Goodyear adds 4×4 fitments to EfficientGrip range

SUV and 4×4 drivers are now able to join their car-owning brethren in fitting Goodyear EfficientGrip tyres to their vehicles. The newly launched line-up aimed at this segment is called the EfficientGrip SUV and Goodyear says it provides the road grip qualities found in the passenger car version of the EfficientGrip. The range is, adds Goodyear, available for a “solid range of SUV/4×4 vehicles”, from luxury/full-size vehicles through standard, compact and sub-compact ranges.

“As SUV and 4×4 vehicles become more economical and car manufacturers work hard to meet, and exceed, ever stricter environmental standards, Goodyear has worked as hard to ensure that its tyres support this ongoing drive,” stated Hugues Despres, brand director EMEA at Goodyear. “Today, the arrival of Goodyear’s EfficientGrip SUV is delivering on this need, introducing a tyre that supports fuel economy, delivers advanced features designed to improve wet and dry handling and braking, while ensuring a smoother, quieter ride.”

Features found in the EfficientGrip SUV include 3D blades in the tread, which Goodyear says are intended to improve the tyre’s overall contact with the road and reducing the vehicle’s braking distance; tests conducted by the Goodyear Technical Center Luxembourg using a size 255/55R18 109V XL tyre showed the EfficientGrip SUV to stop “several metres” shorter than the predecessor tyre. Wet surface grip is dealt with by a tread compound that is, says Goodyear, tightly woven into the tyre’s structure and uses traction resins further. Noise harmonics are said to be improved by an optimised block design and sequence, while a lower overall tyre weight compared to previous models reportedly provides drivers with improved steering precision and handling.