Best all-season tyres: tyre brands reviewed and UK prices compared

Increasingly extreme weather is an argument for using a winter tyre for the coldest months and a summer version for the warmer seasons, as many drivers on the Continent are compelled to do. However, the climate in the UK and some other parts of northern Europe doesn’t bring much snow, hence the rising popularity of the third option, the all-season tyre. 

Like winter tyres, all-season designs carry the 3PMSF symbol (3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake) on the sidewall, which shows they have been certified safe and capable in snow. The difference is that they are designed to provide greater performance than a winter tyre in summer conditions, allowing them to be used all year round, hence their all-season name. 

Of course, no single tyre can be best in snow, wet and dry weather, so our all-season test measures their performance in each of these conditions to reveal the balance each tyre maker has struck.

To add some perspective, we also tested our winter and summer winners in this size alongside these all-season contenders. Plus we included a budget all-season tyre to see what paying more for a premium brand gets you. 

What we tested

The big-selling 205/55 R16 is on test this year and our tyres include last year’s winner, the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3, and two-time winner, the Hankook Kinergy 4S2. 

Continental returns too, as does Vredestein, with the pair joined by Bridgestone and  Pirelli. The Imperial All Season Driver is our budget tyre. 

Due to shipping problems, we asked firms to supply tyres. To ensure they were what you can buy, we checked our top three in wet braking against tyres bought in market. All were within tolerance. 

The EU label ratings below cover fuel economy (RR) and wet grip (WG), which range from A to E, with A the best. Pass-by noise (N) is measured in decibels, so the lower the number the better. 

How we tested the tyres

Snow

For the snow tests we used Hankook’s Technotrac facility at Ivalo in Finland. Conditions were good, with track temperatures ranging from minus 7-12C. Braking was tested from 35-10kph (22-6mph), and acceleration from 10-35kph (6-22mph), while handling was assessed on a mildly undulating, 1.2km (0.75-mile) track with fast and slow corners.  

Wet and dry tests

All wet and dry tests were carried out at Continental’s Contidrom near Hanover in Germany. We measured each tyre’s wet braking stopping distance from 80kph (50mph) to zero, its wet lateral grip on a 57.5m-diameter circle, and resistance to aquaplaning in deeper water in both a straight line and on a curve. The challenging, 1.8km (1.1-mile) wet handling circuit revealed each tyre’s cornering, traction, handling balance and breakaway characteristics. 

Dry braking & noise

Dry braking distances were measured from 100kmh (62mph) to zero and we took lap times on a one-mile section of the serpentine dry handling circuit, which showed each tyre’s grip, handling balance and transient composure. In-cabin noise was measured on three surfaces and the average calculated.  

Fuel economy & price

We measured rolling resistance – the energy required to turn a loaded tyre – to industry standards; a four to five per cent change in rolling resistance is equivalent to around a one per cent change in fuel consumption. 

Prices are from our online retailer test winner Black Circles and are for a fitted tyre at the time of writing. For tyres not sold by Black Circles, an average of the prices at other outlets was used. Price plays only a small part in the overall result. 

Calculating a winner

The results for each test category are converted into percentages, with the top tyre rated at 100 per cent and the rest scored relative to this. In terms of the overall score, reflecting the conditions we face in the UK, 50 per cent is allocated to wet performance, 30 per cent to dry and 10 per cent to snow, with the emphasis on handling and braking in the wet and snow disciplines. The final 10 per cent is shared between the other tests.