Driving a car is currently becoming drastically more expensive, and the prices of tires are also increasing. So it makes sense to go for cheap products. But here you have to think carefully about which tire you choose, because safety is explicitly at stake here. ARBÖ and its partners GTÜ and ACE took a close look at cheap summer tires – two brands failed. The level in the test of the eight candidates was not particularly high overall.
The dimension 195/55 R16, which is used particularly frequently on small cars, a vehicle class that is very popular in Austria, was tested. In 2021 alone, around 45,000 vehicles were registered in the small and micro car segment. “First of all: none of the eight tires tested stood out in particular,” warns the ARBÖ. The Kleber Dynaxer HP4 performed best, with a total of 134 points missing the “highly recommended” rating by just one point. But even with “recommended”, the adhesive can call itself the test winner. The Dynaxer HP 4 wins all three chapter ratings and delivers passable values on all road surfaces. Second place goes to the Uniroyal Rainsport5 with 126 points, which comes closer to the test winner on wet roads than on dry roads. The braking performance in particular could be better. The Falken ZIEX ZE310 ECORUN secured third place. Although it performs better on wet and dry roads than the second-placed Uniroyal, in the “Environment/Economics” section it achieved the worst rating of the entire test field with 19 points. “If louder road noise doesn’t bother you, the Falken is a good choice, the driving and braking values are good, which means that a ‘recommended’ rating is absolutely justified,” says the club. conditionally recommended”. The Fulda Ecocontrol HP2 performs well on dry roads, but cannot quite keep up with the top field on wet surfaces. This also applies to the two fifth-place finishers, the Matador MP47 Hectorra 3 and the Milestone Green Sport. The Milestone in particular was of great interest to the test experts, as this tire is mainly sold via online portals, a source of supply that has meanwhile been accepted by end customers. With a total of 116 points, these two tires just barely achieve a “conditionally recommended”. Both the Milestone and the Matador have to get better, especially when it comes to braking. The test losers are dangerous when braking “Our test shows that the quality of inexpensive branded tires is still a bit removed from the level of high-quality branded tires. You shouldn’t necessarily save here, even if cheap tires are just about sufficient for everyday use. The differences become clear in the limit area,” concludes Erich Groiss, technical coordinator at ARBÖ. It is also important to note that using up winter tires in summer is not a good idea. The rubber compound is too soft for higher temperatures, driving behavior and braking distance suffer extremely. This is how ARBÖ, ACE and GTÜ tested: Tires were bought for the test, which were also available for the end user at the same time. The objective tests with measuring equipment were carried out by the test experts from ACE, ARBÖ and GTÜ in Papenburg on a Seat Ibiza with 81 kW (115 hp). The subjective tests with driving evaluations by the test experts were carried out on an identical VW Polo VI with the same engine. The test partner was Kumho (test site, test equipment). Cooper, Nissan Micra, Opel Adam, Opel Corsa, Peugeot 208, Renault Clio, Seat Ibiza, Toyota Yaris, VW Polo.
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