Tires are expensive and you need new ones regularly. It makes sense to choose them primarily based on price. But this can be fatal, as the joint summer tire test by ARBÖ, ACE and GTÜ has shown again. This time there were ten tires for compact cars in size 225/45 R17. One failed completely, two others are also not without risk – the three cheapest brands in the test.
It’s about time to switch to summer tires (if you don’t have all-season tires). This test can help you make a purchase decision. The winner was the most expensive.Braking tests on dry roadsWhen braking hard from 100 km/h to a standstill, the tires from the different manufacturers show a significant spread. While the Continental tire comes to a stop after just 33.7 meters, the Austone tire only does this after 38.2 meters. The distance of 4.5 meters between the front runner and the rear driver is therefore around the length of the car – this makes the difference between a safe stop during an emergency braking and hitting an unwanted obstacle on the road. The midfield is fairly balanced and in some cases only differs by a few centimeters.Braking on wet roadsIn the next test scenario, the team reduces the speed to 80 km/h and applies emergency braking on wet roads. Just as when braking on dry roads, the Continental is also the class leader on wet asphalt and stops after just 27.4 meters. Behind this, the values are close together. Only the two cheapest models from Milestone and the Austone require around four meters more braking distance. Clear winner in handling The differences in the handling course on wet roads are even more striking. The Continental alone takes first place here. It impresses with its good grip and really good and balanced steering behavior with good feedback for the driver. Test driver Henning Renner identified three tires as losers in this category: Austone, Milestone and Berlin. “They are unsafe to drive, sometimes lead to too much oversteer, their steering behavior is imprecise, they have significantly less grip and you have to deal with increased understeer during acceleration.” His verdict is clear: “These tires can be a safety risk for normal drivers in an emergency situation represent.”AquaplaningIn the aquaplaning test, many placements turn around. While Maxxis was in second place when braking wet, the tire slipped to last place when aquaplaning in the curve. Vredestein moves from midfield to first place and is well ahead of the Continental. Milestone, always in second to last place when braking, makes it into the middle field here. Conclusion of the 2024 summer tire test The results underline how important an intensive tire test is. Only a really safe tire delivers consistently good performance. In addition to the aspects of traffic safety, passing noise and rolling resistance are also evaluated. The overall winner is clearly the Continental. It impresses in all disciplines of traffic safety and offers the greatest safety in the test field. The only flaw: It is the loudest of all the tires – and it is the most expensive at 364 euros for four pieces. Vredestein (308 euros), Michelin (336 euros) and Pirelli (348 euros) are also highly recommended. Austone (216 euros) failed and is therefore not recommended. Milestone (212 euros) and Berlin (236 euros) are only partially recommended in the overall ranking. But they also fail in the disciplines of traffic safety: the results in braking and wet handling are clear. They can pose a safety risk for normal drivers and therefore also endanger other road users. The tests were carried out at the Triwo test center southwest of Frankfurt am Main. Vehicles were an Opel Astra Sportstourer for the objective tests and a Volkswagen Golf VII Variant for the subjective tests. The tire prices were determined daily as of the editorial deadline on March 11, 2024 via the Check24 portal.
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