More than a year after its counterpart for conventional saloons came to market, Goodyear is introducing the UltraGrip Performance+ SUV. This new tyre range covers the growing SUV and crossover market by offering consumers a “technology-packed winter tyre that increases the versatility and contributes to the safety of their vehicles.”
The Autozeitung winter tyre test has revealed “extreme differences” between the best and worst winter tyres, according to its testing panel. The first and last-placed tyres in the product comparison were ultimately no less than 43 percentage points apart in the overall rating. This is, in part, because Autozeitung has changed its evaluation scheme compared to previous years. A percentage value is now given for the performance shown in the three performance categories of snow, wet, and dry – previously points were awarded – with a mean average percentage calculated to define final placements. 14 tyres in size 205/55 R16 were mounted on a VW Golf 1.5 TSI for the test.
An absence of alps, frequent sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfalls make winter tyres a hard sell in the UK. And just as our football fans’ capacity to brave the cold has earned them bemused respect throughout Europe, the average British motorist is content to soldier on with summer tyres even when the mercury drops. But for those who decide to invest in a set of dedicated winter tyres, it’s worth making sure you know what you’re getting.
Auto motor und sport has taken a look at winter tyres for compact SUVs in its latest comparative test. The tyre size it evaluated is 215/55 R17, a dimension worn by the VW T-Roc test vehicle as well as the Audi Q2, Fiat 500x, Hyundai Kona and others. The German magazine’s experts subjected 11 brands of tyre to various tests in wet, dry and snow conditions, with performance in each of these three areas contributing 30 per cent to the final result. The remaining ten per cent came from rolling resistance and tyre/road noise performance.
In what it calls a “complete upgrade” of its UltraGrip winter tyre range, Goodyear has announced three new product lines. The tyre maker has already begun the market rollout of the Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+, UltraGrip 9+ and UltraGrip Cargo, and all sizes will be available within the coming year.
UltraGrip is the family name given to Goodyear’s winter tyre portfolio, and so far a total of 60 million UltraGrip tyres have been sold since the moniker first graced a sidewall. This year sees the introduction of a successor to the UltraGrip 8 Performance winter tyre – the UltraGrip Performance Gen-1. Shipments to retailers began in June 2015.
Goodyear Dunlop has opened a new winter tyre testing facility, the Arctic Centre, in Ivalo, Finland. Located 300 km north of the Arctic Circle, near the town of Ivalo in North Eastern Finland, the Arctic Centre is one of Europe’s leading winter tyre testing centres, and as of December 2014, will be exclusively used by Goodyear Dunlop. Jean-Pierre Jeusette, general director of Goodyear’s Innovation Centre, Laurent Colantonio, director of global tyre performance prediction and, representing the company‘s Nordic Region, Ludvig Nauckhoff, general manager Nordic were present as the ribbon was cut.
It’s never easy to follow up a smash hit – just ask Gotye – but with more than seven million UltraGrip 8s shipped in Europe since 2011, Goodyear’s ninth generation winter tyre is following an all-time great. Travelling to Goodyear’s Innovation Centre Luxembourg earlier this year with dealers from across Europe, Tyres & Accessories got an exclusive preview of the new tyre, in addition to some insights from Xavier Fraipont, director technology consumer tyres EMEA, about the development process that has led to the UG 9.
