All season tyre test 225/40 R18 - Autobild 2025
All Season Initial brake tests (dry/wet) were conducted on a special measurement track in Germany under controlled summer conditions; finalists were then air-freighted to New Zealand for comprehensive snow testing in authentic winter conditions (July in New Zealand). Wet handling/further discipline testing occurred on the irrigated Wachauring in Niederösterreich, Austria.
Test vehicles included high-performance compact models in the 225/40 R18 segment: VW Golf GTI, BMW M135, and Audi S3, all featuring front-wheel drive and high-output engines typical for this tyre class.
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
Best all-season dry braking: Vredestein Quatrac at 43.9 m; premium summer tyre for reference: 34.9 m; gap between best all-season and summer tyre is ~9 m, with worst tested all-season at 58.9 m.
1
1
£102 92 Y
tyres.pneus.online.uk
Winter2+
Wet2+
Dry2+
Running costs2–
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#1/15
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/15
Wet Braking#2/15
Wet Circle Cornering#3/15
Wet Handling#4/15
Dry
Dry Braking#1/15
Dry Handling#6/15
Economy
Rolling Resistance#3/15
Fuel Efficiency#10/15
Mileage#11/15
Price Value Ratio#13/15
Comfort
Noise Exterior#2/15
Ride Comfort#3/15
Snow
Snow Circle Cornering#1/15
Snow Handling#5/15
Snow Traction#5/15
Snow Braking#12/15
Top wet braking by Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6 at 38.1 m; summer tyre reference: 34.9 m; budget brands like Roadhog and low performers exceeded 44 m, showing significant safety deltas.
Winter2+
Wet2
Dry2
Running costs2
Wet
Wet Circle Cornering#1/15
Wet Handling#1/15
Wet Braking#2/15
Aquaplaning Cross#6/15
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#6/15
Dry
Dry Handling#1/15
Dry Braking#11/15
Economy
Fuel Efficiency#8/15
Mileage#9/15
Rolling Resistance#9/15
Price Value Ratio#13/15
Comfort
Noise Exterior#2/15
Ride Comfort#3/15
Snow
Snow Traction#1/15
Snow Braking#2/15
Snow Circle Cornering#3/15
Snow Handling#5/15
Best snow braking by Michelin CrossClimate 3 Sport at 22.3 m; top all-seasons closely follow the tested winter tyre (benchmark) except for the absolute shortest stop, marking major gains for the segment.
Winter1-
Wet2
Dry2+
Running costs3+
Wet
Wet Handling#4/15
Aquaplaning Cross#6/15
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#6/15
Wet Braking#7/15
Wet Circle Cornering#7/15
Dry
Dry Braking#1/15
Dry Handling#1/15
Economy
Rolling Resistance#1/15
Mileage#11/15
Fuel Efficiency#12/15
Price Value Ratio#15/15
Comfort
Noise Exterior#4/15
Ride Comfort#10/15
Snow
Snow Traction#1/15
Snow Braking#2/15
Snow Handling#2/15
Snow Circle Cornering#3/15
Winter1-
Wet2
Dry2
Running costs3+
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#1/15
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/15
Wet Braking#1/15
Wet Handling#1/15
Wet Circle Cornering#3/15
Dry
Dry Braking#8/15
Dry Handling#9/15
Economy
Price Value Ratio#10/15
Mileage#11/15
Fuel Efficiency#12/15
Rolling Resistance#12/15
Comfort
Noise Exterior#1/15
Ride Comfort#3/15
Snow
Snow Circle Cornering#6/15
Snow Braking#7/15
Snow Handling#7/15
Snow Traction#9/15
Michelin CrossClimate 3 excels in all four snow disciplines, but the winter tyre still leads in snow braking and traction under extreme conditions; the summer tyre dramatically underperforms and is unsafe.
Winter2
Wet2
Dry2
Running costs2+
Brake tests used an average of ten repeated stops from 100 km/h to zero for each tyre to determine mean stopping distances.
Winter2-
Wet2+
Dry2+
Running costs2+
Wet
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/15
Wet Braking#2/15
Aquaplaning Cross#3/15
Wet Circle Cornering#7/15
Wet Handling#9/15
Dry
Dry Braking#1/15
Dry Handling#1/15
Economy
Fuel Efficiency#4/15
Mileage#4/15
Price Value Ratio#5/15
Rolling Resistance#9/15
Comfort
Ride Comfort#3/15
Noise Exterior#11/15
Snow
Snow Handling#7/15
Snow Circle Cornering#10/15
Snow Traction#11/15
Snow Braking#12/15
Dynamic snow and wet tests carried out under real-world seasonal conditions (New Zealand winter, Austrian irrigated circuit) rather than solely simulated/machine environments.
