Major all-season tire test by Auto Bild — 2025
In a major test of all-season tires in size 225/40 R18 by the German magazine Auto Bild, 30 models from all price categories took part, which had to stop the car quickly enough on wet and dry asphalt in qualifying. 15 tires, including two new products from Michelin, CrossClimate 3 and CrossClimate 3 Sport (the second model is characterized by the manufacturer as the first sports all-season tire on the market, and since both tires are of great interest, it was decided to test two products under one brand this time), were admitted to the main part of the test. Additionally, tires from Chinese companies Sailun and Linglong, which have generally shown good results in Auto Bild tests in recent years, coped with the tasks in the qualifying round, and the surprise was that cheap tires under the little-known Roadhog brand, owned by the Dutch company Inter-Sprint, made it to the main tests.
The best braking performance was shown by the premium Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6, followed by Vredestein Quatrac, and the last place was taken by the budget Goodride AllSeason Elite Z-401 from the Chinese ZC Rubber, whose results clearly show what the savings on tires can lead to.
The following tires passed into the main part of the test:
Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6
Ceat 4Season Drive X5
Continental AllSeasonContact 2
Linglong Grip Master 4S (now released as Linglong Sport Master 4S)
Michelin CrossClimate 3
Michelin CrossClimate 3 Sport
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF 3
Sailun Atrezzo 4Seasons Ultra
For snow tests, the experts went to the other end of the world, namely to New Zealand to the Vānaka polygon, where such tests can be carried out in July. For comparison, winter tires were taken, and as a result, premium all-season tires surrendered to them only in terms of braking efficiency, and in all other disciplines - handling, traction, and slalom - specialized tires for cold weather unexpectedly did not become leaders, but took places in the middle of the rating. The best were recognized as Michelin CC3, which won in all four tests, and the greatest difficulties arose with the Linglong and Roadhog tires.
On asphalt, the tires were tested at the Wachauring autodrome in the Austrian Melk, and on wet surfaces, premium all-season tires were again able to show good results, and some of them only slightly lagged behind summer tires. The leaders included Vredestein, Continental, and Laufenn (the second-line brand of the Korean company Hankook).
Vredestein also excellently resist aquaplaning, and were more efficient in this regard only Pirelli, while summer tires are still out of reach for all-season models.
On dry surfaces, summer tires are again ahead, and the shortest braking distance among the "all-season" tires was demonstrated by Pirelli, Bridgestone, and the new sports Michelin, while Laufenn and Dunlop were unable to earn a good rating. At the same time, in the handling test, the first lines were taken by Continental and, surprisingly, Linglong, and the outsiders were Sailun and Toyo.
The noisiest were recognized as Vredestein, and the worst rating in this discipline was taken by Laufenn.
Auto Bild also awards scores for the profitability of a purchase, and here the resource of the tires, the ratio of mileage and price, as well as the rolling resistance, which affects fuel economy, are evaluated. According to the testers, budget tires often serve less, that is, ultimately, they are more expensive, and the best in this part of the test were recognized as Dunlop, which was helped by very high wear resistance.
One of the participants is traditionally awarded the "Eco-Meister" award, and this time the most environmentally friendly tire was recognized as Michelin CC3, and such factors as economy, mass, euro-marking, as well as solid particle emissions that occur during tire wear, were taken into account.
Verdict
In the 2025 test, five tires were able to receive an "Exemplary" rating - Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF 3, Continental AllSeasonContact 2, Michelin CrossClimate 3 Sport, and Hankook Kinergy 4S2 - which all showed good results both on snow and on wet and dry asphalt. Relatively low scores were received only in disciplines related to wear resistance, and Hankook also showed themselves to be very worthy there, and their fifth place is due to the fact that their overall level of grip is generally lower than that of the leaders. However, Hankook was able to perform at the same level as premium-class tires from top brands.
Six more tires received a "Good" rating, and this group included Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6, Michelin CrossClimate 3, Ceat 4Season Drive X5, Kleber Quadraxer 3, Laufenn G Fit 4S, and Sailun Atrezzo 4Seasons Ultra. All of them showed weaknesses in tests related to safety, and, for example, Bridgestone, Laufenn, and Sailun had relatively low results on snow, and Ceat and Kleber had low results on wet asphalt.
On snow-covered surfaces, Toyo Celsius AS2 and Linglong Grip Master 4S also worked not in the best way, earning a "Satisfactory" rating along with Dunlop All Season 2 tires, which had the longest braking distance on dry surfaces.
The last line with a "Conditionally recommended" rating was taken by Roadhog RGAS02, which combines weak grip on snow and wet surfaces with high wear. In addition, the tires passed a strength test at high speeds according to ECE R30 standards, but did not pass the tests according to the more stringent own AB standards.
Source: Auto Bild