Summer tire test from Auto Zeitung — 2026
By the summer season of 2026, the Auto Zeitung magazine had acquired 10 sets of 235/45 R18 tires for testing, selecting models that, according to experts, occupy an intermediate position between touring tires and more sports products in the UHP category. The tests were conducted at the Goodyear polygon in the French town of Mireval using an Audi A5, as well as in the Goodyear and Pirelli laboratories, where the wear resistance of the tires and their rolling resistance were evaluated.
List of participants:
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6
Laufenn S Fit EQ+ (to be replaced by the new Laufenn S Fit 2 model in the spring of 2026)
Tercelo Sport D1 (tires from the Chinese company Tercelo Tire Group, founded in 2019)
The most important discipline is traditionally "braking on wet asphalt", and the tests were carried out on a very smooth surface, such as the one found, for example, in front of intersections, where cars have "polished" the surface. This means that in everyday life, the braking distances of the tires will likely be shorter, but such conditions allow for a more vivid demonstration of the risks created by using tires with a low level of grip, and as a result of the test, all three budget tires were recognized as such: Westlake, Tercelo, and Laufenn. Braking was carried out from 100 km/h, and where the car on Continental had already stopped, the A5 on any of these tires continued to move at a speed noticeably higher than 30 km/h, i.e., a direct threat to safety is created.
Significant differences between tires were also found in the wet handling test, and Continental and Pirelli performed best, behaving predictably and quickly regaining traction in the event of skidding. Economy-class tires are again at the bottom of the list, and the most serious problems arose with Tercelo.
On the circular track, the tires' resistance to lateral drift was evaluated, and here Continental and Pirelli were again the best, while Tercelo was the worst.
In the test for resistance to longitudinal aquaplaning, Firestone showed a good result, only inferior to Continental, while Tercelo took last place again.
On a dry track, the difference in grip between the tires decreased, and, for example, the longest and shortest braking distances when stopping from 100 km/h differed by only three meters, i.e., even the worst tires in this discipline have quite acceptable performance.
A similar situation was observed in the handling tests, and even the tires that ranked lowest were able to provide good controllability, although, of course, in terms of dynamic properties, they seriously inferior to Goodyear, which were clearly the best in this regard.
In the slalom, Pirelli became the best, but in this discipline, all participants generally coped well with the tasks.
Although Michelin did not shine in the tests on either dry or wet surfaces, they were able to earn points in the environmental section, and they had the minimum tire wear recorded, which means they emit fewer solid particles into the environment than all other tires in the test.
If we talk about the potential mileage, then Michelin, according to the results of laboratory tests, can cover 50,000 km, while Goodyear took second place with a result of 49,500 km. According to experts, such a mileage justifies the high cost of both tires, while the very low resource of Tercelo — almost half that of Michelin — raises questions about the benefits of buying them.
Michelin also turned out to be the most economical among the tested tires, and the same Tercelo took last place, which, compared to Primacy 5, will increase fuel consumption by approximately 0.1-0.2 l/100 km.
Finally, in the test for external noise level, Goodyear and Laufenn were recognized as the best, and the loudest sounds are produced by Pirelli.
The first place in the entire test is occupied by Continental PremiumContact 7, which work perfectly in any conditions and "have no drawbacks, but have many advantages", and the silver medal was awarded to Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, which once again confirmed the balance of their characteristics and combine a high level of safety with a very good resource. The top three are closed by Pirelli Cinturato, which are also very effective on both dry and wet surfaces and conceded to Goodyear by only 1 point.
Thanks to good performance on wet surfaces, Firestone Roadhawk 2 was able to compete with premium-class tires, while BFGoodrich Advantage 2 from the same mid-range segment also work well in the rain and, in addition, have low rolling resistance, which improves fuel efficiency. BFGoodrich even managed to overtake the tires of the "older" brand Michelin, and Primacy 5 took only sixth place, and the reason was the not-so-good results on the wet track, including a relatively long braking distance. At the same time, in terms of environmental friendliness, Michelin had no equal, as they have the lowest rolling resistance and external noise, as well as the highest resource. Maxxis Premitra HP6, like Michelin, lost points due to a relatively long braking distance on a wet surface, but they, unlike the tires of the French brand, also have reduced wear resistance.
Westlake ZuperAce Z-007 from the Chinese company ZC Rubber took eighth place, which was worse than all the tires in the test in terms of resource and, in addition, take too long to stop the car on a wet road, and one line below were Laufenn S Fit EQ+ from the Korean Hankook, which also cannot boast of acceptable braking properties in the rain — on dry surfaces, the results are decent, but this is not enough for a recommendation. And this time, Tercelo Sport D1 finished last, which lagged behind other participants in almost all disciplines, which means that buying them is strongly not recommended.
Source: Auto Zeitung