Comparative tests typically evaluate the way tyres perform day-to-day, and the wider environmental impact of tyre use doesn’t get much of a look-in. German motoring association ADAC is rectifying this by examining tyres’ contribution to the problem of microplastic emissions. It looked at almost 100 products in total.
Dunlop is a winner twice over in the latest winter tyres tests conducted by German motoring association ADAC, taking first place in both the 195/65 R15 T and 225/50 R17 V categories. The Dunlop tyres were two of five products that ADAC rated as ‘good’, as were two tyres from sister brand Goodyear.
The Falken Azenis FK510 ultra high-performance tyre’s victory in the ADAC 2021 summer tyre test follows a “highly recommended” rating from both the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) and the Austrian Automobile Touring Club (ÖAMTC) in their 2021 summer tyre tests. The tyre achieved the result in the 225/50 R17 17 Y tyre dimension. This size is suitable for numerous medium-sized vehicles such as the Audi A4 or the Volkswagen Passat. The result marks the second win for a Falken pattern in an ADAC summer tyre test.
Summer tyre tests in 2021 have highlighted the sometimes dazzling qualities of the best performing tyre products. However, the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobilclub’s (ADAC) most recent test appears to have been particularly demanding. No tyre received ADAC’s top “very good” rating, and only five models were rated “good” over the two sizes tested – 205/55 R16 V and 225/50 R17 Y. There were some intriguing results at the top of the table. Falken confirmed its increasingly impressive performance of recent years by winning the 17” tyre test with its Azenis FK510 flagship UHP tyre. The Kumho Ecsta PS71 also achieved a “good” rating in the 17” test, while Continental group brand Semperit’s Speed-Life 3 achieved an overall result matching the Conti PremiumContact 6 in the 16” test. There was worse news for the 17” Firestone Roadhawk, which became the only tyre to receive an “inadequate” report.
In December 2020 French group UTAC CERAM announced that it was buying British test specialists Millbrook, which also owns well-known tyre test centres such as Test World in Finland. The plan is to merge the two companies, creating “a market-leading group in vehicle testing, vehicle type approval and emerging technologies for autonomous, connected and electric vehicles”.
In addition to testing car tyres ahead of this year’s colder months, three European motoring clubs have taken a close look at winter rubber for mid-sized SUVs and vans. The 13 brands of 235/55 R17 V tyre participating in this joint comparative evaluation from Germany association ADAC, Austria’s ÖAMTC and Switzerland’s TCS performed well overall, with results ranging from highly recommended/good to conditionally recommended/adequate.
Three leading European motoring associations have published the results of their joint 2020 winter car tyre test. The ADAC from Germany, Austria’s ÖAMTC and Swiss club TCS looked at 15 brands of tyre. While they didn’t award any of the evaluated products their top ratings of ‘very good’ (ADAC) or ‘excellent’ (ÖAMTC, TCS), the clubs noted that overall test results were positive. In addition to five strong performers, seven further tyres were recommended and one conditionally recommended. Only two tyres failed to make the grade.
Germanophone auto clubs, ADAC, the Austrian Automobile, Motorcycle and Touring Club (ÖAMTC) and the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) have presented the results of their joint all-season tyre test. Despite the rising popularity of all-season tyres in European markets, the clubs did not recommend any of the seven tyres in the test without condition. The tyres were tested in size 235/55R17 103V/Y using a Ford Kuga as an exemplifier of heavier, larger SUVs, which are themselves increasing in popularity throughout Western Europe. Such vehicles are also amongst those most likely to fit all-season products. Tyres tested were Bridgestone’s Weather Control A005, Conti’s AllSeasonContact, Goodyear’s Vector 4Seasons Gen-2, Michelin’s CrossClimate +, Nokian’s Weatherproof, Uniroyal’s AllSeasonExpert 2, and Vredestein’s Quatrac Pro. The publication of the test was delayed from its original planned publication date in April due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tyre tests published in the run-up to summer show that the majority of mainstream tyres available in the UK are of a high or very high standard. Europe’s major car magazines and motoring associations recommended most products during the recent spate of testing. Of the 134 individual tyres put through their paces, only a handful weren’t recommended or were found to have serious issues. A further 13 were deemed merely ‘adequate’ or were conditionally recommended.
For their current summer tyre test, the main motoring associations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (the ADAC, ÖAMTC and TCS) have looked at 32 products in total. Half of these were in the small family car size 185/65 R15 H/V, and the remainder size 215/65 R16C, tyres suited for use on vans, minibuses and campervans.
No prizes for guessing the winner of the ADAC 14-inch winter tyre test. It’s the same tyre that won this year’s ADAC 16-inch test. And the Auto Express winter test. And this year’s winter tyre comparos from GTÜ and auto motor und sport. Not to mention close runner-up in the Auto Bild winter test. We are of course talking about the WinterContact TS 860. This time round, the Continental overachiever shared its victory with the Dunlop Winter Response 2. Special mention should also be made of ADAC’s runner-up tyre, the Firestone Winterhawk 3 – a product offering the attractive combination of good performance and low purchase price.
September has been packed with tyre tests, with Auto Express, Auto Bild, GTÜ and auto, motor und sport all publishing comparative evaluations of winter and/or all-season tyres. German motoring association ADAC has come to the party with not one, but two winter tyre tests.
Victory in the all-season tyre test carried out by several European motoring organisations is, says Nexen Tire, proof of the superiority of its N’Blue 4 Season. The Nexen rubber was ranked first in the test of nine 175/65R14 T/H tyres thanks to its good performance in wet and icy conditions.
Three motoring clubs in Europe – Germany’s ADAC, the ÖAMTC in Austria and Switzerland’s TCS – have published the results of their joint all-season tyre test. The trio put nine 175/65 R14 82/86 T/H tyres through their paces, with dry testing taking place in the summer, the disciplines in autumn and ice and snow testing during the winter months.
Falken
UTAC Ceram
Stephen Goodchild