Summer tyre test 225/40 R18 - ACE 2026

Summer Wet and dry tests conducted at the Hakka Ring test facility of Nokian Tyres in Spain; tyres purchased anonymously in retail.

2026

Year

10

Tyres

VW Golf

Winner

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S

Test Vehicle

VW Golf

Tested tyres

10

Price vs Quality

See how tyre price relates to test performance at a glance

Results

Agenda:

Best value in test

Better than average value

Worse than average value

Worst value in test

Bridgestone Potenza Sport Evo posts the shortest dry braking distance at 32.85 m, with Continental and Michelin close behind. Nexen N'Fera Sport SU2 is last at 34.73 m — a gap of under 1.9 m, making this the tightest spread of any braking discipline in the test. All ten tyres are within a very narrow range on dry.

1

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S

Rating: Highly recommended

£123

92 Y

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

Wet68

Dry53

Enviromental impact20

Rolling resistance15

Noise5

2

Continental SportContact 7

Rating: Highly recommended

£87

92 Y

mytyres.co.uk

Wet65

Dry54

Enviromental impact21

Rolling resistance15

Noise6

Wet

Wet Braking#1/10

Wet Handling#4/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#5/10

Aquaplaning Cross#10/10

Dry

Dry Handling#1/10

Dry Braking#2/10

Dry Lane Change#2/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#2/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#3/10

3

Bridgestone Potenza Sport Evo

Rating: Highly recommended

£88

92 Y

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

Wet66

Dry55

Enviromental impact17

Rolling resistance13

Noise4

Wet

Wet Braking#1/10

Wet Handling#4/10

Aquaplaning Cross#8/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#9/10

Dry

Dry Braking#1/10

Dry Lane Change#2/10

Dry Handling#4/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#9/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#8/10

4

Falken Azenis FK520

Rating: Highly recommended

£71

92 Y

mytyres.co.uk

+1 More sizes →

92Y · £92

Wet62

Dry52

Enviromental impact21

Rolling resistance15

Noise6

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#1/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/10

Wet Braking#8/10

Wet Handling#9/10

Dry

Dry Lane Change#2/10

Dry Braking#3/10

Dry Handling#4/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#2/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#3/10

5

Pirelli P Zero (PZ5)

Rating: Recommended

£81

92 Y

mytyres.co.uk

Wet60

Dry54

Enviromental impact19

Rolling resistance14

Noise5

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#1/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/10

Wet Braking#9/10

Wet Handling#10/10

Dry

Dry Handling#1/10

Dry Lane Change#1/10

Dry Braking#3/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#6/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#7/10

6

Nokian Powerproof 2

Rating: Recommended

£71

0 Y

mytyres.co.uk

Wet63

Dry47

Enviromental impact22

Rolling resistance16

Noise6

Wet

Wet Handling#2/10

Aquaplaning Cross#5/10

Wet Braking#5/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#10/10

Dry

Dry Braking#6/10

Dry Handling#7/10

Dry Lane Change#10/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#2/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#1/10

7

Kumho Ecsta Sport (PS72)

Rating: Recommended

£75

92 Y

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

+1 More sizes →

92Y · £77

Wet62

Dry49

Enviromental impact20

Rolling resistance15

Noise5

Wet

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#5/10

Aquaplaning Cross#7/10

Wet Braking#7/10

Wet Handling#7/10

Dry

Dry Lane Change#2/10

Dry Braking#6/10

Dry Handling#7/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#6/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#3/10

8

Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport

Rating: Recommended

£93

92 Y

mytyres.co.uk

+5 More sizes →

92Y 92Y · £126 92Y · £93 +2

Wet65

Dry49

Enviromental impact15

Rolling resistance11

Noise4

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#1/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#5/10

Wet Braking#6/10

Wet Handling#7/10

Dry

Dry Handling#4/10

Dry Braking#8/10

Dry Lane Change#8/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#9/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#9/10

8

Linglong Sport Master

Rating: Recommended

Wet68

Dry44

Enviromental impact17

Rolling resistance11

Noise6

Wet

Wet Handling#1/10

Wet Braking#3/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#4/10

Aquaplaning Cross#8/10

Dry

Dry Lane Change#2/10

Dry Braking#8/10

Dry Handling#9/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#2/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#9/10

10

Nexen N Fera Sport SU2

Rating: Recommended

£90

92 Y

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

Wet63

Dry42

Enviromental impact23

Rolling resistance16

Noise7

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#1/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/10

Wet Handling#4/10

Wet Braking#10/10

Dry

Dry Lane Change#8/10

Dry Handling#9/10

Dry Braking#10/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#1/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#1/10

Detailed results

Same size tyres not featured in the test

Tests usually don't cover the whole market - here is our selection what not to miss when shopping for tyres in this size.

#	Name	Our rating	Segment	Price
1	Premium Hankook Ventus Evo 99%	99%	Premium	£90 +2 More
2	Premium Dunlop Blue Response TG 98%	98%	Premium	£87 92 W
3	Premium Continental PremiumContact 7 98%	98%	Premium	£89 92 Y
4	Premium Hankook ION Evo 96%	96%	Premium	£88 92 Y
5	Premium Michelin Pilot Sport 5 94%	94%	Premium	£103 92 Y
6	Premium Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 94%	94%	Premium	£85 92 Y +1 More
7	Premium Pirelli P ZERO PZ4 89%	89%	Premium	£97 92 H +6 More
8	Budget Giti GitiSport S2+ 89%	89%	Budget

