Given
91%
while driving a
Skoda Octavia
(205/55 R16) on
a combination of roads
for 35,000
spirited miles
I rarely leave reviews - but I want to tell the world about these tyres as safety matters - and these tyres are amazing. It is just a little bit of rubber holding you and a ton of metal to the road at 70mph, and in the wet, cold, snow and ice this is not an easy task - these tyres are up to the job. I reckon I've driven ~250k miles in my life, and these are by far the best tyre I've ever owned. I want other road users on them as it will reduce their chance of crashing into me or just crashing and causing delays (selfish I know).
In the dry of summer they are comparable to most other tyres, comfortable, good steering/grip feedback, no extra cabin noise (skoda octavia diesel - well sound proofed).
In the cold / wet they are notably more confidence inspiring than most tyres. Cope well with standing water, and the compound obviously grips well when cold - winter tyres are not just about snow, but grip as the rubber hardens in the cold (geeky but true).
In the snow / ice they are in a league apart - last winter the main road was blocked by drivers who could not move in the snow, I took to the uncleared b roads under 4-6" snow and whilst I drove sensibly I had no problems what so ever. In snowy car parks people wanted my space when I left as it was accessible (it was to me with these tyres) others could not get in as they were slipping all over the place - made me laugh.
Wear - 35k mixed motorway and backroads, fronts worn out (2mm at lowest, 4mm at edges, and just beginning to lose grip in wet!), rears at 5mm all across - so same as previous summer tyres ! My tyres normally wear more on one side, these have been even, but are wearing more in the middle (I normally run well inflated tyres for fuel economy, but these obviously bulge a little more in the middle doing this than previous tyres - will drop 2psi on next set).
And no more expensive than good quality summer tyres - cheaper than upgrading to a 4X4 (whilst a 4X4 may go in the snow on summer tyres, a 4X4 doesn't stop or steer any better than a standard car - it's all in the tyres).
So why wouldn't you get a set