The excellent Swedish publication ViBilagare has just released their 2020 summer SUV tyre test. Testing seven of the most popular on-road 225/60 R18 tyres, ViBilagare also included the the mild all-terrain Continental CrossContact LX2 tyre as a very useful benchmark as to how much on-road performance you lose out on by fitting one of the very best mild off-road tyres on the market.

As usual, we'll summarise the important data from the test below, and recommend you head over to the brilliant ViBilagare website for a more in depth look.

Dry

Dry braking was led by the new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV, stopping the test BMW X3 0.3 meters ahead of the second placed Bridgestone Turanza T005 and 0.7 meters ahead of the third placed Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5. The premium mild all-terrain tyre was considerably worse than even the worst pure on-road SUV tyre, stopping the vehicle a huge seven meters later than the test winning Michelin.

Dry handling was again led by Bridgestone, Goodyear and Michelin, but this time the Goodyear and Bridgestone SUV tyres had the advantage, tying on a 66.4 second lap time, with Michelin 0.4 seconds behind. Again, the mild all-terrain tyre struggled, early 2 seconds off the pace.

Wet

Wet braking was again won by Michelin, with a more significant advantage over the rest of the tyres than in the dry.

Michelins wet advantage continued to the wet handling and straight aquaplane testing, with Goodyear, Bridgestone and Nokian also performing well in all wet tests. Sadly, the mild off-road tyre didn't perform any better in the wet than it did in the dry, losing all three of the wet tests.

Environment

ViBilagare did an excellent job of rating each tyres subjective comfort rating, which is how the tyre feels and sounds in the cabin, rather than a simple drive by noise test.

All eight tyres were close, but as we've seen in other tests the Nokian Hakka Blue 2 SUV and Vredestein Ultrac Satin both provide excellent levels of comfort while driving on all surfaces. The mild all-terrain tyre finally excelled in a test, matching the very best of the on-road tyres in comfort levels.

The subjective noise test results were close. ViBilagare also tested objective drive-by external noise at two different speeds on two different surfaces, so head over to their website to see the full results.

The rolling resistance testing was also close, but as seen in other tests, the Bridgestone Turanza T005 has an advantage over its premium rivals.

