City driving, with its constant starting and stopping, places its own unique pressures upon a vehicle’s mechanicals, and also its tyres. With so many drivers undertaking most or all or their motoring in these conditions, it stands to reason that a demand exists for tyres specifically designed for city traffic. One such product is Goodyear’s DuraGrip, released in March 2007, a tyre its maker promotes as designed especially to cope with constant stopping and starting in heavy traffic conditions.

This city car tyre features a new silica compound that Goodyear claims improves mileage, strengthens the tyre’s wet performance and provides shorter braking distances. The tread pattern is asymmetrical with a closed outside design and two continuous outside ribs to maximise traction on dry surfaces. Wet weather handling is enhanced through the spaces created by the tread’s open design and circumferential grooves, both of which maximise contact area in situations when aquaplaning is a risk factor. To address the issue of lateral stability Goodyear have built stiff blocks into the DuraGrip’s outside shoulder.