such as aquaplaning.

I've performed the world's first test of the new Michelin CrossClimate 3 and CrossClimate 3 Sport all season tyres, putting them up against two of the leading competitors, the multiple test winning Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 and the excellent dry and wet focused Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6.

As always I've tested them in the dry, wet, noise and comfort, and I have rolling resistance and snow data to show you exactly how the two new Michelins compare to some of the best competition in the segment.

The German motor club ADAC is at the very peak of tyre testing, so any new test of theirs is extremely exciting. For 2025 ADAC has tested popular all season tyres in the common 225/45 R17 size, and included a wear test and a real world economy test. Sadly this test was started before the introduction of the CrossClimate 3.

Even with ADAC's rather unique way of testing, the winners are not a surprise, with Goodyear, Continental and Pirelli taking the top spots. The most interesting piece of data was the wear result of the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 - all but matching the Michelin CrossClimate 2 and beating the Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6, but none of the leading tyres could get close to the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 impressive wear results.

Michelin has just unveiled not one but two exciting new additions to their all-season tyre lineup: the CrossClimate 3 and the all-new CrossClimate 3 Sport. While the CrossClimate 3 represents an evolution of the much loved CrossClimate 2, the CrossClimate 3 Sport is a completely new offering aimed at drivers of sportier vehicles who still want all-season versatility.

Having spent a week testing both new tyres alongside the CrossClimate 2, I can explain how these new models perform, and what improvements Michelin has made to their already impressive all-season range.