Auto Bild is limbering up to publish its 2023 all-season tyre test, which includes a total of 35 premium, mid-range and budget products in size 225/45 R17. As in other years, the German motoring publication has whittled down this broad field of contenders by evaluating the wet and dry braking of each and every tyre in a preliminary test round. This leaves just 16 finalists to slug it out.
Bridgestone’s Turanza All Season 6 delivered the best combined wet and dry braking distance result, followed by the Michelin CrossClimate 2 and Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2. Other finalists include the Vredestein Quatrac, Continental AllSeasonContact 2, Falken EuroAll Season AS220 Pro, BFGoodrich Advantage All Season, Kleber Quadraxer 3, Nexen N’Blue 4Season 2, Firestone Multiseason 2, Dunlop Sport All Season, Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3, Hankook Kinergy 4S², Ceat 4 SeasonDrive+, Kumho Solus 4S HA32 + and Toyo Celsius AS2.
19 tyres eliminated
While these 16 tyres progress to the second round of testing and each has a chance to gain a place upon the podium, 19 tyres were knocked out in the preliminary round. Auto Bild eliminated all tyres with a wet/dry braking distance of more than 92.0 metres. The Minerva profile All Season Master was the closest to the top 16, followed by Lanvigator Catchfors A/S, Barum Quartaris 5, Linglong Grip Master 4S and Yokohama BluEarth-4S AW21, Kormoran All Season, A Plus A909 All Season, Headway PSM01 4 Seasons, Tracmax X-Privilo Trac Saver, Sava All Weather, Tourador X All Climate TF1, CST Medallion All Season ACP1 and Fulda MultiControl.
Don’t shoot the messenger – Auto Bild “expressly advises” against six tyres at the bottom of its wet and dry braking performance table. All six had a combined braking distance in excess of 100 metres, or at least 16.5 metres longer than the Bridgestone tyre’s best performance. This harsh verdict applies to the Tomket Allyear 3, Hifly All-Turi 221, Leao I-Green All Season, Atlas Green 4S, Goodride All Season Elite Z-401 and Black Arrow All Season Dart 4S.
The difference in stopping distance between the top-placed Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6 and the wooden spoon-holding Black Arrow All Season Dart 4S is 18.8 metres. Auto Bild comments that “Such a significant discrepancy can make the difference between a safe braking manoeuvre and a rear-end collision in road traffic.” The contrast between the best and worst braking distances in dry conditions is less dramatic, but still clearly measurable. Here the Michelin CrossClimate 2 secured the best value with 37.7 metres, more than seven metres ahead of the Hifly All-Turi 221.
