The tire testers at the ÖAMTC and its partners have never experienced anything like this before: after the big final tally of the summer tire test, they didn’t have to completely advise against a single brand. Nevertheless, there are three clear winners among the 16 candidates in the 215/55 R17 size.
“In over 50 years of tire testing, we have never had a test with such good results: three ‘Good’, 12 ‘Satisfactory’ and one ‘Sufficient’. But even the model at the end of the test table is not a bad tire depending on the requirements profile,” marvels club tire expert Steffan Kerbl. The fact that there is no “very good” despite the good results is due to the methodology. “For a tire to receive an overall grade of ‘Very Good’, it would also have to perform ‘Very Good’ in all individual categories – that is not realistically to be expected. There is a constant conflict of objectives, especially when it comes to tire testing: good driving characteristics are usually accompanied by softer rubber compounds and this, in turn, has a negative impact on mileage and tire wear,” explains the head of the ÖAMTC test department. Here are the three test winners. This makes the “Continental Premium” all the more respectable Contact 7”, which achieved the best rating in the test with an overall grade of “2.0” – and just missed “Very Good”, as Kerbl says. The “Michelin Primacy 4+” and the “Kumho Ecsta HS52” are also close behind with “Good”. One of the test models inevitably has to be at the bottom of the test table because it simply moves too quickly: the “Vredestein Ultrac”. “This tire only receives a ‘Satisfactory’ rating due to the predicted mileage of just under 30,000 kilometers. For comparison: The best in this criterion – Kumho Ecsta HS52 and Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance 2 come 40,000 kilometers further! “Nevertheless, the Vredestein can be an option for infrequent drivers, for example. In the driving safety category, this tire performs quite well,” explains Kerbl. Conversely, in addition to the Kumho and the Goodyear, the Michelin and the Continental, each with a predicted mileage of 60,000 km, are also interesting for frequent drivers. The “Semperit Speed-Life 3” also offers very good mileage. The broad midfield in the test consists of twelve summer tires that scored “satisfactory”. “Depending on your personal requirements, you can get inexpensive tires that offer good performance in certain categories. On the other hand, if a tire has to do everything as well as possible, you should go for a more expensive premium manufacturer,” says Kerbl. The test table helps with the selection: broken down according to driving safety and environmental impact, everyone will find what they are looking for according to their needs. The decisive factor is your personal driving profile. “In terms of safety, the price should be of secondary importance – a significantly shorter braking distance can be crucial for safety in an emergency and the price difference is usually not huge when calculated over the period of use.” Why only one tire dimension this time? The ÖAMTC usually tests in a tire test two different dimensions – in this summer tire test only one (215/55 R17). The background is that the club will instead publish a test with all-season tires at the end of June, also in just one dimension (205/55 R16).
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