Best Tyres for the Volkswagen Golf Mk6 1.4 TSI 160

Tire Experience Comparison: Nokian eLine 2 vs. Continental PremiumContact 7

I wanted to share this review with you because the Nokian eLine 2 was not a very well-known tire model in the Turkish market; however, it offered an unforgettable driving experience for me. I actively used this tire between 2020 and 2024 and switched to the Continental PremiumContact 7 model as of the summer of 2024. When I evaluate it comparatively, my longing for the eLine 2 has deepened over time.

1. Fuel Consumption
With the PremiumContact 7, I observed an increase in average fuel consumption of approximately 1 liter on the same driving style and routes. This difference significantly increases the cost, especially on long distance drives.

2. Indoor Noise
One of the most negative aspects of the PremiumContact 7 is the high road noise. The noise level in the interior on bad asphalt has never been this disturbing in any summer or winter tire I have used in the past. In fact, it makes more noise than winter tires such as Michelin Alpin 4 and Alpin 6. While this situation is at a level that can cause headaches, even passengers are suggesting technical intervention by attributing the problem to the hub bearings. However, all checks reported that the hubs were intact.

3. Driving Dynamics and Performance
The difference becomes especially evident at higher speeds:
-With the Nokian eLine 2, my vehicle could barely go up to 235 km/h on a steep road.
-It is not even possible to maintain a constant speed above 220 km/h with the PremiumContact 7.

Also, in terms of driving characteristics, Nokian gives the vehicle a more agile, fast and responsive structure; with PremiumContact 7, the vehicle becomes cumbersome and slow to respond. By the way, my vehicle's maintenance is complete and its condition is very good.

4. Wet Ground Performance
Although both tires have safety-oriented designs in wet conditions, the Nokian eLine 2's wet grip performance was noticeably superior.
In sudden rain, puddles and slippery corners, Nokian provides the user with a much greater sense of confidence and stability.
The PremiumContact 7 is not bad in this area, but it feels like the Nokian is one step ahead in terms of hydroplaning resistance and braking distance.

5. Nokian eLine 2 – Pros and Cons
Negatives:

Due to its soft dough, its lifespan may be limited to 3 summer seasons.

In the 3rd season, small parts breaking off and a tendency to get damaged easily on rocky roads are observed.

Positive Aspects:

It is well above its class in terms of silence, road holding, agility and driving comfort.

The feeling of confidence it provides on wet surfaces and during sudden manoeuvres makes it ideal for city driving and long distance driving.

6. Conclusion and Choice
If it were available on the market, my choice would still be the Nokian eLine 2. Although the Continental PremiumContact 7 has strong features on paper, it did not meet my expectations in terms of real user experience. Since driving comfort, interior quietness and agility are especially important for me, the Nokian was more successful in these criteria.

Soft sidewall premium touring tyre, better dry and wet grip compare to Conti UC6 and Pirelli P1.
Very quiet and comfortable, but the only downside is wear slight higher than average because of the soft rubber.

Just had a fair bit of snow and attempted to use my Golf GTE with Goodyear F1s - I was going nowhere. Resorted to using my son's Golf TSI - utterly brilliant, tyres gave confidence, they gripped really well both in snow but also in slush. Excellent result

They've got an impressive grip on dry tarmac with quite a good feedback through the steering wheel. You can tell what the tyres are doing, whether understeering or oversteering. They're cheap compare to similar tyres from Michelin PS4 or Bridgestone Potenza S007. The wet weather performance isn't that great, but when they do aquaplane, the tyres will give you plenty of warning and quite controllable. However, if you use these tyres in tarmac with a lot of dust or gravel, they will be very slippery. Golf with only around 200hp was lighting up its traction control because the tyres couldn't get much grip. If you use these on the track, you need to give them some temperature as they're slippery when cold, but when the temp had come up to their operating window, they're quite sticky. Track use, they will last longer than PS4, more durable. Road use, they will have uneven wear and the middle part of the groves cave in (probably because of pressure or maybe the tyres couldn't get enough temp into it) and they will start cracking after 3 years. Don't expect much from comfort because they have stiff sidewall and you could lean on the grip of the tyre when the condition is right.

honestly i was using westlake sa57 around 3 years straight, what i just realize sa57 tyre budget performance Tyre that you are affordable can give you maximum grip especially on track day or daily.

