Summer tire test by Auto Bild Allrad — 2026
The Auto Bild Allrad magazine conducted another test of summer tires for crossovers and SUVs, comparing nine models on both dry and wet asphalt, as well as on moderate off-road terrain, specifically on gravel, sand, and grass. The tires tested were size 255/45 R19, which are used on numerous crossovers, such as the Volkswagen Tiguan and Audi Q3, including electric ones, like the Tesla Model Y and Volvo XC40. The tests on asphalt were carried out at the Goodyear proving ground in Mireval (France), and the off-road capabilities of the participants were assessed on a rally track in the neighboring Monté.
List of participants:
Bridgestone Potenza Sport Evo
Giti GitiSport S2+
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6
On a surface covered with loose gravel, the best handling was provided by Bridgestone, which was slightly behind Goodyear and Kumho, and in this discipline, the differences in the results were very small.
Also on gravel, traction was measured, and here Hankook came out on top, with a significant gap from the tire in second place, which became Michelin.
On sand, Hankook is no longer so effective and only takes seventh place, and the leaders are Falken and Goodyear.
In the grass test, Hankook returns to first place, and this time the gap from the nearest competitor is about 30%. According to experts, all tires have surprisingly good traction off-road, considering that they were taken in a sports size for 19-inch wheels, and the best in this part of the test were Bridgestone, Goodyear, Hankook, and Kumho, while Toyo and Giti are better suited for asphalt surfaces.
The shortest braking distance on wet asphalt is provided by Hankook, while Falken and Vredestein also have very good results, which cannot be said about Giti.
For handling on wet surfaces, Hankook, with a very small advantage, but still managed to overtake Bridgestone, and Giti again clearly lag behind the competitors.
On the circular irrigated track, Bridgestone still outperformed Hankook tires, which took second place, while Giti showed very weak results on wet surfaces.
With aquaplaning prevention, Toyo and Michelin cope better than the others, but all tires received good ratings.
The shortest braking distance on dry pavement was recorded by Falken, and although Toyo and Giti were on the last lines, their indicators were also recognized as quite satisfactory.
Surprisingly, it was Falken that turned out to be the worst in the handling test, and the reason is that their excellent longitudinal grip is combined with slowed-down reactions to steering wheel turns and low lateral stability. The leader was Bridgestone, which, on the contrary, responds very quickly to the driver's actions and has high transverse grip.
The quietest ones were Vredestein and Goodyear, and the loudest ones are Bridgestone and Kumho, but they also do not worsen the acoustic comfort.
Vredestein also has very low rolling resistance, while Bridgestone took the last place.
Verdict
The first place in the entire test went to Hankook Ventus evo, about which the experts said that the Koreans were able to create a truly universal tire, impressing with a very high level of efficiency and safety. Hankook was the only tire in the test that received an "Exemplary" rating on wet surfaces, and it also has excellent traction on gravel and grass, combined with very good performance on dry asphalt. For Ventus evo, this is already the second victory in the 2026 season, and earlier Hankook became the best in the Auto Bild test, in which 50 tires participated, including those from the most famous premium brands.
Bridgestone Potenza Sport Evo during the tests proved that they can provide excellent handling on any surface, including gravel, and they also have very good braking properties, and the drawbacks were called high cost and high rolling resistance. The same number of points as Bridgestone was scored by Vredestein Ultrac Pro, which demonstrated an excellent balance of driving qualities, economy, and comfort, and showed an average result only in the traction test on gravel.
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 did not allow themselves weaknesses on any type of surface, and they also quickly stop the car on dry roads, but it is necessary to take into account the not very high resistance to aquaplaning, while Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV also showed good results in all disciplines, and these are also very comfortable tires. At the same time, in the chosen size, Michelin has reduced load capacity and speed index compared to other tires in the test.
Kumho Ecsta Sport tires have already received high ratings in Auto Bild tests, and this time they again managed to perform at the level of premium products — and this despite the fact that they were the cheapest among the participants. Kumho showed good results in all disciplines (only Goodyear and Michelin managed to do this), and they have high performance on off-road and dry asphalt, while in tests on wet surfaces, the tires conceded to some stronger competitors.
Toyo Proxes Sport 2 is very effective on both dry and wet asphalt, but for off-road driving, they are clearly not suitable, while Falken Ziex FK520 has weak traction on sand, but at the same time excellent on gravel, and on dry pavement, they combine a very short braking distance with the worst handling among the tested tires, i.e. the characteristics are not balanced. The last place was taken by Giti GitiSport S2+, whose main drawback is relatively weak grip on wet surfaces, which increases the length of the braking distance and reduces the level of safety.
Source: Auto Bild. Photo: Auto Bild / Thomas Salt