The others rather not

These two all-season tires are recommended!

(Bild: TSCHOVIKOV)

Almost one in five tires sold in Austria is now an all-season tire, and almost one in three throughout Europe. ARBÖ and its partners have tested nine brands and determined which ones best master the necessary "squaring of the circle".

Because these all-weather tires have to combine conflicting properties, their development is particularly difficult and for a long time there was no one that could really be recommended in all weather conditions with a clear conscience. But that has long since changed. And even if specialists still perform better in the appropriate season, there is a lot to be said for all-rounders.

The advantages of these all-weather tires are obvious: you don't have to change your tires regularly, you don't always have four tires standing around and infrequent drivers don't have to dispose of tires because they have become too old, even though they still have enough tread. But: you have to look very carefully at which brand you trust.

The test team (consisting of ACE, ARBÖ and GTÜ) took a close look at nine all-season tires in the 215/50 R 18 dimension on a VW T-Roc. The spectrum ranges from premium manufacturers such as Pirelli or Goodyear to cheaper alternatives from Maxxis or Toyo. The winter tests took place at the Arctic Falls test site in Sweden, the summer tests at the ATP site in Papenburg, Lower Saxony.

The results at a glance - click to enlarge!

(Bild: ARBÖ)

In the snow
Various hazardous situations were tested here. When braking hard from 40 km/h on a snow-covered road, all tires are still close to each other with 19.4 (Falken) to 20.9 (Pirelli) meters. The last summer tire test winner was also fitted for comparison. The result clearly shows how dangerous it is to drive on the wrong tires in winter: The car travels 51.8 meters before coming to a stop - more than twice as much as the all-season tires.

In the next scenario, starting off in the snow, the field is further divided: Michelin's tire only needs 23.3 meters to reach 30 km/h, Toyo lands in last place with 27.5 meters. Michelin and Continental are particularly impressive in terms of handling: they only show slight understeer in bends, are otherwise precise to steer with good lateral control. The loser is Toyo, which has too little lateral control and clearly oversteers.

In the wet
Continental is the clear leader when braking on wet roads: from 80 km/h it comes to a halt after just 29 meters. It is closely followed by Pirelli and Bridgestone, which both need 29.9 meters. Toyo is again in last place with a braking distance of 33.5 meters.

Three tires stand out in terms of handling: Goodyear, Pirelli and Continental are all precise to drive, with only slight understeer in the bends. Michelin, Bridgestone, Falken and Toyo are the weakest performers. When it comes to aquaplaning, they are all solid, so there are no downward outliers.

On dry roads
With a braking distance of 30.6 meters, the summer tire that was also used delivers a top value that no other all-weather tire tested can match. On dry roads, the tide also turns for the Toyo, which was previously in last place: it only needs 36.7 meters to come to a standstill when braking fully from 100 km/h. Only Pirelli (35.6 meters) and Continental (36.1 meters) performed better. Bringing up the rear are Goodyear and Falken with 42 meters each and Vredestein (42.4 meters). There is a gap of 6.8 meters between the first and last-placed tires - the equivalent of a long van. In terms of handling, all candidates are close to each other.

Conclusion of the all-season tire test
All-season tires have to be all-rounders. This balance is best achieved by the test winner Continental, closely followed by Michelin. Falken, on the other hand, is strong in winter but weak in summer. And Toyo scores well in the dry, but otherwise brings up the rear.

Three tires are still recommended and are tied for third place on points: Bridgestone, Goodyear and Pirelli.

The test team rated four as conditionally recommendable: Vredestein, Maxxis, Falken and Toyo. None of them failed.

And another result is clear: summer tires are extremely dangerous in winter.