Al Volante: Summer Tire Test 2020
The new Pirelli model debuted in the independent publication tests, where it was immediately faced with some serious rivals.
List of models tested:
- Bridgestone Turanza T005
- Continental PremiumContact 6
- Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun
- Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2
- Hankook Ventus Prime3 K125
- Michelin Primacy 4
- Nokian Wetproof
- Pirelli Cinturato P7 (P7C2)
- Roadhog RGHP01
- Vredestein Ultrac Satin
The recent test conducted by the Italian publication Al Volante involved tires of every price bracket, from popular brands to total «no-names». The victory was disputed by 10 brands, including the new Pirelli Cinturato P7 (P7C2) model, whose chief rivals were Continental PemiumContact 6, Bridgestone Turanza T005, Nokian Wetproof, Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 (yet another new model 2020), Hankook Ventus Prime3, Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun, Michelin Primacy 4, and Vredestein Ultrac Satin.
This time around, the «dark horse» of the test was the Roadhog RGHP01 tire from the line of one of the private brands belonging to the Dutch company Inter-Sprint (which also owns the brands of Mastersteel, Milestone, and Tyfoon). In Italy, a Roadhog tire is priced at about 40 Euro, while the price of other tested tires ranges from 75 to 100 Euros. As AV noted, this was the cheapest tire that the magazine was able to find online in the size chosen for the test — 225/45 R17.
When Pirelli presented this new model fairly recently, the company stated that, among other things, it improved on the tire’s wet performance, and the P7C2 did indeed substantiate this promise in the appropriate part of the test. The Pirelli model performed fairly well in all of the wet disciplines, and it might have become the leader in this segment of the test, but it ultimately had to yield the first place to the Continental model, which demonstrated the shortest braking distance and the best straight hydroplaning resistance on test.
Then follow Falken and Bridgestone, the cheap Roadhog model predictably scoring the last line of the tournament bracket. At the same time, however, it must be noted that the tire model from Inter-Sprint was still able to outperform the much more expensive Vredestein, and in two very important disciplines, too — the braking efficiency and the handling response — which gives us reasons to think that this other Dutch tire brand also has issues with wet traction.
Wet surface
In the dry tests, the first place was scored by the Continental tires, which yet again were able to bring the car to a standstill faster than all of their rivals, and it becomes clear that the German tire giant is adding yet another independent test victory to its list of achievements.
The second place in the dry tests, when the asphalt was heated up to 40 degrees, was shared by Pirelli, Bridgestone, and Michelin, but it must be said that the tires from the French manufacturer were the noisiest on test. The fact that the Vredestein tires require modernization was confirmed in this part of the test as well, in which this model scored the last place, yielding even to the low-budget Roadhog.
Dry surface
As was already said, in the final standings the first place was scored by Continental, the new Pirelli model scoring second place. Still, however, in spite of the fact that it could not make a clean sweep of the competition at its home field, the debut can generally be considered successful.
Bridgestone, Michelin, and Nokian also made it to the top five, the new Goodyear model being left outside. But then again, with the tires scoring the top lines of the tournament bracket, the difference in points was all but negligible. The Roadhog model, in spite of all of the «achievements» shown by Vredestein, still went down to the bottom line of the tournament bracket, due to the inadequate level of wet traction.
