Tyre Tests

Kumho is very pleased with the ‘exemplary’ rating its Ecsta PS71 gained in the Auto Bild 2025 summer tyre test. It earned the motoring publication’s top rating when evaluated in size 225/40R18, finishing joint fourth from a total of 52 candidates. Auto Bild particularly praised the Ecsta PS71 for its outstanding performance in dry conditions and the best result in the wet.

Even though most SUVs and 4x4s in the UK never venture far from public roads, a sizeable number of drivers demand that their tyres be equally at home on gravel, sand and grass as they are on the highway. Auto Bild Allrad has compared ten SUV tyres in size 255/55 R18, looking at nine brands in total. Goodyear is represented twice – although it probably thinks once would have been enough.

Motoring association ADAC has published a tyre test with a difference. Instead of car, SUV or 4x4 tyres, it has chosen to evaluate tyres for trailers, caravans and horse trailers. All ten brands in this test are specifically developed trailer tyres that carry the designations ‘trailer use only’ or ‘free rolling tyre’. All test candidates are the popular trailer size 185 R 14, rated N for speeds up to 87 mph or 140 km/h.

In its 2025 test of summer tyres, Sportauto not only highlights the advantages of mixed diameter fitments. The motoring publication also compares original equipment and aftermarket tyres, emphasising why the former may not be the best choice – despite being tailor made for a specific vehicle model.

Marketers toss the word sustainable around with gusto, and for many people it means everything and nothing. We were therefore interested to see exactly what auto motor und sport had in mind when it announced that sustainability would feature prominently in its 2025 test of six tyre brands in size 215/55 R 17, a dimension found on both electric and combustion-powered cars and crossovers as well as compact SUVs.

Just a decade ago, cars with 19-inch rims were still regarded with a smidgen of awe. But times change, and this size is now standard for many manufacturers, particularly on their sportier models. Particularly popular is the size 235/35 R19, with almost every tyre maker now including it in their ranges. But instead of choosing this dimension for its summer 2025 test, Auto Bild Sportscars selected 245/35 R19.

Choosing the right tyre for hot hatches and sports compact cars such as the VW Golf GTI is crucial for safety and driving pleasure. To make choosing the right tyre an easier decision, Die Reifentester has evaluated eight tyres in the popular 225/40 ZR18 size. Die Reifentester team – tyre tester and former tyre developer Dirk Vincken, together with experienced motoring journalist Joachim Fischer – compared the tyres at the ATP proving ground in Papenburg, Germany.

With more than 50 products typically in the running, Auto Bild tests are amongst the most respected and anticipated comparative evaluations for tyre buyers across Europe. This is why Sailun Tyre is thrilled to have achieved the milestone of its Sailun Atrezzo ZSR2 becoming the first Chinese tyre brand to achieve a top ten test finish in the trade publication’s 39-year history.

After keeping us waiting for a couple of weeks, Auto Bild has published the outcome of its summer tyre testing for 2025. Having eliminated more than half the original 52 tyre brands in a preliminary round of wet and dry braking, the publication’s test specialist Dierk Möller examined the 20 remaining size 225/40 R18 tyres in greater detail, investigating how each performed in conditions that motorists typically encounter throughout the year. Auto Bild also weighed up purchase price and its relationship to mileage potential, as well as rolling resistance, to give each tyre a ‘cost’ score for these factors.