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.
The German motoring publication tested premium, mid-range and budget tyres, with the most expensive product costing almost twice as much as the lowest priced candidate. As usual, safety considerations were a priority and accounted for a large portion of the scoring, but Auto Bild Allrad also evaluated each tyre for the traction it provides on grass, gravel, sand and dirt. As mentioned, Goodyear features twice in this test – in addition to the road-oriented Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, in-house tester Dierk Möller evaluated the Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure, an off-road tyre developed for tough off-road use and featuring a robust tread pattern and enhanced resistance to cuts from sharp-edged debris.
Off-road testing
We start with off-road testing, and Auto Bild Allrad reports that, on average, all ten tyres gave a good performance. As expected, the Goodyear all-terrain tyre faired best, but tester Möller was surprised that the Pirelli Scorpion achieved the same average score despite not being an off-road specialist. It proved the most balance across the individual tests on grass, gravel, sand and crushed stone. Behind it, the six tested ‘brand name’ tyres tied on points while the two budget tyres, scoring one point less, also performed respectably.
Wet testing
On to sealed surfaces and wet conditions, and the Goodyear Wrangler AllTerrain loses its home advantage. While its sibling the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 shows the greatest safety reserves in the wet and gains an Auto Bild ‘very good’ rating in the wet, the off-road tyre takes a bath. At 65.4 metres, its braking distance from 100 km/h is more than 37 per cent or almost 20 metres longer than that of the best performing tyre – bringing the BMW X5 test to a standstill more than three vehicle lengths later. Even the Hifly HP 801 SUV, which finished the wet braking test in ninth place, stops over a vehicle length sooner.
Dry testing
Road testing in the dry delivers a win to the Falken Azenis FK520, closely followed by the Vredestein Ultrac, Pirelli Scorpion and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6. The Michelin Pilot sport 4 SUV, Kumho Ecsta PS71 SUV and Bridgestone Turanza 6 finish slightly lower down the table but each with a ‘good’ rating. Auto Bild Allrad considers the Hifly tyre’s handling performance “borderline” but reserves its sharpest criticism for the Wrangler AT Adventure, reporting that this shows “safety deficits in dry handling and braking.” The Goodyear off-road tyre’s chunky tread also makes it noisy when driving, but the Michelin tyre isn’t much quieter. The lowest noise tyres were the Pirelli candidate and Triangle EffeX SUV TS 601. Bridgestone offers the lowest rolling resistance, followed by Falken and Michelin.
Goodyear wins…but doesn’t
Once Auto Bild Allrad counted all individual and category scores, it gave four tyres its highest ‘exemplary’ rating. In first place was the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, a tyre that according to tester Dierk Möller “best manages the balancing act between fulfilling all safety standards on tarmac and good traction off-road.” The Falken, Pirelli and Vredestein tyres also gained this top rating. As for the other Goodyear tyre, Möller comments that this “all-terrain tread has its raison d’être, but is completely unsuitable for everyday driving.”
