2018 Auto Bild SUV All Season Tyre Test

Test Summary
Wet BrakingMichelin CrossClimate SUV
Dry BrakingGoodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV
Wet HandlingGoodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV
Nokian WeatherProof SUV
Rolling ResistanceMichelin CrossClimate SUV
NoiseGoodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV
Vredestein Quatrac 5 SUV
Hankook Kinergy 4S
Snow HandlingGoodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV
Mastersteel ALL WEATHER M
Yokohama Geolander AT G015
General Grabber AT3
When it comes to trying new things in tyre tests, the German publication Auto Bild leads the way, and with their latest SUV 4x4 all season tyre tyre test they are once again pushing new ground.

Not only do they test six all season tyres in the SUV / 4x4 size of 235/60 R18 and include reference summer and winter tyres, but they also include two all terrain (AT) off-road tyres. These AT tyres aren't specifically designed to work in snow and ice like the all season tyres have been, instead they have a more off-road bias to their performance bend. Even with this added off-road performance, they still qualify as legal all season tyres thanks to them being marked with the "three peaks mountain and snowflake" symbol.

As a result, the AT tyres have a very different performance blend to the all season tyres on test, and while their snow performance was surprisingly OK, this test shows how badly they perform on-road, specifically in the wet.

Read on for the full details! For reference, the two AT tyres are the Yokohama Geolander AT G015, and the General Grabber AT3.

Dry

In the dry the results are fairly close other than the reference summer tyre and summer-bias all season Michelin having a significant advantage during the dry braking tests. The winter tyre manages to beat two of the all season tyres, and the AT tyres struggle to make any impact.

During dry handling the Summer and Michelin CrossClimate again lead the pack, with the Vredestein Quatrac 5 SUV having another excellent result. Once more, the General Grabber AT3 struggles in the dry and finishes in last place, buy a significant margin.

Wet

While the AT tyres were weak in the dry, the wet testing shows an even bigger issue for the off-road tyres. During wet braking the Michelin CrossClimate SUV and Vredestein Quatrac 5 SUV once again provided to be the class of the pack, beating even the summer tyre when stopping the SUV. Both AT tyres finished in last places, with the General Grabber AT3 taking a huge 19.5 meters longer to stop the test vehicle than the best tyre on test.

While the wet handling test slightly altered the result of the best tyres on test, it made no difference to the worse, with both AT tyres once again finishing last.

The straight aquaplaning tests also favoured the all season tyres.

Snow

The snow handling tests were slightly better for the AT tyres than the wet testing, with the more off-road bias tyres vastly out performing the summer tyres, and in the mix with the all seasons, albeit towards the back of the group in both snow handling and snow braking.

Environment

Unsurprisingly, the AT tyres had the highest rolling resistance on test, but surprisingly were both the quietest tyres, not something we expected to see.

Results

The full results and testers comments can be found below. It's worth remembering that while the AT tyres performed poorly in the wet compared to summer and all season tyres, they're also designed to work off-road, in mud, sand, over rocks and on grass. In these conditions they would vastly outperform the summer tyre, and would likely have an advantage over the all season tyres too. That said, the wet performance of both the AT tyres are significantly worse than normal summer and all season tyres, so if your vehicle spends the majority of its life on-road, it's worth keeping this performance penalty in mind.

1st: Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV

Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 SUV
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 39
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 8
  4. Snow: 6
  5. Comfort: 7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 6
  7. Noise: 7
A good balanced performance, excellent in the snow and the wet with a high resistance to aquaplaning. Low noise level.
High Price.
Test winner.

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2nd: Michelin CrossClimate SUV

Michelin CrossClimate SUV
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 41
  2. Dry: 8
  3. Wet: 7
  4. Snow: 5
  5. Comfort: 6
  6. Rolling Resistance: 9
  7. Noise: 6
Best in the dry, almost matching the summer tyre, good in the wet, low fuel use.
Long braking distances in the snow (but still many times better than a summer tyre)
Highly Recommended.

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3rd: Nokian WeatherProof SUV

Nokian WeatherProof SUV
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 35
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 7
  4. Snow: 6
  5. Comfort: 5
  6. Rolling Resistance: 6
  7. Noise: 6
Short braking distances in the snow, good in the wet, high resistance to aquaplaning.
Long braking distances in the dry, low lateral stability in the snow.
Recommended.

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3rd: Vredestein Quatrac 5 SUV

Vredestein Quatrac 5 SUV
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 37
  2. Dry: 7
  3. Wet: 7
  4. Snow: 5
  5. Comfort: 7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 6
  7. Noise: 5
Very high grip and short braking distances in the wet, a good performance on snow.
Lower comfort, average aquaplaning resistance.
Recommended.

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5th: Hankook Kinergy 4S

Hankook Kinergy 4S
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 34
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 6
  4. Snow: 5
  5. Comfort: 7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 6
  7. Noise: 5
High resistance to aquaplaning, well priced.
Higher noise levels, long braking distances on snow and dry roads.
Recommended.

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6th: Mastersteel ALL WEATHER M

Mastersteel ALL WEATHER M
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 30
  2. Dry: 4
  3. Wet: 4
  4. Snow: 5
  5. Comfort: 5
  6. Rolling Resistance: 5
  7. Noise: 7
Good snow traction, low price, low noise.
Long braking distances in the dry and wet, an understeer balance in the snow and on dry roads.
Conditionally recommended.

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7th: Yokohama Geolander AT G015

Yokohama Geolander AT G015
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 24
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 3
  4. Snow: 3
  5. Comfort: 3
  6. Rolling Resistance: 3
  7. Noise: 7
Good lateral stability in snow, good in the dry, low noise.
Long braking distances in the wet and snow, high rolling resistance, low ride comfort.

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8th: General Grabber AT3

General Grabber AT3
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 23
  2. Dry: 3
  3. Wet: 5
  4. Snow: 2
  5. Comfort: 4
  6. Rolling Resistance: 2
  7. Noise: 7
Low noise level.
Very poor wet grip, high risk of aquaplaning, long stability and long braking distances in the snow.
Not recommended.

Read Reviews    Buy from £185.84

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