Anyone searching for 205/55 R16 tyres online will be spoiled for choice. This tyre size has been a bestseller for many years, with popular compact cars such as the VW Golf, Audi A3, Vauxhall Astra and Seat Leon wearing 205/55 R16 tyres as standard equipment. The broad range of brands and models for this dimension can complicate the process of buying replacement tyres, but Auto Bild helps here with its 2024 summer tyre test.
Having already subjected 55 tyre brands to wet and dry braking tests and selected the 20 best performers, Auto Bild now more intensively evaluates these finalists. It declares three of these tyres to be ‘exemplary’ products and considers a further 12 to be ‘good tyres. Four are just ‘adequate’ while one tyre receives a ‘conditionally recommendable’ rating.
Rated ‘exemplary’
Test winner – Michelin Primacy 4+
+ Balanced high performance potential, good handling qualities, short dry braking distances, exemplary mileage & economy
Continental PremiumContact 7
+ Exemplary performance on wet & dry surfaces, shortest wet & dry braking distances, good mileage potential
Bridgestone Turanza 6
+ Balanced driving characteristics, safe wet/dry handling, short braking distances, very good mileage potential
Rated ‘good’
Economy champion – Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2
+ Outstanding mileage potential, stable safe driving behaviour, moderate price, very good price-performance ratio
– Moderate grip in wet conditions
Kumho Ecsta HS52
+ Convincing performance on wet & dry roads, short wet & dry braking distances, affordably priced
– Moderate ride comfort
Firestone Roadhawk
+ Sporty, dynamic handling, short dry braking distances, good price-performance ratio
– Elevated ride noise
Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun
+ Good safety reserves in aquaplaning, dynamic dry handling, short dry braking distances
– Limited mileage potential
Hankook Ventus Prime 4
+ Dynamic handling on wet & dry roads, short dry braking distances, low rolling resistance
– Moderate mileage potential
Toyo Proxes Comfort
+ Dynamic wet & dry handling, short braking distances, quiet rolling noise, moderate price level
– Low mileage potential
Dunlop Sport BluResponse
+ Good aquaplaning qualities, short dry braking distances, low rolling resistance
– Average grip on wet surfaces
Fulda EcoControl HP2
+ Short dry braking distances, low noise, outstanding mileage potential, good efficiency
– Moderate lateral control on dry roads
BF Goodrich Advantage
+ Dynamic dry handling, low ride noise, low rolling resistance, favourably priced
– Tendency to understeer in the wet
Kleber Dynaxer HP4
+ Good aquaplaning safety, short dry braking distances, good ride comfort
– Understeer, moderate mileage potential
GT Radial FE 2
+ Safe aquaplaning qualities, short dry braking distances, very favourable price level
– Average grip on wet & dry surfaces
Giti GitiSynergy H2
+ Safe wet handling, short dry braking distances, moderately priced
– Tendency to understeer on dry surfaces, very high rolling resistance
Rated ‘satisfactory’
Pirelli Cinturato P7
+ Short dry braking distances, dynamic steering & handling behaviour
– Mileage & economy just satisfactory, higher price level
Nexen N’Fera Primus
+ Good braking performance, dynamic wet handling
– Delayed steering response, limited mileage/economy
Uniroyal RainSport 5
+ Good aquaplaning qualities, safe wet handling
– Spongy handling & limited lateral control on dry roads
Maxxis Premitra 5 HP5
+ Good mileage potential, short dry braking distances
– Delayed steering response, moderate grip level on wet & dry surfaces
Rated ‘conditionally recommendable’
Vredestein Ultrac
+ Excellent driving dynamics, short wet & dry braking distances, very good aquaplaning properties
– Low mileage potential, elevated rolling resistance
Balanced performance is key
Auto Bild questions the safety of 13 tyre brands eliminated during the preliminary wet and dry braking testing. None of the 20 finalists give cause for similar concern, but the publication’s tyre testers conclude their test reportage by noting that “brilliant individual performances do not make a winner.”
As an example, the testers point to the Vredestein Ultrac, which finished 3rd from 55 tyres in the preliminary test round. Cost-related issues, in particular high rolling resistance and low mileage, resulted in the Vredestein tyre finishing the finals in last place. Real top talents, comments Auto Bild, “impress with balanced performance across the board.”
