Best Tyres for the Vauxhall Vivaro

Bought 4 new MAXXIS Vansmart AL2 All season tyres for my 2012 Vivaro and fitted last year. Have done about 7,000 miles since. They work fine in wet / dry conditions during the summer months. However this past week I've used them for the first time in snow and I've been very dissapointed. All season tyres are always going to be a bit of a compromise and will never give the same grip and handling in snow and ice that a full winter tyre will. However you should expect it to handle mixed / light snow conditions well. In less than 2 inches of snow the van was sliding around if driven above 30mph and when not going straight. Even had a moment when braking from 10mph that the van started sliding sideways - luckily I didn't go into a ditch. This was the first day after the first snowfall of the winter and about 1 inch of compacted snow and 1 inch of fresh powder. I did not feel safe and had no confidence. In slushy conditions the tyres would skid from stand still- again not ideal. And forget trying to get any grip going uphill from a standing start- almost got stuck coming out of a parking garage.

I've also noticed that the small groves on the tyre tread blocks have started to "squish" together- i.e. the tyre has worn down about 1mm since last year but the tread block patterns do not hold their pattern- this might be contributing to the above handling concerns.

All in- this is not remotely a safe tyre to use in even light snow / in-between conditions - which is what an All/season tyre should do. My van is also empty and running standard wheels so no extra weight or other issues which would change the dynamics of handling. Very dissapointed in these tyres and cant reccomend them for anything but summer use- which in that case, you'd be better getting a summer tyre!

Confidence inspiring tyres.
Covered over 100 miles on them in mostly wet conditions.
The old tyres with approx 3mm tread were always spinning on roundabouts when accelerating from stationary.
Conversely these tyres are sticking to the roads well, I have had only 1 small spin on the left tyre. Considering the state of the road surface and my acceleration, this is acceptable.
Compared with other vans, I have found the Vivaro to be quick to spin front tyres and sometimes under steer.
Therefore it is good to have tyres which are grippy and responsive for a reasonable price.
Can’t comment on road noise/mpg - it’s a van so it is noisy and seems to average 33mpg whatever.
I would definitely buy this tyre again.

I bought these because I needed some tyres for the front of my Vauxhall Vivaro quickly and they were the only ones that my local dealer had. From about 20mph to 50mph they are terrible, noisy and vibrate through the steering. Above about 55mph you do drive out of this. I have now done about 2000 miles on them and really can't bear them any longer. I am going to swap them with the Goodyears on the back but if this doesn't work I will have to change them. Buy cheap buy twice as the saying goes.

The above represent my short period of time owning these tyres (16days) on my 2008 Vivaro 2.0ltr swb Van. I feel that the noise is far less than the tyres I had b4 and the grip is very good - even in the wet. I felt that the cornering in wet was good, with no wandering/slipping at all. Braking has me feeling confident that I shall be able to stop quickly & safely. These tyres are on the front only, as the rear of my Vivaro has two 'odd' makes at either side, but in good depth of tread. As for taking things a bit further re the ability to feel safe at speed and the vehicle staying in control I can say that these tyres are ok while I am driving @ all speeds. At the present I shall consider buying again, but, as you know with vans, the tyres last for ever, as this is the 1st set of tyres in 8 years.! I avverage about 4k a year.