Avon ZV3

These were fitted on the front of one of our two Fiat Stilo 1.6 MultiWagons, fitted as first replacement at 36K miles, but needed to be replaced after 18K miles use.
Good points: Quiet controlled road noise at even motorway speeds.
Bad Points: Performance on country roads and grip in dry and wet conditions not as good as it should be. Car feels as if it's floating/wandering and doesn't inspire confidence near limits. Tyre life has only been half that of the previous front tyres on this car (Dunlop SP Sport tyres - 36K) and the Eagle NCT5s (41K) fitted on our other Stilo.

I own a skoda octavia TDi 130hp estate. In Feb 2008 I fitted a set of these on both axles. I don't do excessive mileage. Journeys are a mix of motorways and local commuting.
At motorway speeds in heavy rain I have always felt confident, and almost never experienced aquaplaning. The octavia is pretty quick of the mark and the front wheels can be made to slip when accelerating up on damp roads. Simple solution ease off on the go pedal. Its not a dangerous feature. Braking has always been a reliable experience.

I have just replaced the fronts after 17,600 miles, the tread wear indicators have just gone level with the top of the tread. I live at the bottom of a crescent that goes up to a T junction and up again to the main road. In the recent cold spell (dec 10) I have managed to get up and onto the main road on fresh snow. Neighbours have asked if I have 4wd!... They obviously have lead boots!!

I have just purchases 2 new ZV5's for £117 inc VAT (from setyres) (205/55/16/V's) The ZV3's cost me £255 for 4 - so I would say that they represent good value for money.

I have had Continental Raintyres in the past, grip in wet probably better but wear appalling..

Previously I had Goodyear F1 on the front of my Golf GTi MkIII they were superb, I was advised to fit these as they were British and it would be good for the economy. After a couple of months the ABS would kick in at slow speeds as I went around corners, went to my local garage who checked the steering pump and steering assembly, they could not find anything wrong the mechanics of the car and they checked the tyres which had 7mm of tread, the fault persisted and I eventually had a new steering pump fitted. This did not solve the problem, I asked for the garage to swap the Avons on the front with the Goodyear NCT5 on the back which have 3mm of tread, much better grip instantly.

Following on from my previous review the shoulder wear on front tyres has increased dramatically over the last few months. The rear are also wearing down to near the wear indicators. Don't think these tyres are designed for rear wheel drive machines as they arer wearing down far too fast. I've now replaced the fronts with two serbian trayal tyres to see if they can outperform the Avon! Note to AVON your tyres should last over 10,000 miles 1 year without signs of high wear. And yes the tracking is true!

I bought a full set of 4 Avon ZV3 for my old boy my 1992 rear wheel drive Sierra the tracking is kept in line regularly however the fronts are now wearing quite quickly on the left shoulder mainly due to excessive speed on cornering at roundabouts! These tyres were amazing in the Jan/Feb 2010 Snow, at slow speeds the tread pattern dug well into the snow with the solid rib keeping the car straight. (Rear wheel drive in the snow is good fun you must try it!) In the wet there is slight slide at speed but as you can feel the car about to go so you can compensate quickly with your speed. I'd buy the tyres again if they were on offer for around ?200 for 4 (fully fitted)

No recommended!!!

These were the only tyres that i could get one day so i bought them. And i found out straight away the grip i got was like night and day to the goodyears i previously had on my car. In the wet i had lost the back end a few times in corners and roundabouts, which i found out was a common fault on the corsa's. Since fitting these tyres no such problems and can accelerate round corners with confidence. Buy them you will be surprised. i got 12k out the front set so lasted ok!