Image: VOLKER Weihbold
A minimum tread depth of 1.6 millimeters is required for summer tires. Anyone who falls below this must buy new ones for this year. To make the decision easier, the magazine “Konsument” carried out a test with models of a common tire size, the results were made available by the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labour.
Driving behavior on dry and wet roads, mileage, tire wear, efficiency, noise and sustainability were checked. The environmental aspect, which also includes mileage and fuel consumption, is rated at 30 percent. Driving safety accounts for 70 percent of the test result. The tire weight is also decisive: “If more mass has to be accelerated, the fuel consumption also increases,” says “Consumer”. Abrasion plays an important role: Tires are the largest emitter of microplastics that end up in the oceans and also in our food.
A good environmental result comes at the expense of driving safety
First a sobering conclusion: The perfect tire that offers sustainability and optimal driving safety does not exist. If you value one aspect, you have to accept compromises in the other. And supposed bargains can be expensive: the cheaper it is, the lower the mileage and thus the service life. According to “Consumer”, it could be the case that up to three sets of tires are sometimes required for the same route with slightly cheaper tires.
Nine summer tires were rated “good”. The test winner “Continental PremiumContact6” achieved 71 out of 100 points and, at 90 euros, is also the most expensive of the good tyres. In second and third place are “Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2” (80 euros) and “Michelin Primacy 4+” (88 euros). The cheapest tire that was rated “good” – the “Kumho Exsta HS52” model – costs 64 euros.
In the “Consumer” test, six tires were rated “unsatisfactory”: They were able to partially shine with a good environmental balance, but failed due to their poor performance – both on dry and wet surfaces. The ÖAMTC tire test, which recently also checked 50 tires, came to a similar result.
The detailed results of the summer tire test can be found here:
Source: Nachrichten
