The ADAC summer tire test has now been in existence for 50 years, and on this anniversary 50 tires are being compared for the first time. The current test has a very mixed result: It finds huge differences in quality, both in terms of safety and environmental properties.
A lot of mediocrity and a few outliers: The ADAC summer tire test this year gives a mixed picture. For the 50th anniversary of the annual product comparison, the automobile club checked 50 examples in the much-used size 205/55 R16 for the first time. 10 times it was “good”, 21 tires received the grade “satisfactory”, 12 a “sufficient” and 7 a “poor”.
The test winners were the Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance 2 and the Continental PremiumContact 6, which came up with good safety and environmental properties. At 110 euros and 115 euros respectively, they are in the upper price range. In the middle price segment, the Kumbo Ecsta HS52 for 82 euros, which also received the grade “good”, was convincing.
In general, however, the testers registered major differences in the safety chapter: while the Continental tires came to a standstill after just 34 meters braking distance from 80 km/h in the test on wet asphalt, the tires from the Asian brand DoubleCoin (from 67 euros) required around 10 km/h under the same conditions 59 meters braking distance. At the point where the vehicle with the best tires is already parked, the other one is still traveling at over 50 kilometers per hour. Mainly because of the poor security properties, DoubleCoin ended up in last place in the overall ranking together with the Premiorri Solazo.
There are also big differences in the environmental properties. The best tire in this category, Michelin e.Primacy, not only offered the longest predicted range at around 71,500 kilometers, but also set the record in the test with its low abrasion of 34.8 milligrams per kilometer per ton of vehicle weight. In comparison: The worst models had a mileage of 23,100 kilometers and 126 milligrams of abrasion.
