"All-season" first got "Good" in the ADAC test
The demand for all-season tires in Europe has been growing for many years, as many car owners would like to save time and money by giving up the "re-shoeing" twice a year. The growth in popularity of "all-season" tires is also facilitated by warm winters and the fact that most all-season tires now have an "alpine symbol", which means they can be legally used in winter in countries where tire operation is regulated by season. In its latest test, ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club) compared 16 all-season models in size 205/55 R16, which underwent safety and environmental tests.
ADAC applied the same strict requirements to all-season tires as to summer and winter tires. This means that the tests were conducted both in summer conditions, with asphalt temperatures up to 50 degrees, and on snowy roads. At the same time, the resource of the tires and their economy were also evaluated, and in general, there were even more requirements than those presented to specialized summer or winter tires.
The Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 tires from Goodyear performed best in the tests, showing good results on wet asphalt and snow, but still revealing weaknesses on dry pavement. The good environmental performance allowed Goodyear to win, as the tires reduce fuel consumption, and their predicted mileage was significantly higher than that of the other test participants. According to expert calculations, Goodyear can cover up to 60,700 km, while, for example, Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2 - almost twice as little, which helped Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 become the first all-season tire to receive a "Good" rating in the ADAC test.
"The fact that an all-season tire has received an overall rating of "Good" in the ADAC test for the first time, demonstrating not only the ability to provide a high level of safety but also good environmental characteristics, indicates the development of modern technologies in the tire industry," said Carsten Schulze, ADAC Technical Director. "This also means that all-season tires can be considered a real alternative to summer and winter tires in certain operating conditions and reduce car owners' expenses."
Goodyear could not help but comment on this achievement, and, as noted by Ben Glezenauer, Technical Director of the company's EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region, "Goodyear's consistent successes in prestigious tests demonstrate the continuous development of our innovative technologies." "We are particularly proud that the Vector 4Seasons Gen-3" has become the first all-season tire to receive a "Good" rating from ADAC, confirming its capabilities on dry, wet, and snowy surfaces, which are combined with an impressive operational resource," he added.
The second place in the tests with a rating of "Satisfactory" was taken by Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2, which was not hindered even by the lowest resource among all the tested tires. The reason for such a high result in the overall standings was that only Pirelli was able to receive a "Good" rating for the level of safety, i.e., they are equally effective in summer and winter (we recall that we are talking about mild winters, and for northern latitudes, such tires are not suitable). Pirelli has already released the successor to the SF2, called the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3, and it will definitely participate in the next ADAC test.
Following Pirelli are four tires with almost the same result - Hankook Kinergy 4S2, Michelin CrossClimate 2, Kumho Solus 4S HA32+, and Vredestein Quatrac - which all received good ratings for environmental friendliness but have minor drawbacks in terms of safety. Thus, Hankook allowed themselves certain weaknesses on wet asphalt and snow, Michelin - only on wet asphalt, Kumho - on wet and dry surfaces, and Vredestein - in all weather conditions. All four tires received a "Satisfactory" rating, as did the Falken EuroAll Season AS210, which has average overall results and good properties on wet roads.
The test results once again confirmed that it is still not easy to develop tires that work equally well in heat and snow, and the next seven participants - Firestone Multiseason Gen-2, Sava All Weather, Nankang Cross Seasons AW-6, Toyo Celsius AS2, Semperit AllSeason-Grip, Uniroyal AllSeasonExpert 2, and Yokohama BluEarth-4S - were unable to receive even a "Satisfactory" rating, earning only a "Fair" rating, and two more tires - Kenda Kenetica 4S and Infinity Ecofour - even received a "Poor" rating.
ADAC notes that both Kenda and Infinity showed unacceptable results in individual disciplines, and the first tires are not suitable for use on snow, as they have a tendency to insufficient steering and easily lose traction. Infinity is also not recommended, as, although they are more effective on snow than Kenda, on wet asphalt, the tires are prone to excessive and insufficient steering, and the car is difficult to control. At the same time, ADAC also does not recommend using all tires with a "Fair" rating, as they also have significant drawbacks, especially in terms of performance on dry roads. According to experts, at high temperatures, tires are prone to skidding, including when sharply bypassing an obstacle, and the car stabilizes not as quickly as good tires should.