Best summer tires of 2026 based on test results
In the 2026 summer season, results from over 20 independent tyre tests were published, revealing, as always, both leaders and underperformers, along with a few surprises—which we'll get to shortly. We've compiled a ranking of tyres that delivered the highest performance across various publications' tests this year. It's important to remember that winning a test typically requires a balanced set of characteristics, while when choosing tyres, individual preferences should be the main deciding factor.
Once, a tire dominated its competitors in tests Continental PremiumContact 6, and its seventh-generation successor continued this proud tradition, rightfully becoming the best summer tyre of the 2026 season according to test results Continental PremiumContact 7. It boasts a whole series of victories, including in the prestigious ADAC test, and experts unanimously praise the tires for their balanced performance and ability to provide a high level of safety in all situations and conditions. Some testers had minor concerns about fuel efficiency, but considering the outstanding driving qualities of this German manufacturer's product, it's not a significant drawback.
Although for Continental used to dominate tests, they seemingly now have a worthy competitor, and this Pirelli Cinturato (C3), which this year takes silver, closely trailing the PremiumContact 7, including in ADAC tests where it secured second place. According to testers, the tyres perform consistently on both dry and wet surfaces, and UTAC noted that thePirelli the previous generation had an unpleasant tendency to suddenly lose grip and go into a skid, but the Italian engineers have successfully eliminated this flaw. However, there's no such thing as a perfect tyre, and many experts have pointed out that Cinturato tyres are relatively noisy.
One of the main trends of the past season was that mid-range tires repeatedly performed on par with premium-level models, and testers often mentioned this when talking about the tires Hankook Ventus evo, which take third place. One of the major achievements of the tire from the Korean manufacturer was winning the large Auto Bild test, which included 50 participants. The Ventus Evo outperformed its competitors—including tires from all the recognized leaders of the global market—in handling on both dry and wet surfaces, and it also boasts a very short braking distance in all weather conditions. These tires received special praise for their excellent price-to-quality ratio, making them undoubtedly the best in this category this year. In addition,Hankook also won the Auto Bild Allrad test, proving its effectiveness on gravel and grass as well. However, as usual, there was a downside: their compatriots from AutoView delivered criticism just before the end of summer, presenting the results of their own test which placed the Ventus Evo in second-to-last place. They stated that the tyre has excellent wet braking performance, but handling on dry surfaces leaves much to be desired, particularly due to noticeably low resistance to lateral drift. Testers added that this is typical for Hankook—tyres of one size can deliver outstanding results while those of another size perform distinctly poorly. "This is especially disappointing," they noted, "considering that Hankook is the largest tyre manufacturer in the country."
Hankook was recognized by the Auto Bild editorial team as the best summer tyre manufacturer in 2026, with the top spot shared between the Koreans and Goodyear, whose modelGoodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6in a large test by the publication, it took second place. One of the main "features"Goodyearis that they stand out from competitors with an impressive tread life: they were the best in the Auto Bild test, and in Auto Zeitung tests, they were surpassed by only oneMichelin Primacy 5, and at the same time, high wear resistance was successfully combined with very good grip on both dry and wet surfaces.
Among this season's new releases, the tyre has performed very successfully Bidgestone Potenza Sport Evo, the tyre that won the Sportauto test and was the only one to receive the "Exemplary" rating thanks to its high grip reserve on both dry and wet surfaces, particularly excelling in dynamic driving. The developers stated that during the tyre's creation, they aimed to eliminate two major drawbacks of the previous generation model: rapid wear and high rolling resistance. While independent tests have not yet evaluated wear resistance, testers continue to regularly raise concerns about fuel efficiency. However, these tyres are intended for sports car owners, for whom fuel economy is usually secondary, if not tertiary.
The best in the mid-range segment were Hankook, while in the "economy" segment, one tyre stands outLandsail LS588 UHP, which took first place in the "Za Rulem" test. The tires tested were budget models, meaning they were not compared with premium products, but it should be noted that according to the magazine's testing methodology Landsail earned not just a "Good" but an "Excellent" rating, meaning their performance wasn't just about who they were competing against. According to experts, the tyres from the Chinese company Sentury justify the presence of the abbreviation UHP (Ultra-High Performance) in the name, both in terms of braking performance and grip during sharp maneuvers; however, "ambiguous behavior in certain situations" was noted: understeer when cornering on wet roads can abruptly turn into oversteer, making it "simply dangerous for an average driver."
In conclusion, we note that the main sensation of the season was the victory of budget tyresLinglong Sport Master in the qualification round of the major Auto Bild test, where they demonstrated phenomenal wet braking performance, outperforming all competitors — a total of fifty — and it was expected that this model would make it onto the year's top list, certainly within its price category. Remarkable characteristics Linglong noted by ADAC experts, who even asked the question, "Has a new star been born in the tire world?" but then answered it negatively themselves. According to them, only wet-surface performance was optimized, while dry-weather characteristics were apparently ignored. As a result, the tire becomes difficult to control when heated, and a sudden skid could catch an inexperienced driver off guard, creating a safety hazard. Linglong also showed very rapid wear (tread life twice as short as that of Goodyear and Michelin), and ultimately the tires, which had such a promising start, were given a "Not Recommended" rating. As for Auto Bild, their experts were not so categorical and, at the end of the main test phase, rated the tires as "Satisfactory," also noting that wear resistance needed improvement — and according to Linglong, this very shortcoming was eliminated during the development of the tire.Sport Master 2, and whether a truly new star will emerge will become clear from the results of next year's tests.
Photo: Dierk Möller/Auto Bild