2016 GF All Season Tyre Test

Test Summary
Wet BrakingGoodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2
Michelin CrossClimate
Pirelli Cinturato AllSeason
Continental Eco Contact 5
Dry BrakingContinental Eco Contact 5
Wet HandlingGoodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2
Uniroyal AllSeasonExpert
Nokian WeatherProof
Dunlop Winter Sport 5
Rolling ResistanceGoodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2
Dunlop Winter Sport 5
Nokian WeatherProof
Pirelli Cinturato AllSeason
Continental Eco Contact 5
NoiseGoodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2
Dunlop Winter Sport 5
Snow HandlingGoodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2
Vredestein Quatrac 5
Falken EUROALL SEASON AS200
Continental Eco Contact 5
Westlake SW602 All Season
Hankook Kinergy 4S
Nokian WeatherProof
Dunlop Winter Sport 5
Michelin CrossClimate
This year the German magazine "Gute Fahrt" have tested nine all season tyres in 205/55 R16 using a VW Golf, plus summer and winter tyre for comparison.

While the full results are summarised below, we thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at how the all season tyres compared to the summer Continental EcoContact 5 and winter Dunlop WinterSport 5 included in the test.

Dry

In dry handling, the Continental summer tyre offered the best steering feel, grip and balance, however the testers found the Michelin and Goodyear were surprisingly close for all season tyres. The Dunlop winter matched a number of the all season tyres, showing how many all season tyres could also be marketed as full winter without any change in composition.

In dry braking the summer once again took first place but the Michelin all season had a nearly identical performance, with the Goodyear and Pirelli a little behind the Michelin.

Wet

During the wet testing, the summer tyre held its advantage with the Continental finishing top of the wet handling tests, but this time with the Goodyear and Hankook all season tyres narrowly behind it, with the Michelin and Falken a small percentage further back.

Under wet braking the Michelin was once again the only tyre able to get close to the Continental summer, with the Goodyear the next best, some 6% behind the Michelin.

The Nokian managed to reign supreme under the aquaplaning tests, beating even the winter tyre which was the next best tyre included.

Snow

Unsurprisingly the Continental summer tyre couldn't perform in the snow, scoring less than 50% of even the worst all season tyre in each test.

Perhaps more surprisingly was the performance of the Nokian all season tyre, which managed to beat the dedicated winter tyre under snow braking, and match the winter tyre during the snow traction test. The Goodyear all season was a very reasonable third in each test, and the Michelin CrossClimate could brake and accelerate on terms with the majority of all season tyres, showing the advantage in the summer doesn't compromise the winter performance too highly.

Results

1st: Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2

Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 61
  2. Dry: 10
  3. Wet: 21
  4. Snow: 15
  5. Comfort: 5
  6. Rolling Resistance: 5
  7. Noise: 5
Almost a match for the Dunlop in the snow and the Continental in summer conditions, good handling on dry surfaces

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2nd: Michelin CrossClimate

Michelin CrossClimate
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 54
  2. Dry: 10
  3. Wet: 20
  4. Snow: 11
  5. Comfort: 4
  6. Rolling Resistance: 4
  7. Noise: 5
Good handling, best steering feel and short braking distances on dry surfaces, good handling and short braking distances on wet surfaces
Tendency to understeer in the snow, average traction and relatively long braking distance on snow

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3rd: Dunlop Winter Sport 5

Dunlop Winter Sport 5
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 58
  2. Dry: 7
  3. Wet: 21
  4. Snow: 15
  5. Comfort: 5
  6. Rolling Resistance: 5
  7. Noise: 5
In the snow the Dunlop is king, but in this test the all-season Goodyear and Uniroyal almost managed to match it. In summer conditions Dunlop was strong in handing because it has a very predictable behavior, but because of the soft compound, it will wear quickly in hot weather

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4th: Nokian WeatherProof

Nokian WeatherProof
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 58
  2. Dry: 8
  3. Wet: 21
  4. Snow: 15
  5. Comfort: 4
  6. Rolling Resistance: 5
  7. Noise: 5
High traction, short braking distances and good handling with only a small tendency to understeer in the snow, very high resistance to aquaplaning
Understeer in the wet and dry

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5th: Hankook Kinergy 4S

Hankook Kinergy 4S
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 52
  2. Dry: 8
  3. Wet: 20
  4. Snow: 13
  5. Comfort: 4
  6. Rolling Resistance: 2
  7. Noise: 5
Good value for money, good handling, short braking distances and high traction on snow, short braking distances on wet roads, high resistance to aquaplaning
Relatively high rolling resistance

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6th: Uniroyal AllSeasonExpert

Uniroyal AllSeasonExpert
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 51
  2. Dry: 7
  3. Wet: 18
  4. Snow: 15
  5. Comfort: 4
  6. Rolling Resistance: 3
  7. Noise: 4
Very good results in the snow
Poor handling on wet roads, long braking distances on dry and wet roads

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7th: Continental Eco Contact 5

Continental Eco Contact 5
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 50
  2. Dry: 10
  3. Wet: 23
  4. Snow: 3
  5. Comfort: 4
  6. Rolling Resistance: 5
  7. Noise: 5
In this test, the summer Continental was the standard in the dry and wet
Extremely weak on snow

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8th: Falken EUROALL SEASON AS200

Falken EUROALL SEASON AS200
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 49
  2. Dry: 9
  3. Wet: 19
  4. Snow: 11
  5. Comfort: 4
  6. Rolling Resistance: 1
  7. Noise: 5
Low Price, good handling and short braking distances in the snow, good handling on dry surfaces, acceptable handling on wet surfaces (even though the tendency to understeer)
High rolling resistance (the only noticeable flaw)

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9th: Pirelli Cinturato AllSeason

Pirelli Cinturato AllSeason
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 47
  2. Dry: 10
  3. Wet: 17
  4. Snow: 7
  5. Comfort: 4
  6. Rolling Resistance: 5
  7. Noise: 4
Very good handling and short braking distances on dry roads, short braking distances on wet surfaces, low rolling resistance
Marked tendency to understeer on wet roads, poor traction and long braking distances on snow

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10th: Vredestein Quatrac 5

Vredestein Quatrac 5
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 47
  2. Dry: 8
  3. Wet: 15
  4. Snow: 11
  5. Comfort: 4
  6. Rolling Resistance: 4
  7. Noise: 5
Good handling and short braking distance on dry roads, good handling and high traction on snow
A tendency to understeer and long braking distances on wet roads

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11th: Westlake SW602 All Season

Westlake SW602 All Season
  • 205/55 R16
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 43
  2. Dry: 6
  3. Wet: 15
  4. Snow: 10
  5. Comfort: 4
  6. Rolling Resistance: 3
  7. Noise: 5
Satisfactory handling on snow, in the dry and wet (but worse than the best tyres)
Low braking performance, the weakest resistance to aquaplaning

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