Ok tyre for the price, wouldn't buy again due to the fact that grip in the wet is very poor and makes the car want to understeer very easily and lose traction. Other than that they are exactly the same as any other tyre.

I'm reviewing the second set of these tyres that I'm using for the last six years (3 years and about 20000 km each set) driving in city and motorways. Most of my driving experience with these tyres is in dry conditions and temperatures above 15 degrees were grip and handling is excellent. The good road feedback in dry conditions and the safe '' feeling'' at high motorway speeds are the main reasons I bought them again since in the 205 55 16 dimension are one of the best sport tyres. I don't like the feedback of the premium tyres that dominate the aforementioned dimension.
The bad thing is that they don't last much. Treadware is 240 so they are pretty soft and easily worn in hursh roads. On the other hand in hot conditions they do not dry up fast, (hair thin cracks) maybe because they are too soft and wear fast so new rubber comes to surface and replaces the dryed one (personal explanation) . Mine lasted three years but with a rather low km per year (10k) use.
Can't say much for the wet. In wet conditions in city they tend to loose grip easily. Now that they are worn don't provide enough confidence on wet roads.
I will replace them with pilot sport 4.

Performance was pretty good for the money (in both dry & wet), but it didn't last very long. 2 of them bubbled up for no reason, both within the first 5 months. I had to change them so obviously I can't recommend them.

hi, i have had these tyres on my vw golf 1.4tsi with 170BHP after remap - this is not the fastest car but is a little nippy for a 1.4 - Now after getting it remapped i wanted a good set of tyres, Halford highly reccomended that "ALTENZO" Is the tyres that i should go for!
I drove the vehicle around locally on a daily basis for 1000 miles and had the tyres switched around from front to back at 500 miles so they can scrub in properly.

after about 3/4 weeks i went out on my first distance driving. That is when i realised what a big mistake i have made. I really DO NOT KNOW HOW THESE TYRES ARE EVEN LEGAL.
Driving on these tyres was like driving on Plastic tyres. In the wet they are absolutly terrible. Aquaplaining is just the start never mind when the vehicle starts veering side ways. Here is a typical example
" You are driving down the road in rainy conditions doing 30MPH with your family in the car, 100yards later you indicate to go left. you slow down an try to turn left but clearly you car is going RIGHT!!!"

THIS IS THE WORST TERRIBLE SH*T TYRES I HAVE EVER BOUGHT AND I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT TO BUY THESE

I HAD TO DO WHEEL SPINS ON EVERY CORNER JUST TO KILL THESE TYRES SO I CAN REPLACE THEM WITH ANOTHER SET

I HAVE SINCE THEN REPLACED THE FRONT ONES WITH *** NEXEN N8000 *** AND HAD THEM FITTED TO THE BACK AND OH! MY GOD!WHAT A HUGE DIFFERNECE THEY MADE. DRY & WET GRIP IS EXCELLENT!

I HAVE NOW STARTED WHEEL SPIINING AGAIN TO KILL THE LAST SH*T PAIR OF ALTENZOZ AND I AM LOOKING TO REPLACE THEM WITH THE NEW NEXEN PATTERN - Nexen N Fera SU1 - VERY GOOD REVIEWS AND ALSO THEY ARE RATED "A" FOR THE WET GRIP WOW!

The RTs are really decent tyres, with amazing dry grip when warm and new and excellent wet grip, although I always go very cautiously when it rains. Dry grip does deteriorate with age and tread getting more shallow. The tyre also needs to get slightly warm to grip really well.

Although Dunlop calls it SportMaxx, it ain't really that max(x)... It is sporty and goes through corners very nicely, not letting go easily, but you don't get much information through the steering wheel. But I guess the same can be said of many a "sporty" tyre of today...

Comfort-wise, it is very quiet and compliant. You do lose some of the compliance if you increase the air pressure to get it to talk to you though. And the noise increases with age and the tread getting shallower.

The most troubling thing for me about this tyre is that at some point one of the tyres developed a fault that caused it to vibrate. The tyre originally was at the rear and the vibration was slight, but when I rotated and it got at the front, it made the steering wheel vibrate at 120-140 kph, which is really annoying. Yes, I went through multiple wheel-balancing sessions and I checked the car's alignment, everything was fine, so I blame the tyres. I guess their light construction (their weight is very low) didn't cope too well at some point with the Greek roads..