Barum Brillantis 2

I had these tyres fitted on my VW Golf 6 1.6 TDI and I drove on them for about 40k and the remaing trend was about 70% (they were always fitted at the rear). These tyres are honest cheap tyres very predictable with an average to low grip on all surfaces, the grip difference between dry and wet in barely noticeable since even on dry roads the grip level is quite low. The strong points are the good comfort level and the extreme longevity, I believe it would be possible to drive for at least 80k on these tyres rotating them front and rear. I recommend these tyres for careful drivers who drive lots of kilomteres per year.

Barum is not a premium tyre but price/performance ratio is really good.
I am satified with my pruchase.

I drove Barum Brilliantis 2 tyres for at least 50,000 kms. Now after 7 years for safety reasons I have to buy new tyres. However, there is some flesh left in these tyres.
The wt grip is okish, but over the 7 years I wish it was better in emergency braking. Never slipped away laterally though.
The dry grip is good.

PRO
- Very impressed about how predictable these are on dry road. Drove them to the limit many times on all kinds of terrain, both paved and unpaved.
- Good grip, but not very predictable on wet. Anyway, they're better than ContiEcoContact3 by far.
- Lasted about 30000km (two seasons), but keep in mind I didn't spare them.

CON
- Noisy, especially at cruise speeds.
- Don't expect feedback from the road.

OVERALL
Good value for the money. Not sure if I'd buy them again, as there's plenty to choose from the market in the same range.

I was most impressed by the staff that fitted the tyres at the garage at Harlescott, Shrewsbury.
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Can only compare with the horrendous Toyos I had on the car before but these are much smoother to drive, better grip both in the dry and particularly the wet. The Toyos scared me in the wet a couple of times as they gave up grip without warning and I wasn't driving recklessly. I then changed the Toyos even though they had plenty of tread left on them. The Barums also seem to make the steering a bit lighter which is good as the car doesn't have power steering. They are predictable as well - you know when you are at the edge of grip before you end up in a hedge. Wear is difficult to give an opinion on as the mileage we do is very low but they seem to be wearing evenly. Reasonably priced tyre at about £40 each fully fitted and will definitely buy again.

Cheap, trustworthy, comfortable, quiet (enough) and reliable.

Very predictable on dry, less so in the wet, but still within safe limits.

175/80-14 squeals a bit on tight, mountainy hairpins; otherwise car tracks like a train on them and - as far as this kind of car lets you - they are willing to have the car thrown around on them.

Wear is not an issue yet and I also don't expect it to become one.

On original 185/65-15 the car was a bit thrashy on sudden ridges, unloaded. Switching to 175/80-14 gave a very comfortable ride, all-round, on these Barums.

Recommendable - at least for the more conventional driver - and I would certainly buy again.

(see review March 9, 2012)

Easy decision to go Barum Brillantis 2s again.

Amazing value as previous ones lasted nearly 38,000 miles (down to bars). They were 3 months on the rear then 9 months on the front, then 10 months on rear again. They were moved to back when I fitted Conti Eco 5s which lasted only 9 months on front ! (15000 miles !).

The contis were £75 each the Barums £52.

Very happy to have Barums again. They are well suited to rear as the stiffer side wall reduces body roll. Always gripped Ok, always quiet. Very happy to have them again.

(now mixed with very good Goodyear efficient grip performance on front (which were replacements for the poor wearing Contis 2 months ago.))

I will not be buying Conti Ecos again. Barums YES. Excellent Value.

Decided to scrimp on tyres again last year, as my motoring interests lay elsewhere. The tyres were recommended by the garage, read a couple of reviews and they seemed ok. Got a set fitted, they were cheap.

The dry grip on these tyres is good, they had a lot of feedback in the dry and could confidently corner at speed. The wear on them is excellent as well, I would note however that they do squeal a bit on some surfaces. Got some funny looks cornering sharply as they were squealing, for what would seem like not that sharp a corner. Now, on to the wet...

I felt these tyres were ok in the wet at first, but have now decided they are pretty dangerous if you are travelling at any speed. They lose grip quickly and you will find yourself understeering towards the kerb. I learned to just deal with this and playfully slide the car about but it's not ideal, I would like to be able to drive properly in the wet with proper tyres.

I have ran Barum Bravuris before and they seem about on par with these, if a little better in the wet. I will be replacing these with Uniroyal Rainsport 3's this week and keeping these tyres for track days, dry track days. Plenty of tread left on them.

Good Tyre if your on a budget, they have worn well which most budgets don't (after about 10,000, still got good most of their tread). The grip is also quite good in the wet, id know breaking heavy on wet & muddy country roads without any ABS and the fact that my tyres are quite narrow. My only query is that iv noticed the tyre walls are quite soft and flexible when doing the pressures, but this hasn't really changed the steering feedback. A good all-round tyre for a small car.

Awful very dangerous tyre no grip in the wet like driving on ice.
Average to poor in the dry.
Breaks away easily on roundabouts even in the dry if slihtly pushed.

I had an accident because the road was wet. the tyres didnt grip at all, it was like been on ice, very dangerous!!!

Awful, awful tyre - wears fast, poor grip in the dry and wet, noisy. Was told they were a Premium brand by a tyre shop - I reckon he had a shed load to get rid of. Had to replace after just 10k, and was glad I did - felt I was taking my life in my hands every time I went out. The Tyre place that took them off called them "ditch dwellers" - the sort of tyre you find on a car upside-down in a ditch...

Take a good 200 miles or so to scrub in but once they have you get a good responsive tyre which is very quiet running and smooth. Only downside is the tyres have a slight bias to steer the car to the left. Even with tracking checked was told it will reduce as the tyres wear to the car. All in all a very good quality tyre made by Continental (all of the sidewall lettering is the same as my previous conti ecos) and excellent value at around £20 less then my previous contis per tyre.

Horses for courses! These tyres are very good all-round for small family cars like my Pug 206 and Clio. However, they do not work as well on larger cars or cars with inherently poor and overloaded suspension setup (such as Cit Xsara / Picasso). If you own a large family car I would suggest changing your rims to 15 inch and fitting Barum Bravuris 2 if you are still interested in good quality budget tyres. I have Bravuris fitted on my Impreza and they are superb for budget tyres.