9	Premium Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2 88%	88%	Premium	£95 92 W +4 More
10	Premium Bridgestone Turanza T005 88%	88%	Premium	£89 92 W +13 More
11	Premium Bridgestone Potenza Sport 87%	87%	Premium	£104 92 Y +1 More
12	Premium Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season 86%	86%	Premium	£117 92 H +1 More
13	Upper-middle Kumho Ecsta PS71 86%	86%	Upper-middle	£72 88 Y +3 More
14	Premium Michelin Primacy 5 86%	86%	Premium	£96 92 Y
15	Premium Continental PremiumContact 6 83%	83%	Premium	£91 92 W +3 More
16	Premium Bridgestone Turanza 6 81%	81%	Premium	£85 92 Y +1 More

17	Premium Hankook Ventus S1 evo3 K127 81%	81%	Premium	£88 92 Y +2 More
18	Upper-middle Firestone Roadhawk 2 81%	81%	Upper-middle	£68 92 Y
19	Premium Pirelli Cinturato P7 80%	80%	Premium	£114 92 W +2 More
20	Premium Michelin Pilot Sport CUP 2 79%	79%	Premium	£163 92 Y +1 More
21	Premium Vredestein Ultrac Pro 79%	79%	Premium	£92 92 W +1 More
22	Premium Michelin Primacy 4+ 78%	78%	Premium	£112 92 Y
23	Upper-middle Kumho ECSTA Sport S PS72 78%	78%	Upper-middle	£75 92 Y +1 More
24	Upper-middle Firestone Firehawk Sport 78%	78%	Upper-middle	£78 92 Y

25	Upper-middle Toyo Proxes Comfort 78%	78%	Upper-middle	£89 92 +1 More
26	Premium Dunlop SP Sport MAXX RT2 77%	77%	Premium	£87 92 Y
27	Premium Continental Ecocontact 6 77%	77%	Premium	£91 92 W +7 More
28	Budget Sailun Atrezzo ZSR 2 76%	76%	Budget
29	Premium Hankook Ventus Prime 4 76%	76%	Premium
30	Upper-middle Cooper Summer 76%	76%	Upper-middle	£72 92 Y
31	Budget GT Radial SportActive 2 EVO 75%	75%	Budget
32	Premium Hankook K135 Ventus Prime4 74%	74%	Premium	£78 92 W +1 More

33	Premium Michelin e.Primacy 74%	74%	Premium	£99 92 V +1 More
34	Budget Nexen N fera Sport 72%	72%	Budget	£70 +3 More
35	Upper-middle Toyo Proxes Sport 2 71%	71%	Upper-middle	£83 +1 More
36	Upper-middle BFGoodrich Advantage 70%	70%	Upper-middle	£108 92 W +1 More
37	Premium Continental UltraContact 70%	70%	Premium	£86 92 W
38	Upper-middle Falken ZIEX ZE310 ECORUN 69%	69%	Upper-middle	£100 92 W +2 More
39	Upper-middle Nokian PowerProof 1 69%	69%	Upper-middle	£95 92 Y
40	Upper-middle Uniroyal RainSport 5 69%	69%	Upper-middle	£69 92 Y

41	Upper-middle BF Goodrich Advantage 2 67%	67%	Upper-middle	£90 88 Y +2 More
42	Upper-middle Yokohama Advan Sport V107 67%	67%	Upper-middle	£82 92 Y
43	Budget Sava Intensa UHP 2 65%	65%	Budget
44	Budget Fulda SportControl 2 64%	64%	Budget	£70 92 Y +1 More
45	Upper-middle Kleber Dynaxer HP5 64%	64%	Upper-middle	£92 +2 More
46	Upper-middle Firestone Roadhawk 60%	60%	Upper-middle
47	Budget Maxxis Premitra HP6 59%	59%	Budget	£70 92 0
48	Upper-middle Kleber Dynaxer UHP 56%	56%	Upper-middle	£286 92 W +1 More

49	Budget Semperit Speed-Life 3 55%	55%	Budget	£69 92 Y
50	Upper-middle Nokian Hakka Black 3 54%	54%	Upper-middle	£172 92 Y
51	Budget Debica Presto UHP2 52%	52%	Budget	£79 92 Y +1 More
52	Budget Maxxis Premitra HP5 52%	52%	Budget	£97 92 W +1 More
53	Premium Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance 50%	50%	Premium	£82 92 W
54	Budget Delinte DS2 46%	46%	Budget
55	- Leao Nova-Force Acro 44%	44%	-
56	Budget Barum Bravuris 5 HM 44%	44%	Budget	£360 92 Y +1 More

57	Budget Syron Premium Performance 44%	44%	Budget
58	Budget Lassa Driveways Sport 42%	42%	Budget
59	B Landspider Sportraxx UHP 42%	42%	B
60	Upper-middle Cooper Zeon CS8 38%	38%	Upper-middle	£87 0 W +2 More
61	Upper-middle Kumho Ecsta PS91 36%	36%	Upper-middle
62	Budget Radar Dimax R8+ 36%	36%	Budget
63	Budget Landsail RapidDragon 30%	30%	Budget
64	B Event Potentem UHP 27%	27%	B

65	Budget Tracmax X-Privilo TX-3 23%	23%	Budget
66	Budget Westlake Z-107 23%	23%	Budget	£67 92 W +1 More
67	Budget Matador MP47 Hectorra 3 22%	22%	Budget
68	Budget Ovation VI-588 Sport 21%	21%	Budget
69	Budget Barum Bravuris 6 19%	19%	Budget	£63 92 Y
70	Budget Imperial EcoSport 2 17%	17%	Budget	£73 92 Y
71	Budget Tomason Sportrace 17%	17%	Budget
72	Budget Kormoran Ultra High Performance 15%	15%	Budget

73	Budget Lanvigator Catch Power Plus 8%	8%	Budget	£43 92 W +1 More
74	Budget Marshal MU12 6%	6%	Budget	£68