Overall rating
Test results
1st place: Continental PremiumContact 6
Quick TakeContinental PremiumContact 6
- This tire replaced Continental / ContiPremiumContact 5
- Available Sizes in Line: 150
- Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
- • Audi
- • Jaguar
- • Mercedes-Benz
- • Volvo
- Year Released: 2016
- Regions for sale: Northern America, Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia, Oceania
- The shortest braking distance on wet and dry pavements
- The best hydroplaning resistance
- On wet pavement, the car feels very steady and provides excellent handling response (there are only slight issues with understeer under high loads)
- Crisp steering response and predictable behavior on dry pavement
2nd place: Pirelli Cinturato P7 (P7C2)
Quick TakePirelli Cinturato P7 (P7C2)
- This tire replaced Pirelli / Cinturato P7
- Year Released: 2020
- Regions of sales: unknown
- The best lateral hydroplaning resistance
- Great handling response on wet pavement (only slight deterioration of performance observed under high loads)
- Good handling response and predictable behavior on wet pavement
- Acceptable noise level and fuel efficiency
3rd place: Bridgestone Turanza T005
Quick TakeBridgestone Turanza T005
- This tire has run-flat model:
- Available Sizes in Line: 223
- Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
- • Audi A7 4G9 [2018 .. 2020]
- Year Released: 2018
- Regions for sale: Americas, Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia, Middle East & North Africa, Oceania
- Great traction and good lateral stability on wet pavement (however, under high loads, quick overheating and deterioration of performance occur)
- Good overall handling response on dry pavement (however, there are some issues with the traction balance between the front and the rear axles)
- Acceptable noise level
4th place: Michelin Primacy 4
Quick TakeMichelin Primacy 4
- Available Sizes in Line: 120
- Year Released: 2017
- Regions for sale: Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia, Oceania
- Well-balanced and stable performance on wet pavement
- Short braking distance and crisp steering response on dry pavement
- Low lateral hydroplaning resistance
- High noise emission
5th place: Nokian Wetproof
Quick TakeNokian Wetproof
- Available Sizes in Line: 74
- Year Released: 2019
- Regions for sale: Europe
- Acceptable performance on wet pavement (but there were certain issues with the traction on the front axle, particularly after a few laps)
- Short braking distance on dry pavement
- Low noise emission
- The fuel efficiency label was not confirmed by the test results
- Delayed steering response on dry pavement
6th place: Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2
Quick TakeGoodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2
- This tire replaced Goodyear / EfficientGrip Performance
- Available Sizes in Line: 50
- Year Released: 2020
- Regions for sale: Europe
- Low rolling resistance
- Great performance on wet pavement in a «cold» state, but after a few laps (in the Italian heat) both traction and lateral stability are compromised
- Delayed handling response during high-speed cornering on dry pavement
- A little noisy
7th place: Hankook Ventus Prime3 K125
Quick TakeHankook Ventus Prime 3 K125
- This tire replaced Hankook / Ventus Prime 2 K115
- Available Sizes in Line: 125
- Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
- • Ford Focus Active IV [2018 .. 2020]
- • Citroën C3 Aircross [2017 .. 2020]
- Year Released: 2015
- Regions for sale: Eastern Asia, Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia, Oceania
- The tire ensured great handling response and driving safety during maneuvering on wet pavement, even during extended high loads
- Great traction balance between the front and rear axles, combined with a high level of driving safety on dry pavement
- Relatively long braking distance on wet pavement
8th place: Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun
Quick TakeFalken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun
- Available Sizes in Line: 122
- Year Released: 2017
- Regions for sale: Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia
- Good traction and handling response in the wet
- High lateral hydroplaning resistance
- Low noise emission
- Delayed steering response during emergency maneuvers on dry pavement
- High rolling resistance
9th place: Vredestein Ultrac Satin
Quick TakeVredestein Ultrac Satin
- Available Sizes in Line: 78
- Original Equipment (OE) tires for:
- • Volkswagen Touareg III [2018 .. 2020]
- Year Released: 2016
- Regions for sale: Northern America, Europe, Eastern Europe & Central Asia
- Good cornering stability on dry pavement
- The longest braking distance both on wet and dry pavement
- Insufficient traction on the rear axle on wet pavement
10th place: Roadhog RGHP01
Quick TakeRoadhog RGHP01
- Year Released: unknown
- Regions for sale: Europe
- Acceptable noise level, smooth ride
- Poor traction, especially lateral, and low level of driving safety on wet pavement
- Delayed steering response on dry pavement