In its latest test, Auto Bild Sportscars fits ten brands of winter tyre in the size 235/35 R19 on a BMW M135i to assess their performance across a range of conditions. Testers Henning Klipp and Dierk Möller encountered significant progress in winter tyre technology, particularly in snow and ice performance, but their testing but also highlighted ongoing challenges for some brands of winter tyre in wet and dry conditions.
Manufacturers approach tyre suitability for electric vehicles from varying angles. While some believe that EVs require specialised fitments, a growing number promote their entire product ranges as equally suitable for electric, petrol and diesel vehicles. Examining both approaches, Auto Bild has tested five standard tyre models and three specialised EV tyres. It fitted these eight products to a Kia EV6 in size 235/55 R19.
Sales of all-season tyres continue to grow, with these products finding favour with both private and fleet customers. For UK motorists, their appeal stems from the reality that the weather isn’t warm and sunny every day of the year; in other parts of Europe, all-season tyres offer an alternative to seasonal tyre swaps. But do all-season tyres meet the high expectations of performance car drivers? Auto Bild Sportscars has tested 11 brands of size 225/40 R18 all-season tyres to find out.
Who likes tyre tests? Continental does, and with good reason. Continental products have won seven of the nine European passenger vehicle tyre tests that we’ve encountered in recent weeks and achieved a none too shabby second place in the eighth. As for the ninth test, no Continental tyre took part, giving other brands a chance to get acquainted with the podium.
When choosing 4×4 and SUV tyres, it is ‘better to have, and not need.’ With this in mind, Auto Bild Allrad examines both on and off-road strengths in its 2024 summer tyre test. The publication examined 11 brands in size 235/55R19, and although none of the candidates achieved top marks on every type of surface, two tyres offer an “all-round no worries package on and off the road.”
Tyres are much of a muchness these days, at least to look at. Auto Bild Sportscars laments that tyre brands are no longer easily identifiable by their tread patterns, as the diversity of former times has been replaced by a “yawning boredom in the uniformity of unimaginatively cut longitudinal groove patterns.” But an absence of aesthetic outliers doesn’t mean all tyres offer the same levels of performance or safety.
Any prospective tyre buyer searching online for 205/55 R16 tyres risks being overwhelmed by a plethora of products. This bread-and-butter tyre size has been an absolute bestseller for many years and is standard equipment on popular compact cars such as the VW Golf, Audi A3, Vauxhall Astra and Seat Leon. The presence of so many tyres in this dimension complicates the process of separating the wheat from the chaff, but Auto Bild helps here with its 2024 summer tyre test.
The ‘magic triangle’ of tyre development depicts the conflict between efficiency and safety, but must we really sacrifice one quality when optimising the other? Auto Bild looks at a trio of tyres in an attempt to answer this question.
Campervans based upon vehicles such as the VW Transporter are a popular choice for those wishing to see more of the countryside, and Auto Bild gave them some deserved attention in a recent tyre test. The publication looked at 12 all-season tyres in size 235/55 R17. It fitted these to a VW T6 and then found out how the tyres performed in dry, wet and snowy conditions. Three products gained the top ‘exemplary’ rating and Auto Bild opined that they, along with four ‘good’ rated tyres, are well-suited to the task at hand.
When sharing the results of both its main summer 2022 test of 50 tyres and the performance-oriented Auto Bild Sportscars tyre test, esteemed European publication Auto Bild commented that the days of Chinese-made tyres failing these tests due to outdated technology are well and truly behind us. Auto Bild spoke about one product from China in particularly favourable tones.
With summer approaching, Auto Bild Sportscars has delivered a timely test of 15 tyre combinations. The publication examined 11 brands in the all-round size 225/45 R18 and four as a mixed 225/45 (front) and 255/40 R18 (rear) fitment, taking each set “to the limit and a bit beyond” with a series of tests in wet and dry conditions. The goal was to identify the “tops and flops” on the market this season.
Introducing its 2022 summer tyre comparative test, Auto Bild Allrad comments that SUV tyres really can “make a noticeable hole in the household budget.” – but motorists can nevertheless save money by choosing the right tyre.
Every tyre competing in round two of the Auto Bild summer tyre test has already proven its ability to stop without undue fuss on wet and dry roads, and the testers now turn their attention to separating the great amongst the 21 finalists from the good and just okay. Auto Bild honoured three of the size 215/55 R17 tyres with its top exemplary rating. The publication considered further seven tyres good and ten satisfactory. The last-placed tyre gains just a conditional recommendation.
After conducting no less than five comparative evaluations for various Auto Bild titles, testing specialists Dierk Möller and Henning Klipp possess a solid understanding of which all-season and winter tyres are worth recommending, and which aren’t. Auto Bild has presented a summary of Möller and Klipp’s testing for the current season in its 42/2021 issue and at the same time has named its leading manufacturers in the all-season and winter categories. Three brands occupy the podium’s upper step.
While anyone prioritising ride comfort above every other factor should steer clear of low profile, higher rim diameter tyres, motorists who want a more dynamic driving experience certainly benefit from a couple of extra inches and a flatter sidewall. Auto Bild has tested 15 size 235/35 R19 tyres suitable for sporty compact cars such as the VW Golf GTI, Audi S3 and Seat Leon Cupra.
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