Writing about the
Avon ZV7 given
69% (215-55-16-V)
Driving on
a combination of roads for 14000
average miles
I have had altogether 8 of these tyres on 2 cars (215/55R16 on a Vectra and 205/55R16 on a Kia Ceed 1st gen) and, together with my wife, have done more than 22000 miles on them.
So, good points first. These tyres wear well - a set of them lasted for 14000 miles in the front of my diesel Vectra, and would have lasted about 15500 miles if I didn't have to change them before a very long driving holiday abroad. This is good for the front axle of a Vectra with the heavy 1.9 litre lump, especially after my previous Uniroyals. I also managed to buy them quite cheap, up to a point.
The grip in the dry is not bad, provided the road is in a decent condition. For some reason on the Vectra they behave much better than on the Kia - goes on to say that the tyre characteristics have to match the suspension. They also lose the grip progressively and tell you they do so, again on a decent road.
Now to the bad points:
They aren't very good in the wet, which in British climate is not ideal... Not much grip altogether, but the worst point is their tendency to aquaplanning. In my driving life I have used some better and worse tyres but when it comes to aquaplanning, these come as one of the worst. Any water deeper than 2mm, any speed greater than 50mph, and bang! goes the grip and handling, and you start feeling more like a passenger than a driver. Which, in British climate and with knackered roads full of ruts and tracks, is very bad. So Avon is a British company, right? One would think they'd have made a tyre suitable for downpours... But maybe I'm spoiled after these previous Uniroyals.
Three more things: they are quite noisy, especially after a while, they have subjectively a rather high rolling resistance, and they don't like worn, tired roads, especially grater-like wear of the surface (lots of small bumps with different asphalts coming from wear and repairs). Which again, in today's Britain... ;)
I had 8 of them in 2 cars, mostly because they were attractively priced. However, with their price going up fast, I can't recommend them any more. Either be honest to yourself, do a research, pay £20 less and buy something budget that fares similarly in the tests (yes, some are around), or cough up around £15-25 more and get something that is premium, not only aspires to be.