Christmas might be the most wonderful time of the year for Andy Williams, but at WhatTyre.com we prefer the pre-summer tyre testing season. That’s why we are happy to see the first results for Auto Bild’s summer tyre test. Continuing the successful format of previous years, the well-known German motoring publication has again selected an enormous field of test candidates.
In 2025, it is looking at no less than 52 tyres in size 225/40 R18. As Dierk Möller, Auto Bild’s tame tester, would probably still be standing out on the track were he to fully test each and every one of these, he carried out a preliminary round of wet and dry braking tests to determine which products would continue to the final, comprehensive test round. Here’s the tyres that made it, and those that didn’t.
Möller and Auto Bild selected the 20 tyres with the shortest combined wet and dry braking distances as its finalists, and topping the list is the Bridgestone Potenza Sport. This tyre delivered the shortest stopping distance from 100km/h on a dry surface, just 32.6 metres, as well as a very respectable 27.6 metre stopping distance from 80km/h in wet conditions. The shortest wet stopping distance was a three-way draw between the Hankook Ventus Evo, Kumho Ecsta PS71 and Linglong Sport Master.
Congratulations to Linglong for being the first Chinese brand to achieve a top five finish in an Auto Bild preliminary test. Joining Linglong, which manufactures the Sport Master at its plant in Serbia, on the list of finalists are two further Chinese brands – Sailun, in ninth place with its Atrezzo ZSR2, and Giti Tire with its GitiSport S2. Japanese and Korean tyre makers each contribute four products to the finalists’ list, five for Japan if counting the Dunlop tyre.
Unsurprisingly, the list of finalists is premium-heavy, but although the ‘usual suspects’ are all present they don’t dominate the top spots. Continental, a regular fixture on the Auto Bild podium, found itself eighth with the PremiumContact 7, while Pirelli only just made the grade and finished proceedings in 20th place.
Eliminated from test
As for the 32 tyres that Auto Bild cut during its preliminary round, the list is dividable into two parts. The products ranked from 21 to 40 are largely the second brands of major manufacturers, with a few up-and-coming brands in between. Using traffic light colour coding on his results table, Dierk Möller gives these tyres an amber colouring.
From 40th place, we enter the territory occupied by lesser-known brands, and Möller has reserved a fiery shade of red for these products. The last placed tyre of the 52 is the Autogreen SmartChaser SC1. The Autogreen tyre holds the dubious distinction of having the longest stopping distance in the wet – and by a wide margin. At 43.6 metres, the SmartChaser SC1’s wet stopping distance from 80km/h was 5.0 metres longer than the next worst performer and a metal-crunching 16.2 metres longer than the best result.
