All-season tires: Seven models in test 🎥
ADVICE More and more tire manufacturers are launching all-season tires on the market. But how good are they really? TCS tested seven models. None of the tires received more than a "conditionally recommendable" overall rating. All tires tested by TCS have a snowflake symbol and are considered winter tires. Just a few years ago, the matter was clear: In [...]
All tires tested by TCS have a snowflake symbol and are considered winter tires.
Just a few years ago, the situation was clear: summer tires were fitted to the car in summer and fine-tread winter tires were the first choice in winter. But now more and more manufacturers are coming onto the market with products for the whole year. And demand is rising.
Requirements for an all-season tire
A good all-season tire should offer the driver sufficient safety from sub-zero temperatures on snow and ice to high temperatures in summer. This balancing act is usually only achieved by compromises in tire design.
If the focus is on winter suitability (snow performance), this usually affects the tire's properties on dry roads. If the basic characteristics of the tire are designed as a summer tire, the winter properties are limited. The appropriate compromise therefore depends heavily on the individual area of use.
These are the main differences
Winter tires can be recognized by their numerous sipes, which provide sufficient grip in snow and ice. They are made of a softer rubber than summer tires to ensure driving stability and a short braking distance even in sub-zero temperatures.
Summer tires, on the other hand, have several wide longitudinal grooves designed to absorb as much water as possible in wet conditions. Flexible tread blocks ensure safety even in extreme driving situations.
All-season tires, with their small sipes and pronounced longitudinal grooves, are visually a mixture of a winter and a summer tire. The rubber compound must be designed to function at temperatures between minus 20 and plus 40 degrees.
So it stands to reason: All-season tires remain a compromise and do not come close to the performance of seasonally adapted summer and winter tires.
Who can drive with all-season tires?
Anyone who wants to choose all-season tires should know exactly the individual application profile of the vehicle as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the tires.
For drivers who live in a temperate climate region and are not planning a skiing vacation or summer vacation in the south, for example, the all-season tires, which have good properties either on dry and wet roads, or even on snow and ice, are an alternative.
Of course, this also applies to owners of second and small cars who drive with few kilometers, especially in urban areas, but also to all those who want to save costs for the conversion and can leave the car in winter weather.
Main criterion is lack of performance
None of the seven tires tested by the TCS gets beyond a "conditionally recommendable" rating. And none of these tires is comparable to summer or winter tires.
All tires tested were downgraded in overall score due to lack of performance in one main criterion tested.
Results of the tests at a glance
The Continental AllSeasonContact, the Goodyear Vector 4 Season, the Michelin CrossClimate+ and the Nokian Weatherproof perform best in the test.
The Continental and the Goodyear, together with the Uniroyal AllSeasonExpert 2, offer the most satisfactory wet performance, but cannot convince in the dry. Relaxed driving on the highway is hardly possible with it, because the line has to be corrected constantly.
At the bottom of the results table is the Vredestein Quatrac pro and the Bridgestone Weather Control A005. The Bridgestone was downgraded to a "not recommended" overall rating due to its poor results on snow.