Results

1st: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV
225/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Test # Result Best Difference % Dry Braking 1st 33.9 M 100% Dry Handling 3rd 66.8 s 66.4 s +0.4 s 99.4% Wet Braking 1st 21.5 M 100% Wet Handling 1st 71.59 s 100% Straight Aqua 1st 90.4 Km/H 100% Subj. Comfort 4th 3 Points 4 Points -1 Points 75% Subj. Noise 6th 2 Points 4 Points -2 Points 50% Rolling Resistance 6th 5.18 kg / t 4.97 kg / t +0.21 kg / t 95.95% Near faultless performance in the dry and wet, good balance, safe driving characteristics. Steering not as linear as the Bridgestone and Goodyear, a little noise, high price. Read Reviews    Buy from £153.01
2nd: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
225/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Test # Result Best Difference % Dry Braking 3rd 34.6 M 33.9 M +0.7 M 97.98% Dry Handling 1st 66.4 s 100% Wet Braking 4th 23.6 M 21.5 M +2.1 M 91.1% Wet Handling 2nd 71.82 s 71.59 s +0.23 s 99.68% Straight Aqua 3rd 88.1 Km/H 90.4 Km/H -2.3 Km/H 97.46% Subj. Comfort 4th 3 Points 4 Points -1 Points 75% Subj. Noise 1st 4 Points 100% Rolling Resistance 3rd 5.08 kg / t 4.97 kg / t +0.11 kg / t 97.83% Good dry handling, excellent aquaplaning resistance, good wet performance. Steering not as sharp as the Bridgestone, high price. Read Reviews    Buy from £168.54
3rd: Nokian Hakka Blue 2 SUV
225/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Test # Result Best Difference % Dry Braking 4th 36.9 M 33.9 M +3 M 91.87% Dry Handling 4th 67 s 66.4 s +0.6 s 99.1% Wet Braking 3rd 22.9 M 21.5 M +1.4 M 93.89% Wet Handling 4th 72.97 s 71.59 s +1.38 s 98.11% Straight Aqua 2nd 88.4 Km/H 90.4 Km/H -2 Km/H 97.79% Subj. Comfort 1st 4 Points 100% Subj. Noise 1st 4 Points 100% Rolling Resistance 4th 5.1 kg / t 4.97 kg / t +0.13 kg / t 97.45% Very comfortable, low noise, well balanced and easy to drive. Average dry braking. Read Reviews
4th: Bridgestone Turanza T005
225/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Test # Result Best Difference % Dry Braking 2nd 34.2 M 33.9 M +0.3 M 99.12% Dry Handling 1st 66.4 s 100% Wet Braking 2nd 22.7 M 21.5 M +1.2 M 94.71% Wet Handling 3rd 72.84 s 71.59 s +1.25 s 98.28% Straight Aqua 6th 80 Km/H 90.4 Km/H -10.4 Km/H 88.5% Subj. Comfort 7th 2 Points 4 Points -2 Points 50% Subj. Noise 6th 2 Points 4 Points -2 Points 50% Rolling Resistance 1st 4.97 kg / t 100% Fun to drive with quick steering response, short dry braking, excellent dry handling, good wet handling, lowest fuel use. Average aquaplaning resistance, high noise. Read Reviews    Buy from £126.78
5th: Vredestein Ultrac Satin
225/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Test # Result Best Difference % Dry Braking 6th 37.1 M 33.9 M +3.2 M 91.37% Dry Handling 4th 67 s 66.4 s +0.6 s 99.1% Wet Braking 6th 24.8 M 21.5 M +3.3 M 86.69% Wet Handling 5th 74.51 s 71.59 s +2.92 s 96.08% Straight Aqua 4th 87.2 Km/H 90.4 Km/H -3.2 Km/H 96.46% Subj. Comfort 1st 4 Points 100% Subj. Noise 1st 4 Points 100% Rolling Resistance 5th 5.17 kg / t 4.97 kg / t +0.2 kg / t 96.13% Good aquaplaning resistance, high comfort levels, well priced. Below average braking performance in the dry and wet. Read Reviews
6th: Pirelli Scorpion Verde
225/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Test # Result Best Difference % Dry Braking 4th 36.9 M 33.9 M +3 M 91.87% Dry Handling 4th 67 s 66.4 s +0.6 s 99.1% Wet Braking 5th 24.5 M 21.5 M +3 M 87.76% Wet Handling 6th 76.2 s 71.59 s +4.61 s 93.95% Straight Aqua 5th 80.2 Km/H 90.4 Km/H -10.2 Km/H 88.72% Subj. Comfort 7th 2 Points 4 Points -2 Points 50% Subj. Noise 6th 2 Points 4 Points -2 Points 50% Rolling Resistance 2nd 5.07 kg / t 4.97 kg / t +0.1 kg / t 98.03% Low fuel consumption, well balanced in the dry. Poor wet handling with sudden loss of grip, low aquaplaning resistance, poor comfort. Read Reviews    Buy from £118.22
7th: Nankang AS1
225/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Test # Result Best Difference % Dry Braking 7th 38 M 33.9 M +4.1 M 89.21% Dry Handling 7th 67.5 s 66.4 s +1.1 s 98.37% Wet Braking 7th 25.6 M 21.5 M +4.1 M 83.98% Wet Handling 7th 77.79 s 71.59 s +6.2 s 92.03% Straight Aqua 7th 79.1 Km/H 90.4 Km/H -11.3 Km/H 87.5% Subj. Comfort 4th 3 Points 4 Points -1 Points 75% Subj. Noise 5th 3 Points 4 Points -1 Points 75% Rolling Resistance 7th 5.19 kg / t 4.97 kg / t +0.22 kg / t 95.76% Cheap to buy, progressive loss of grip with early warning. Low grip level in all conditions, with oversteer balance. Read Reviews    Buy from £108.32
8th: Continental ContiCrossContact LX 2
225/60 R18 3PMSF: no	Test # Result Best Difference % Dry Braking 8th 40.1 M 33.9 M +6.2 M 84.54% Dry Handling 8th 68.1 s 66.4 s +1.7 s 97.5% Wet Braking 8th 26.3 M 21.5 M +4.8 M 81.75% Wet Handling 8th 78.01 s 71.59 s +6.42 s 91.77% Straight Aqua 8th 76 Km/H 90.4 Km/H -14.4 Km/H 84.07% Subj. Comfort 1st 4 Points 100% Subj. Noise 1st 4 Points 100% Rolling Resistance 8th 5.29 kg / t 4.97 kg / t +0.32 kg / t 93.95% High levels of comfort, the grip releases progressively with early warning [Tested against on-road tyres]Generally a lower level of grip compared to on-road specific tyres, poor steering feedback. Read Reviews    Buy from £145.76