Best Tyres for the Renault Talisman 160 edc estate

Complete set of tyres fitted today.245/40 19 Very little difference in the EVO tyre pattern to the original, but maybe the improvements are what you cannot see? I will review in 10,000 kms. I have to make a few journeys through the Alps in the next six months, so I am sure their snow performance will be tested. What I know from my experience with the original A005’s is that wet grip is superb, aquaplaning greatly reduced risk, low wear, quiet and low rolling resistance.

So the two A005’s on the front of my Renault Talisman were taken off today after a year and just over 26,000 kms on the front wheels. There was plenty of tread left, and the tyres wet performance had. It degraded. Front left 4.3mm tread left. Front right 4.5mm tread. So nowhere near worn out. The big pluses of these tyres is the excellent wet road grip, low noise, and low rolling resistance. Today I have had four Bridgestone weathercontrol A005 EVO tyres fitted. I will review in due course.

So this an update on these tyres which have been on my car for almost a year and have covered 18000 miles so far. Up until now the tyres have worn evenly. Looking at the fronts in particular, there is no sign of any severe degradation. I commute to London from northern France, but in recent months have been making round trips to northern Italy where I am now. Currently we have been experiencing temperatures of daily highs hitting 36C. On previous trips in July and August, it was even hotter. This has not affected the integrity of the tyre. On the autoroute/autostrada the car tracks straight and true. Road noise is not an issue. In the wet, this tyre inspires confidence. I have had to make a couple of emergency stops on wet/greasy roads and the ABS was not activated. I have not experienced any snowy conditions. Fuel consumption has not been affected adversely with the Bridgestone tyres. To maximise the range of the relatively small 48 litre fuel tank on the Talisman (due to the rear wheel steering), I cruise at 110kph as per the GPS. The car averages 5.2 l/100 kms at this speed or 51 mpg which I think is excellent for such a big car. At 130 kph fuel consumption increases to 6.8 l/100 kph. Regarding ride comfort, I have the XL version of this tyre. I run the tyre pressures at the lower option as recommended by Renault of 2.3 Bar fronts and 2.1 Bar rear which is for constant speeds up to 160 kph. If heavily laden the pressures should be adjusted to 2.6 F, 2.4 R. Ride comfort has been fine at the lower setting and the tyres have worn evenly. I chose this tyre because I wanted a specification which leaned towards wet, icy or slushy conditions. The tyre has a high resistance to aquaplaning and I have experienced quite a few events of high speed driving in heavy rain. These tyres appear to be wearing better than the original summer Continental rubber on the front. Looking at the front tyres right now, there is still some way to go to the wear bars. I haven’t noticed any dramatic loss of performance so far. My plan is to make another trip to Italy in October, then replace all four tyres before the onset of winter. I am not going to wear the tyres right out. On my previous car, a 2016 BMW 518d estate, I fitted Michelin Cross Climate tyres which were excellent. I see that there is an EVO version of the Bridgestone A005 now. Perfect timing. Also the Michelin CC tyres are now available in the Talisman’s size. The company who supply my tyres in a France and fit them at my home, are offering free fitting with the Michelin’s. However the French brand are €39 more each than the new Bridgestone A005 EVO’s. It will be a difficult choice.

These are 245/40 19 Y tyres and not a common size, so I was pleased that Bridgestone had an All Season product available, as previously on a BMW 5 series estate I had Michelin Cross Climate tyres. I was very happy indeed with the Michelin's, that gave superior all round grip and handling, plus an acceptable performance in snow and ice. They also wore very well staying on the car for two winters.

First impressions of these Bridgestones is that compared to the Continental Sport Contact 5 tyres my car came with from new, they are much more generous in size on the wheel. They make the Continental's appear one size less. These A005 tyres have a far superior rim protector too. My Bridgestones are made in Hungary.

Road noise is about the same as the Continentals, and ride comfort slightly worse but that could be to do with the tyre pressures. I will remove a bit of air from the Bridgestones to ‘tune' the ride better.

It is a bit early to comment on how these tyres cope with winter conditions, but in the wet grip levels are very high and at autoroute speeds aquaplaning resistance is exemplary. The aggressive tread pattern promises a high level of grip when the going gets tough, and I certainly feel much more confident entering the winter period with all season tyres on.

Choosing these tyres via the information in owner reviews on this website and the links to the group tests, have proved to be accurate. Many thanks.