Summer tire test by Auto Bild Allrad (2024)

The German magazine Auto Bild Allrad conducted its traditional tire test for crossovers and SUVs, this time again choosing only highway tires designed primarily for asphalt use (some even belonging to the UHP category). The test subject was the 235/55 R19 tire size, suitable for the Audi Q5, BMW X3, and others, while off-road testing was conducted on gravel, sand, grass, and mud.

The list of participants included Bridgestone Potenza Sport, Giti GitiSport S2 SUV, Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, Hankook Ventus S1 evo3 SUV, Kumho Ecsta PS71 SUV, Maxxis Victra Sport 5 SUV, Pirelli Scorpion, Toyo Proxes Sport 2, and Vredestein Ultrac Vorti+, with the "dark horse" being the Ceat SportDrive SUV tires from an Indian company.

Off-road, as expected, none of the tires achieved outstanding results in terms of traction, with Bridgestone and Kumho emerging as the best with a small margin over their competitors, and Goodyear, Toyo, and Ceat also performing well. Additionally, Bridgestone earned praise for handling and stability in cornering on gravel, while Giti and Vredestein encountered difficulties here.

The test results were commented on by Jonathan Benson, the creator of the Tyre Reviews portal, who noted that two factors should be taken into account: "Firstly, none of these tires were designed for off-road use, and secondly, conducting off-road tests is very challenging, as seen in the fluctuating results. For example, Ceat had the best traction and average handling on gravel, as well as the worst grip in mud, while Michelin was the best on grass, had an average result on gravel, and was one of the worst on sand. These are just two examples of the interesting variations in test results."

In the wet asphalt tests, Bridgestone also emerged as the leader, thanks to "excellent grip and balanced handling characteristics." At the same time, Michelin had the best resistance to aquaplaning, both in a straight line and in turns, and the inexpensive Maxxis and Ceat performed the worst, lacking precision in steering response and braking effectiveness.

Finally, on the dry track, Bridgestone and Goodyear received the highest subjective handling ratings, while Toyo impressed with very high lateral stability. Pirelli fell behind, responding slowly to driver actions and having reduced stability against lateral slippage. At the same time, Pirelli had the lowest rolling resistance among the tested tires.