15 high-performing SUV tyres 2022

WhatTyre’s inaugural Tyre of the Year awards in 2021 proved to be so popular that they are back again this year with more categories and an even more thorough qualifying procedure. So, if you want to know the top 15 SUV tyres, keep reading over the next few weeks.

The coverage starts with the increasingly popular SUV tyre sector. While some choice individuals have been hacking at SUV tyres in a high-profile effort to reduce emissions, what those protestors missed is that modern Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and Crossover Utility Vehicles (CUVs) are not only increasingly popular, but even the solely internal combustion engine-driven models are now as emissions-efficient as the standard cars of only a few years ago. Tyres play a strategic part in green performance. So, with fuel prices at record highs, the rolling resistance figures measured as part of our unique Tyrescore, which is at the heart of the Tyre of the Year testing methodology, is as important as ever.

In addition, industry research repeatedly shows that SUV drivers also demand safety, driving performance and comfort. So, anyone investing the several hundred pounds necessary in replacing a set of SUV tyres would do well to make sure they get the most for their money. That’s where WhatTyre’s Tyre of the Year (TOTY) comes in.

Upgraded TyreScore and methodology at the heart of 2022 awards

The process begins with Tyrepedia, the 750-brand, 340,000-tyre strong database upon which WhatTyre is built. Most of us struggle to name more than a couple of tyre brands unprompted, so our system helps speed things up by doing the leg-work for you. First, we filtered our database according to the top three SUV tyre sizes, which this year are: 235/60/18, 215/55/18 and 235/55/19. Between them, these sizes are representative of the wider SUV tyre parc and also help us focus our attention specifically on tyres designed for SUV-type vehicles.

From here, our system interrogates the European Tyre label all tyres are required to bear, assigning numerical values to normally letter-based rolling resistance and wet grip performance categories. From here, pass-by noise is factored-in and weighted according to the relatively importance of that performance characteristic to consumers here in the UK (in other words, not as highly as fuel consumption/rolling resistance and wet grip). Together these calculations constitute the first phase of our TyreScore algorithm.

Next, we cross-referenced the results of the first phase of the TyreScore calculation with our database of almost 7000 European magazine tyre tests. These are important because they test a far wider range of performance characteristics than the European tyre label and therefore give a deeper insight into the performance of tyres under test. And because our system is based on the data of all the most respected tests in Europe, our calculation is arguably more complete, wide-ranging and less likely to over-emphasise the performance of outliers.

Once a long-list of the top products on the market is completed, the peak performance of individual products in each range is balanced against the average performance of the range as a whole. We included this latter point after listening to feedback from readers and industry experts that pointed out that, while some ranges may have an outstanding result in one size or designed as a homologated replacement tyre for specific marques, not all tyremakers are able to offer the same standards across the range. With this in mind, we updated our methodology and offer our unique method of assessing the whole range.

However, we also recognise that supplying tyres certified to original equipment standards is a mark of quality that requires tyre manufacturers to perform at the highest level. And therefore our calculation also gives credit where credit is due based OE homologation data.

From here, we whittle our long-list down to a short-list of the top 15 tyres in the segment. Such is the intricacy of our TyreScore metascoring process combined with our segment-specific Tyre of the Year methodology there are no ties in the top 15. However, load rating and speed rating data associated with the peak performance examples in the key segment tyre sizes listed during phase one, provide both helpful background data and the ability to differentiate in the event of a tie.

Throughout the development of WhatTyre.com we have sought to raise the level of conversation about tyres. Why? Not only because those four postcard-sized patches between tyres and tarmac are your car’s only contact with the road, but also because when you choose cheap you get low performance. But when you choose performance, you can get great value. Since that reality has been borne out repeatedly over the years, we used the average price across each shortlisted tyre according to our list of online points of sale to calculate a price-per-point figure for each of the top 15 tyres in the SUV segment. That calculation on top of the preceding objective performance-based steps allows us to nominate a value champion. The value champion will have had to clear the same high bar as the rest of the top 15, but may not offer the best performance out there or win every test published like our winners regularly do. However, it will offer commended levels of performance and do so at either a competitive price point or offer good value from an overall perspective.

15 commended tyres

The result of this detailed, complex and nuanced process is that the 15 tyres selected for commendation as part of the 2022 WhatTyre Tyre of the Year awards not only stand out as some of the best products on the market, but also represent ranges that offer consistently high levels of performance. And since these results are based on objective data combined with tests conducted by industry-leading experts, our conclusions are not hearsay.

Therefore, we are delighted to announce that the 15 tyres listed below have been highly commended as part of the 2022 WhatTyre Tyre of the Year awards. Competition between them has been extremely fierce, with less than 1.2 TyreScore points between the top and the bottom of the table, but we have also been able to identify three particularly outstanding products as well as a couple of value champions – details of which will be published shortly.

WhatTyre SUV Tyre of the Year 2022 finalists In alphabetical order