Best Tyres for the SEAT LEON 1.8TSI

We are on our third set of Matadors used on a 1.8 Seat Leon tsi FR. The car is driven sensibly and always within the road conditions primarily in 50 mph twity poor country roads and motorways in the UK and France. We do not do drag strip dashes as seems prevalent with a lot of people these days.
These Matadors are fantastic and last incredibly well. At 30 k miles fronts were still legal but near the 1.6 mm marker. The rears were totally legal but had began to go slightly out of round. Ive put these tyres on my other car too (e class Mercedes).
SIMPLY FANTASTIC. The price has sadly increased over the years. People used to refer to them as budget but now the tyre snobs call them mid range. We're in the UK and have driven at 110 kph in France in heavy rain . No sign of aqua planning and superb handling and feedback. Why anyone would choose to spend two or three times as much beats me.

I bought these tires in 2019 secondhand with 6,5 mm of wear. They were a year old at the point I got them. Meaning dot 2018. I have to replace them now as they are running for around 6-7 years.

I live in Eastern Europe = Very hot summers (30-38'C), a fair bit of rainy days and a couple of weeks of snow on the streets that aren't really cleaned. I'm a spirited driver but not making large mileages. Having said that, my noteable moments as a review

Bad moments first
- At six year mark I went to a seaside country of Montenegro for a week. The temps there, are, I'd say, around 38-40'C constantly. The tires were like jelly. Braking was very inconsistent depending on road exposure to sun and the heat. I could feel how they stick to the asphalt, roll, stretch and then unstick. After I came back, I noticed that first time after six years, my tires had those dreaded holes where pieces of it have detached/broken off. Having said this, I think @tyrereviews should/could make a more elaborate tests on hot summer roads and how these tires behave there.
- At six year mark in winter period, several sub zero days caught the remaining water and ice appeared. They tires were completely useless. I went in a very short, very steep street, barely moving the car (knowing there was probably some ice). I just skidded and stopped when the wheel hit the horizontal ground of intersecting street. Needless to say I got scared in my pants.
- At seven year mark - got stuck in the mud one day. The rain came pouring that day and I couldn't get out the parking place haha.

Good moments
- At two years mark (tires three year old by then) I had a couple run ins with large puddle on a dark country road. Nothing happened.
- At five, as well as six year mark, I had two sudden heavy breakings on the highway. The sky broke over us in a matter of minutes. The rain flooded everything so much so, the truck in front became a blur from the amount of water pouring at us. From driving 130km/h, we went into crawl mode at 50/60km/h in the matter of minutes. At this point I was impressed as I was sure I'd simply skid and hit the truck from behind.
- At six year mark (same as Ice story above) we had some heavy snow. I waited for the streets to be moderately clean so I can drive. No problems up the hill or down as long as there is no clear ice. Compacted or regular snow, no problems at all.

General observations; not necessarily good or bad.
- The tires are on the soft side (compared to season tire) and I can feel the sidewall bending slightly when steering. Nothing you don't get used to, but there it is. Other than that, after running them for 6/7 years absolutely no problem with them.
- After a few hot city summers the tire edges started looking a bit scorched. However, I never had any problems and the scorched layer would wear off.
- Seat Leons MK2 don't generally have a very good sound insulation (Compared to Golf 5/6) so when driving above 100km/h you can hear the tires being a part of your conversation with others. It's not an unpleasant sound, but it's there. Not sure if it's the tire or sound insulation on the car.

Other than the infamous sea-side episode where the behaved like jelly, I am really satisfied with them. I'm now tempted to buy Goodyear Vector 4 Gen 3. Not sure what to expect.

When I bought my car was with Conti 5. I changed them with Bridgestone Potenza and the last change was with Nexen.
In first I was excited! There was no noise. The handling was very good and when I thought that I spend 280 euros (400+ was needed for premium tyres) for a vfm buy.
After 20.000km with speeds never exceed 120km, economy and safe driving (no hard accelerations, brakes or cornering) because of a newborn I saw that almost I need new tyres. Spinning, ABS and TCS engagement occurs too often and you can see why in the tyres. And the finally verdict against them was a huge crack in the internal side of the one tyre which was discovered when the warning light for tire pressure light up and I move to the tyre shop to check it.
For me it's a "never again" it's a dangerous tyre and this kind of failure as I can read is something almost common.

Good tyres with a good grip on an ice road. Not enough road feedback on a dry road and higher speed.

Although on 17” felt pretty good and secure, on smaller 16” felt weigh, dull and slightly unresponsive. It seems for smaller sizes it’s more of a comfort tyre than feedback oriented.

Good tire. More quiet than my summer tires Continental Sportcontact. Works well in snow and ice, suits for sporty driving. Wear was good (about 45000km) but in the end the tread edges became cracking and tires started loosing air when there was still 3mm tread left. Overall worked well through 12 months in Nordic winter and additional 6 months in Nordic summer period. Would recommend.

Used for 2 months. First I can say that these tires are really quiet. Snow handling is great, I was driving in a snow storm on a highway and felt very safe. Haven't tested too much icy roads yet, but seems to be okay by the first impression.
Sometimes tends to be searching for a path on a straight road, need to adjust with the steering wheel. But not too bad, considering the 225 width.
Dry grip is average, wet grip is bit loose, powerful FWD car cannot put the torque onto the tarmac, gets wheel spin little too easy. Although aquaplaning is great, deep thread works well.

Replaced my factory tires (bridgestone potenza s1) with these, I gotta say that the grip is better! and they are much cheaper than my original tyres so definitely good investment.
Also the Assymetric 5 has a good rim protector which the bridgestone I had didn't have at all..
Only con (which might count as a pro to some people): the assymetric 5 feels softer than my previous tires which means that the road feedback on the assymetric 5 is lower than the bridgestone, BUT, they absorb road bumps and pot holes much better so its up to what you prefer: more comfortable ride or better road feedback.

Bottom line - amazing tires for that price, super recommended.

Done 20 000 km wear is good. Good grip on the all conditions, comfortable ride and good performance on wet. This tires better than Bridgestone ER300 which were on O.E. More comfortable and have smoother ride. Pleased with my choice the following tires yokohama advan apex v601.

Drove them for around 30,000 miles.
Too expensive for what offering. They should bear the name Mediocre year F8...
The wear is terrible. Need to be to motorway for half an hour dricing more than 120km/h to start warming up. For town wet cruises close to dangerous.