magazine and website tyre tests, independent tyre tests, manufacturer tyre tests
Can energy-efficient summer tyres still deliver excellent grip in wet and dry conditions? That’s the question Poland’s Motor magazine set out to answer in its latest comparative tyre test. The publication focused on 205/55 R16, a size popular among compact and mid-size vehicles like the VW Golf, Ford Focus, Vauxhall/Opel Astra, Audi A3, and even electric models such as the Nissan Leaf.
Netherlands-based motoring association ANWB has compared 18 models of size 225/40 R18 summer tyres. Its test team subjected the these to safety-related tests in wet and dry conditions, these contributing 70% towards the final score. They additionally appraised rolling resistance, fuel consumption, noise characteristics and wear.
Kumho Tyre is well pleased with the ‘exemplary’ rating its Kumho Ecsta PS71 gained in the Auto Bild 2025 summer tyre test. It earned the motoring publication’s top rating when tested in size 225/40R18, finishing joint fourth from a total of 52 candidates. Auto Bild particularly praised the Ecsta PS71 for its outstanding performance in dry and the best result in wet conditions.
Motorcycling magazine Motorrad has published the first part of its spring 2025 tyre test, and this ends with an outcome that seems contradictory at first glance. In this product comparison, six testers scrutinised six different tyres for BMW GS motorcycles, using six identical BMW R 1300 GS bikes. So far, so good. But while each tester ultimately chose a different tyre as their personal favourite, the magazine did not announce six winners. Instead, Motorrad’s overall ratings ranged from ‘very good’ to ‘satisfactory’. How can this be?
SUVs and 4x4s are popular in the UK, and even though most spend their entire lives on sealed roads, a sizeable number of drivers demand tyres that will see them good should they ever encounter gravel, sand or grass. Auto Bild Allrad has compared ten SUV tyres in size 255/55 R18. Nine brands in total, with Goodyear represented twice – although it probably thinks once would have been enough.
We’re in the thick of tyre test season, and motoring association ADAC has published a comparative evaluation with a difference. Instead of car, SUV or 4×4 tyres, it has chosen to test tyres for trailers, caravans and horse trailers. All ten brands in this test are specifically developed trailer tyres that carry the designations ‘trailer use only’ or ‘free rolling tyre’. ADAC has chosen the popular trailer size 185 R 14, with the speed rating N for speeds up to 87 mph or 140 km/h.
In its 2025 summer tyre test, Sportauto not only highlights the advantages of mixed diameter fitments, it also compares original equipment and aftermarket tyres, emphasising why the former may not be the best choice – despite being tailor made for a specific vehicle model. In this case the vehicle is a BMW M4; the motoring publication evaluates four brands of tyre in the combination of 275/35 R19 at the front and 285/30 R20 at the rear, a setup increasingly common in high-performance sports cars.
If our interactions with tyres were a relationship, it’d quite possibly be a toxic one. No matter how much our round, rubbery partners deliver, we demand more and more. They’ve given us durability, increased grip, high-speed performance, traction in the wet, run-flat capabilities, low noise and reduced rolling resistance, but in the end, it hasn’t been enough – now we want our tyres to be sustainable, too. Tyre makers have responded with products that claim to satisfy this wish; motoring publication auto motor und sport (ams) puts six of these through their paces.
Cars with 19-inch rims were still something special even ten years ago, but not these days. This size is standard for many manufacturers, particularly on their sportier models. Auto Bild Sportscars has selected 245/35 R19 for its summer 2025 test, a dimension that is a popular optional fitment for the now-retired Audi TT.
AutoBild has made the Hankook iON Evo the top product in its electric vehicle test. The winner of the 2024 WhatTyre Tyre of the Year and Electric Car Tyre of the Year impressed the German motoring magazine’s independent testers with its all-round abilities, notably matching Continental’s PremiumContact 7 at the top of the table in wet performance. It was one of two tyres developed specifically for EVs included in the test, the other being Falken’s E.Ziex, which distinguished itself particularly well in the rolling resistance test, the only tyre to achieve the top grade, as well as recording decent performance marks. All eight tyres were tested on Hyundai’s electric powered SUV, the Kona, in size 215/55R18 99V/Y.
Choosing the right tyre for sporty compact cars such as the VW Golf GTI is crucial for performance, safety, and driving pleasure. The latest test from Die Reifentester evaluates eight tyres in the popular 225/40 ZR18 size. Tyre tester and former tyre developer Dirk Vincken, together with experienced motoring journalist Joachim Fischer, compared the tyres at the ATP proving ground in Papenburg, Germany.
With more than 50 products typically in the running, Auto Bild tyre tests are amongst the most respected and keenly anticipated across Europe. This is why Sailun Tyre is thrilled to have achieved a notable milestone, with its Sailun Atrezzo ZSR2 becoming the first Chinese tyre brand to achieve a top ten finish in the trade publication’s 39-year history.
After keeping us in suspense for a couple of weeks, Auto Bild has published the final results of its summer tyre testing. Having eliminated many of the original 52 tyre brands in a preliminary round of wet and dry braking, the publication’s test specialist Dierk Möller examined the 20 size 225/40 R18 finalists in greater detail, investigating how each performed in conditions typically encountered throughout the year. Auto Bild also considered purchase price and its relationship to mileage potential, as well as rolling resistance, giving each tyre a ‘cost’ score for these factors.
For optimal performance in warm and largely dry conditions, nothing beats a summer tyre. Motoring publication Autozeitung has looked at ten UHP tyre models in size 225/45 R18 95Y for its 2025 summer tyre test. Fitting the ten brands of tyre to a Skoda Octavia 1.5 TSI, the Autozeitung test team evaluated each in wet and dry conditions, awarding a maximum of 150 points per category.
A fresh set of rims and wide tyres can significantly enhance a vehicle’s appearance. For compact cars, selecting the 225/40 R 18 tyre size provides both good looks and the promise of high performance. European motoring organisation ADAC has chosen this dimension for its 2025 summer tyre test, evaluating 18 products.
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