Posts
RingAuto Express winter test: Continental pips Bridgestone at post
It’s not every day that Michelin finishes last in a tyre test, but this was the case when Auto Express recently examined half a dozen winter tyres. But tester Kim Adams assures that the Alpin 6 is by no means a poor performer – instead, the result reflects the high standards amongst the tyres featured in this year’s test.
Bridgestone Potenza Sport best in wet and dry in Auto Express 18” tyre test, good result for Maxxis
BridgestoneBridgestone’s newest ultra-high performance tyre, the Potenza Sport offered the best results in wet and dry performance in the latest Auto Express tyre test. The tyre was able to make the most of its home field advantage as the magazine used Bridgestone’s Aprilla proving ground, just besting Goodyear’s Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 by 0.5 per cent. Another notable result was the third-place finish of the Maxxis Victra Sport 5, which adds to a growing list of test successes proving that the brand is increasingly able to hold its own against the traditional premium brands. The test was conducted on the biggest selling 18” tyre size, 225/40R18 92Y. This UHP tyre test of seven products was split from the “UUHP mini test” of three of the highest-performing road tyre products, won by the new Continental SportContact 7. For the UHP test, Auto Express weighted its results to reflect UK driving needs: wet tests counted for 50 per cent of the final mark, dry 40 per cent, and the remaining 10 per cent on noise, fuel economy and price.
Hankook Tyre UK sponsors Auto Express New Car Awards 2022
HankookHankook Tyre UK was the headline sponsor of the Auto Express New Car Awards 2022, presented in London on 5 July. Car manufacturers competed across 27 categories to be nominated as best in class, while the electric Nissan Ariya was made the overall winner. Hankook has launched a new brand for electric car tyres, iON, with a Ventus iON summer tyre and a Winter i*cept iON winter tyre already announced. The tyre maker was also presented with three Auto Express Product of the Year Awards in May, winning the summer (Ventus S1 evo 3) and all-season (Kinergy 4S 2) categories.
SportContact 7 winner of ‘mini’ Auto Express UUHP tyre test
With a grand total of three contenders, the latest comparative evaluation from Auto Express may be able to claim kudos for being the smallest tyre test ever. The motoring publication examined the new SportContact 7 in size 235/35ZR19 91 Y at Continental’s Ulvade providing ground in the USA, fitting the tyres to a VW Golf GTI and pitting them against two rivals from the ultra-ultra-high-performance segment, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S and the Pirelli P Zero PZ4.
Philips RacingVision GT200 awarded Auto Express accolade – again
Philips/LumiledsPhilips RacingVision GT200 has once again been awarded coveted “Recommended Buy” status by Auto Express in its annual bulb mega-test. In awarding the Philips RacingVision GT200 this accolade, Auto Express reported that bulb had scored highest for both the widest usable beam of light and for producing the brightest spot of light for the road ahead.
Hankook secures 2nd Auto Express tyre test win
Déjà vu aplenty in this year’s Auto Express all-season tyre test. The publication returned to the 205/55R16 size it last looked at in 2019, and the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 that participated in the test two years ago was back as a contender in 2021. Same tester, same tyre, same size. But this is where the similarities end; whereas the Hankook tyre finished seventh in the 2019 test, this year it won.
Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 wins Auto Express 2021 Summer Tyre Test
After a Covid-enforced delay, Auto Express has published its 2021 Summer Tyre Test, with Hankook leading a list of nine top tyre brands. Each of the nine tyres displayed strengths in at least one of the test segments. The UK magazine used Continental’s Contidrom proving ground near Hanover in Germany to conduct its objective performance tests, enlisting the help of a local independent tyre tester to get around travel restrictions in the country before verifying the results. The problems of testing tyres in Europe with rules around travel in flux also affected the way Auto Express was able to get tyres to the proving ground; rather than acquire tyres on the open market, it asked manufacturers to send sets, verifying the test-topping tyres against regular production models after the fact. The magazine used the size 225/45 R17, as it had previously in 2018 – a very popular UK size for compact to medium-sized family cars, and in this case one fitted to the tyre test mainstay Volkswagen Golf.
AllSeasonContact an Auto Express awardee
Continental has collected silverware in the Auto Express Product Awards 2021, with its AllSeasonContact winning the all-season tyre category. The tyre maker states that gaining the Best All-Season Tyre award “highlights how committed Continental is to providing drivers with the safest and top-performing choice all year round.”
Auto Express all-season tyre test 2020: Continental, Goodyear and Hankook take the honours
With sales of all-season tyres being one of the good news stories of an otherwise challenging year, at the end of November Auto Express published its latest test comparing the performance of leading year-round tyres. Continental’s AllSeasonContact was the outright winner, but Goodyear’s Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 and Hankook Kinergy 4S2 were not far behind it in second and third place respectively.
Bridgestone’s Blizzak LM005 wins Auto Express winter tyre test
BridgestoneBridgestone’s Blizzak LM005 tyre has won the Auto Express Winter Tyre Test 2020 beating 205/55 R16 tyres from seven other manufacturers to the top of the table. Auto Express cited the tyre’s performance in the wet as a key factor. The tyre, which boasts an ‘A’ tyre label grade for wet grip across the full range, has secured Bridgestone’s first Auto Express test win and follows on from a series of improved results in recent times. However, there were strong performances from Hankook’s Winter i*cept RS2 (2nd) and Michelin’s Alpin 6 (3rd). At the same time, we have to note that Hankook Goodyear and Dunlop each won individual categories as well as Bridgestone, of course. Looking forward, Continental’s TS 870 has to be described as the one that got away because it’s market-beating performance couldn’t be counted owing to the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed the new tyre’s release for a year.
Reliability tops car buyers’ concerns – despite overwhelmingly positive ownership experiences
Long-term reliability issues are the biggest worry for more than half of today’s car buyers, despite most drivers having overwhelmingly positive long-term ownership experiences in the real world. But, according to analysis by the online car supermarket BuyaCar.co.uk, more than a third of car buyers report zero worries when changing their vehicle.
Falken: stock availability, proven performance means UHP opportunity
FalkenThe coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdowns mean that sales of car tyres especially have sustained a harsh blow around the world. But as measures introduced to halt the spread of COVID-19 begin to be eased, motorists will steadily begin to use their cars again, increasing demand. In the car tyre sector, high value, ultra-high performance segments could prove vital, as better potential margins offer attractive opportunities for increasing cashflow quicker. The other side of that coin is that motorists’ finances are also under pressure, putting the price they pay for their car tyres under even greater scrutiny. Could this, therefore, present an opportunity for mid-range brands to make a case for their products, offering more palatable performance compromises compared with premium rivals than the lowest-priced brands?
Philips RCH25 workshop lamp receives Auto Express seal of approval
Auto Express given a big thumbs up to the latest Philips workshop lamp, the RCH 25. The RCH25 brings various key features to the workshop lamp sector, most notably, an adjustable light output to match the particular needs of a specific task.
Spotlight on OSRAM as it picks up Auto Express win
Night Breaker Laser, the next generation of automotive upgrade halogen bulbs from OSRAM, have outshone competition by being named the Auto Express Best Buy Car Headlamp Bulb 2019. Key features include the bulb’s laser ablation technology and the highly engineered filament. They enable the bulb to shine up to 150 per cent brighter, while providing a beam of up to 150 metres and 20 per cent whiter light compared to the minimum legal standard.
