All-season tyres are undoubtedly becoming more popular, but several questions still hang over them. First, how to compete successfully with classic summer and winter tyres; second, how to offer good handling on wet surfaces at the same time; and third, how to ultimately create an environmentally friendly product. There are many challenges, so it is quite logical to doubt whether it is even possible to make a tyre that meets all these requirements at an enviable level.
The tyre has to be comfortable to drive in summer conditions, at an asphalt temperature of 50 degrees Celsius, but also safe in dangerous situations. The same tyre should also allow the safest possible handling in winter conditions, at temperatures below zero and on snow-covered roads. And it would have to be just as safe on wet and slippery roads. On top of that, it would also have to be durable, light, economical and quiet. How can all of that be reconciled?
Looking for an answer to this question, European auto clubs, including HAK, tested 16 models in one of the most popular sizes, 205/55 R16 (Golf-class cars), for the first time, and for the first time got a highly recommended tyre (there is no excellent one). It is the Goodyear Vector 4Season Gen-3, which is not without flaws either (especially at high summer temperatures on dry surfaces), but is the best in this field. Unfortunately, no all-season tyre managed to reach a high level in two important areas – safety and ecology – nor did any come close to the top standards of specialised summer and winter tyres in individual categories.
Alongside the Goodyear Vector 4Season Gen-3 (overall score 2.4, highly recommended or very good), which proved impressive in wet and winter conditions (with high predicted mileage, high durability and good efficiency), the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2 (overall score 2.6 – recommended or good) also deserves full praise, because it is the only tyre rated highly recommended for safety. In other words, its handling is impressive in summer, in winter and in the wet. Unfortunately, it did not shine in predicted mileage, which is why its overall score could not be highly recommended (it missed by just a tenth of a point). However, for drivers who do not cover many kilometres a year, this could be a very interesting choice.
The next four also achieved results worth highlighting – Hankook Kinergy 4S2 and Michelin CrossClimate 2 (2.7 each), and Kumho Solus 4S HA32+ and Vredestein Quatrac (2.8 each). All of these tyres did quite well in the ecology area and somewhat less well in the safety area. Specifically, Hankook did not excel on wet and snow-covered surfaces, Michelin in the wet, Kumho in the wet and dry, and Vredestein in the wet, dry and on snow. Besides the five mentioned above, only the Falken EuroAll Season AS210 earned an overall recommended rating, without standing out in either safety or ecology.
One level below is a group of seven that cannot boast particularly balanced characteristics and, after this test, are only partly recommended. This group includes the Firestone Multiseason2, Sava All Weather, Nankang Cross Seasons AW-6, Toyo Celsius AS2, Semperit AllSeason-Grip, Uniroyal AllSeasonExpert 2 and Yokohama BluEarth-4S, which have their good and bad sides but will attract some buyers precisely because of the good ones. These will probably not be drivers living in warm climates, because their safety on dry surfaces is lacking. So if you drive many kilometres in summer conditions, try to avoid this group of products, as driving on them is not precise, and evasive manoeuvres at the limit can lead to oversteer and insufficiently fast vehicle stabilisation.
At the bottom of the ranking are two products that are not recommended. These are the Kenda Kenetica 4S, which failed in winter conditions (although it is quite solid in the dry and wet), and the Infinity Ecofour, which disappointed in the wet (and was not impressive in the dry either).
Choosing an all-season tyre is already a compromise in itself. However, if you opt for this type of tyre, try not to compromise on quality as well. This will of course depend on how much money you have in your wallet, but if you find an all-season tyre that suits your driving habits, do not worry about a euro more or less. Sooner or later it will pay off.
Finally, the criteria. Since 2023, the overall score has been made up of 70 percent for driving safety and 30 percent for environmental balance (sustainability, tyre durability…).
All-season tyre test 205/55 R16
Goodyear Vector 4Season Gen-3
highly recommended
+ safe in the wet, safe in winter conditions, high predicted mileage, low weight, low fuel consumption
– minor weaknesses in the dry
Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2
recommended
+ precise and safe at the limit in the dry, safe in the wet, still safe in winter conditions, low fuel consumption
– lowest predicted mileage in the test, relatively heavy tyre
Hankook Kinergy 4S2
recommended
+ precise and safe in the dry, high predicted mileage, durable tyre, low weight, low fuel consumption
– minor weaknesses in the wet, minor weaknesses in winter conditions, somewhat noisier tyre
Michelin CrossClimate 2
recommended
+ precise and safe at the limit in the dry, precise and safe in winter conditions, high predicted mileage, most durable tyre in the test, low weight, low fuel consumption
– minor weaknesses in the wet
Kumho Solus 4S HA32+
recommended
+ high predicted mileage, durable tyre, still efficient tyre
– weaknesses in the dry, minor weaknesses in the wet
Vredestein Quatrac
recommended
+ high predicted mileage, durable tyre, efficient tyre
– weaknesses in the dry, minor weaknesses in the wet, minor weaknesses in winter conditions
Falken EuroAll Season AS210
recommended
+ safe in the wet, durable tyre, low fuel consumption
– minor weaknesses in the dry, weaknesses in winter conditions, minor weaknesses in predicted mileage
Firestone Multiseason2
partly recommended
+ low weight, low fuel consumption
– poor in the dry, minor weaknesses in the wet, weaknesses in winter conditions, only satisfactory predicted mileage, only satisfactory durability
Sava All Weather
partly recommended
+ safe in winter conditions, still satisfactory durability, durable tyre, low weight, very low fuel consumption
– poor in the dry, weaknesses in the wet
Nankang Cross Seasons AW-6
partly recommended
+ still durable tyre, low fuel consumption
– poor in the dry, weaknesses in the wet, weaknesses in winter conditions, heavy tyre
Toyo Celsius AS2
partly recommended
+ good predicted mileage, durable tyre, low weight, low fuel consumption
– poor in the dry, weaknesses in the wet, weaknesses in winter conditions
Semperit AllSeason-Grip
partly recommended
+ safe in the wet, safe in winter conditions, low weight, low fuel consumption
– poor in the dry, only satisfactory predicted mileage, only satisfactory durability
Uniroyal AllSeasonExpert 2
partly recommended
+ still safe in the wet, still safe in winter conditions, high predicted mileage, durable tyre, low weight, low fuel consumption
– poor in the dry
Yokohama BluEarth-4S
partly recommended
+ good braking on snow
– poor in the dry, weaknesses in the wet, weaknesses in winter conditions, weaknesses in predicted mileage, weaknesses in durability, very heavy tyre
Kenda Kenetica 4S
not recommended
+ good predicted mileage, good durability
– longer braking distance in the dry, weaknesses in the wet, very poor in winter conditions, higher weight
Infinity Ecofour
not recommended
+ high predicted mileage, durable tyre, very low fuel consumption
– poor in the dry, very poor in the wet, weaknesses in winter conditions