In the past, an all-season tire was at most a compromise, but today it can be quite an alternative to summer and winter tyres. At least, the really good ones. We tested 32 all-season tires, only four of which are true all-round talents.
The name promises a true total package with which you are always well prepared: all-season tires. These all-round talents offer clear advantages over the six-monthly change of summer and winter tires: no tiring changes, no second set of wheels, no storage costs and no dirty fingers. Handy, but isn’t safety an issue?
No, in our safety and tire tests in previous years, the all-season tires have regularly proven themselves with good marks for driving dynamics and safety in all seasons. This time, however, they have to compete in a different competition, because in this case it is not about safe all-season tires for small and compact cars, but for tires for the sporty middle class. That means more weight, higher engine power and higher demands on driving dynamics, a real challenge for the 32 all-season 225/50R17 tires we tested this time. From A for Apollo to V for Vredestein: every band gets a fair chance. Incidentally, we bought those tires anonymously from the tire dealer. We also tested a summer and a winter tire so that we can compare the all-season tires with them in terms of driving dynamics and safety. You have to make some small concessions, because for all-season tires there are many more requirements. They really have to offer the best of both worlds.
This is how we tested
For the main part of the test, we traveled with the sixteen finalists to Ivalo in Finland, beyond the Arctic Circle. Here, the natural snow from the winter season is stored in huge cold stores for year-round testing on a covered, prepared snow course. In our tests on wet and dry roads, on the other hand, it was a summery 22 degrees Celsius. We conducted these tests at the ATP test site in Papenburg and at the Wachauring in Austria. The wear test over a distance of 12,000 kilometers, which determines the cost chapter, was carried out by the wear experts of the German specialist IFV (Ingenieurgesellschaft für Fahrversuche).
Let’s not kid ourselves: all-season tires don’t offer the peak performance of summer or winter tyres. Yet they are safe and dynamic to drive, even in the case of sporty mid-range cars. Moreover, with these tires you are always on the safe side in case of sudden weather changes. This certainly applies to the test winners. This year there are 2 who received the verdict ‘excellent’. The overall winner is the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3, immediately followed by the Continental AllSeason Contact. In addition, the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 and the Vredestein Quatrac highly recommendable.
The complete AutoWeek Four Season Tire Test 2021 with all candidates and all measurement results can be found this week in AutoWeek 43 (27 October-3 November), but is also available digitally at the bottom of this article.
Price comparator
With the AutoWeek Car Tire Price Comparison we offer you a handy tool to find the best offers on all-season tires. The price comparator currently provides an overview of the full range of the largest tire providers. Also here are all tire tests of previous years can be found.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl