Ten summer tires for 4x4s and SUVs want to show us the right way. The question is whether all tires manage to conquer the slopes, especially those from the Far East. We test these tires in size 255 / 55R18.
In this test, we tested ten tires in size 255 / 55R18. This size is mounted under heavy-duty SUVs like the BMW X5, Mercedes GLE, Audi Q7 and Volkswagen Touareg. The ten tires tested were produced by well-known and lesser-known brands. We need no further explanation of brand names such as Michelin, Goodyear, Dunlop, Pirelli and Vredestein (which have been in Indian hands for ten years now). The Finnish brand Nokian is mainly known in Scandinavia and produces its tires in the home country, but also through a joint venture in Russia and soon in the United States. In any case, the Barum brand is less known in Western Europe. The Czech tire manufacturer was acquired in 1993 by the German Continental group. Cooper, on the other hand, is a purebred American manufacturer. The name Maxxis, a brand name of the Taiwanese tire giant Cheng Chin, will not ring a bell with everyone either. The Lexani brand name was initially linked to eye-catching tuning wheels and later appeared on ‘regular’ car tires, although these are tires manufactured by South Korean manufacturer Nexen. Lexani summer tires are the cheapest tires in this test, with a purchase price that is about 50 percent lower than that of the Michelins – which are also considerably priced. But they are also by far the worst performing tires in the entire series. This is mainly due to the braking performance, which completely falls short on wet surfaces. With the expensive Michelin tires, the test car comes to a standstill after 46.4 meters at an initial speed of 100 km / h, while with the low-budget tire from Lexani it takes no less than 68.3 meters to come to a standstill, or a braking distance that is almost 22 meters longer! That makes for an extremely thin number of points and so our conclusion is that these tires are not recommended. No other tire drops such stitches on a test item, nor do the tires of the lesser-known brands. In any case, those tires still score satisfactory. The well-known brands are doing a lot better.
Conclusion
With convincing performance, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV see that it can be worth spending a little more. Also the Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 and the Vredestein Ultrac Satin are worth considering with an excellent rating. The full result of the SUV Summer Tire Test with all test results can be read this week in Techzle No. 17 (April 22-29), or digitally available at the bottom of this article.
Price comparator
With the Techzle Car Tire Price Comparison we offer you a handy tool to find the best offers on summer tires. At the moment, the price comparison offers an overview of the full range of 19 different tire providers. All tire tests from previous years can also be found here.
Also see:
- Top 10 Techzle Summer Tire Test SUV 2020
- Price comparison car tires
- Summer tire test 2020 245 / 45R18
- Summer tire test 2020 for sports cars