ADAC summer tire test: Solid 18-inch offer for compact cars, one entire failure

Low profile tires are considered sporty. Many customers find this chic enough to spend a lot of extra money for a perceived racy look. Car and tire manufacturers make good money from this and promise better road grip in addition to looks. This is only partly true, low-profile tires have some small advantages as well as some specific disadvantages. Basically, there would even be an ideal tire for every car model, but manufacturers and accessory dealers would miss out on a lot of sales.

The car club compared 18 225/40 R18 summer tires, which fit the majority of compact class cars. The test showed that most of them are no dazzlers. Although none of the candidates achieved the school grade "very good", eleven were rated "good".

Solid top field

More interesting for the individual purchase decision is the realization that the test field is characterized by different qualities in different areas. The club's engineers rated the test winner Continental SportContact 7 as very balanced across all criteria, awarding it a good "B" with a score of 1.8. It achieved the shortest braking distance on wet roads, stood out with trustworthy handling in all conditions and also received a good rating in terms of environmental impact.

Equally good in terms of driving safety was the Bridgestone Potenza Sport with a score of 1.5, which did almost as well with an overall score of 1.9, including good values for environmental impact and abrasion resistance. The competitors Michelin Pilot Sport 5 and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 received the same overall rating.

"Absolutely not recommended"

Basically, you can choose from the eleven best according to taste and finances and could even buy any one from the top field because it would be available as a special offer. On the other hand, however, it is also ruthlessly clear that such meticulously conducted tests using state-of-the-art methods are worth the high costs every season. It's not just tire manufacturers like Michelin or Bridgestone who are trying to bring better and better products onto the market in order to convince buyers with quality. Unfortunately, there are still manufacturers on the market who operate a business model with this safety-relevant component, in which they sell a product for a slightly lower purchase price that has been manufactured with maximum savings.

As is obviously the case with the Doublecoin DC-100, which according to the ADAC test series is "absolutely not recommended". It offered significantly less grip on dry and wet roads. The club calls the wet braking distance from 80 km/h "frightening", which was 17  meters longer for the vehicle equipped with the Doublecoin DC-100 than for the best in the test field. This was not the only reason why this tire received the worst rating of "poor", school grade 5.5. Although logical from a physical point of view, the only plus point of this tire is pointless in view of the poor grip: the potentially long service life. But what use is this if the tread is still as good as new after an expensive or even tragic accident?

Two other products have not failed quite as catastrophically as this Doublecoin DC-100, but in view of their importance for driving safety, the Norauto Prevensys 4 and the Syron Premium Performance should also be considered carefully if you want to save money in the right place. The ADAC describes them as "also not recommendable." Although both received a score of 3.9, significantly better than 5.5, they are still far too far away from the tightly closed top field in view of their not inconsiderable weaknesses in terms of driving safety.

(fpi)