From "Premium" to "Economy": ACE Summer Tire Test (2024)
The Automobile Club of Europe (ACE), together with its partners from the German Technical Inspection Association (GTÜ) and the Austrian Automobile Club (ARBÖ), conducted a summer tire test, selecting the 225/45 R17 size and comparing the characteristics of nine models, from premium to budget, on dry and wet asphalt.
The test included tires from Austone Athena SP-701 (produced by the Chinese company Prinx Chengshan), Berlin Summer HP 1 (a brand owned by the German wheel manufacturer Keskin), Bridgestone Turanza 6, Continental PremiumContact 7, Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2, Maxxis Victra Sport 5, Michelin Primacy 4+, Milestone Green Sport GS-05 (a private brand of the Dutch Inter-Sprint), Pirelli Cinturato P7 (P7C2), and Vredestein Ultrac. The tests were conducted at the TRIWO polygon near Frankfurt. An Opel Astra Sportstourer was used for measurements, and a Volkswagen Golf VII Variant was used for subjective tests.
In the first discipline, the braking distance from 100 km/h was measured. If the Continental indicator was 33.7 meters, then the Austone required 4.5 meters more to stop, which is approximately equal to the length of a car. The second and third places were taken by Michelin and Pirelli with results of 34.1 and 35.1 meters, respectively.
The handling test on dry asphalt involved sharp obstacle avoidance maneuvers and an overall assessment of the tires' behavior in turns. All tires handled the tasks, with only Berlin showing inaccurate reactions to the driver's actions and reduced lateral stability. There were no complaints about the other tires, which, according to test pilot Henning Renner, provide "a high level of safety and pleasant ease of handling".
On wet surfaces, the braking distances were measured from 80 km/h, and Continental again took the lead (27.4 meters), while Austone finished last (37.1 meters). Following Continental were Maxxis (28.01 meters) and Michelin (28.18 meters), while Austone was joined by Milestone and Berlin at the bottom of the table.
Continental was also recognized as the best in terms of handling on wet surfaces, providing both high grip and good feedback. At the same time, three tires failed the test, and these were the cheap Austone, Berlin, and Milestone. "Driving on them is simply unsafe - sometimes there is too much excessive turning, the reactions to steering wheel turns are inaccurate, the grip is very low, and during acceleration, you have to deal with insufficient turning", Renner noted.
Aquaplaning resistance was assessed on a straight and in a turn, and in the latter discipline, Maxxis, which had previously taken second place in the wet surface braking efficiency test, unexpectedly turned out to be the worst with a significant gap from the others. The Vredestein tires showed the best resistance to aquaplaning of both types, and Milestone also showed good results.
The absolute winner of the 2024 test was the Continental tires, which provide the highest level of safety among all participants, but at the same time turned out to be the noisiest. Vredestein, Michelin, and Pirelli were also considered "very recommendable", while the Austone's safety indicators were so low that they received a "Not recommended" rating. In turn, Milestone and Berlin earned a "Conditionally recommended" rating, but ACE noted that they can also pose a safety risk, as evidenced by the results in the braking efficiency and handling tests on wet surfaces.
It remains to add that the Vredestein Ultrac tires in this year's ADAC and Auto Bild tests (tires of sizes 215/55 R17 and 205/55 R16 were tested, respectively) took the last places, as they showed very good results, but distinguished themselves with extremely high wear. At the same time, ACE experts, like many other testers, do not take this indicator into account due to the labor intensity and high cost of such tests.