7
7
£119 92 W
tyres.pneus.online.uk
Winter1-
Wet2-
Dry2
Running costs1–
Wet
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#8/15
Wet Braking#11/15
Aquaplaning Cross#13/15
Wet Circle Cornering#13/15
Wet Handling#14/15
Dry
Dry Braking#8/15
Dry Handling#9/15
Economy
Fuel Efficiency#2/15
Mileage#2/15
Rolling Resistance#3/15
Price Value Ratio#10/15
Comfort
Ride Comfort#3/15
Noise Exterior#4/15
Snow
Snow Braking#1/15
Snow Circle Cornering#1/15
Snow Handling#1/15
Snow Traction#1/15
Reference tyres—both pure summer and pure winter—were included for baselining the performance spread across key disciplines.
Winter2
Wet2-
Dry2+
Running costs2+
Wet
Wet Circle Cornering#3/15
Wet Braking#7/15
Wet Handling#9/15
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#13/15
Aquaplaning Cross#14/15
Dry
Dry Braking#1/15
Dry Handling#6/15
Economy
Price Value Ratio#1/15
Rolling Resistance#3/15
Fuel Efficiency#4/15
Mileage#6/15
Comfort
Ride Comfort#3/15
Noise Exterior#4/15
Snow
Snow Traction#5/15
Snow Circle Cornering#6/15
Snow Braking#7/15
Snow Handling#9/15
EU label metrics for each tyre (rolling resistance, wet grip, external rolling noise) were documented and compared for transparency.
Winter2+
Wet2
Dry2-
Running costs2–
Wet
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/15
Aquaplaning Cross#3/15
Wet Braking#7/15
Wet Handling#9/15
Wet Circle Cornering#13/15
Dry
Dry Braking#7/15
Dry Handling#11/15
Economy
Rolling Resistance#3/15
Mileage#9/15
Fuel Efficiency#10/15
Price Value Ratio#10/15
Comfort
Noise Exterior#4/15
Ride Comfort#15/15
Snow
Snow Handling#2/15
Snow Circle Cornering#3/15
Snow Traction#5/15
Snow Braking#7/15
Top all-season tyres are now within striking distance of winter/summer specialists in most conditions, with only marginal deficits in extreme disciplines.
Winter2
Wet2+
Dry2-
Running costs2
Wet
Wet Circle Cornering#1/15
Wet Handling#1/15
Wet Braking#2/15
Aquaplaning Cross#6/15
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#8/15
Dry
Dry Handling#1/15
Dry Braking#14/15
Economy
Price Value Ratio#1/15
Mileage#6/15
Fuel Efficiency#8/15
Rolling Resistance#14/15
Comfort
Ride Comfort#10/15
Noise Exterior#15/15
Snow
Snow Braking#2/15
Snow Traction#9/15
Snow Circle Cornering#10/15
Snow Handling#11/15
Budget all-seasons, especially Roadhog, show significantly increased wear rates and longer stopping distances, resulting in higher long-term running costs despite lower purchase price.
Winter2-
Wet2
Dry2-
Running costs2+
Wet
Wet Braking#2/15
Aquaplaning Cross#3/15
Wet Circle Cornering#7/15
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#8/15
Wet Handling#9/15
Dry
Dry Braking#11/15
Dry Handling#11/15
Economy
Rolling Resistance#1/15
Fuel Efficiency#4/15
Price Value Ratio#5/15
Mileage#6/15
Comfort
Noise Exterior#4/15
Ride Comfort#10/15
Snow
Snow Braking#7/15
Snow Circle Cornering#10/15
Snow Handling#11/15
Snow Traction#11/15
Winter1-
Wet2-
Dry3+
Running costs1
Wet
Wet Handling#4/15
Aquaplaning Cross#6/15
Wet Braking#11/15
Wet Circle Cornering#11/15
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#13/15
Dry
Dry Handling#11/15
Dry Braking#14/15
Economy
Fuel Efficiency#1/15
Mileage#1/15
Price Value Ratio#1/15
Rolling Resistance#3/15
Comfort
Ride Comfort#10/15
Noise Exterior#11/15
Snow
Snow Traction#1/15
Snow Braking#2/15
Snow Handling#2/15
Snow Circle Cornering#6/15
The new Michelin CrossClimate 3 (and its Sport variant) lead snow performance among all-seasons, even closely trailing reference winter tyres in braking; however, classic summer tyres remain unbeatable in wet/dry stopping distance.
Winter3+
Wet2-
Dry2-
Running costs1–
Wet
Wet Handling#4/15
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#5/15
Aquaplaning Cross#6/15
Wet Circle Cornering#11/15
Wet Braking#14/15
Dry
Dry Braking#8/15
Dry Handling#15/15
Economy
Price Value Ratio#1/15
Fuel Efficiency#2/15
Mileage#2/15
Rolling Resistance#3/15
Comfort
Ride Comfort#1/15
Noise Exterior#4/15
Snow
Snow Braking#7/15
Snow Circle Cornering#10/15
Snow Handling#13/15
Snow Traction#13/15
Cost-per-kilometer is not always intuitive: The Dunlop All Season 2, despite moderate test scores, delivers the lowest total running cost over lifespan whereas high wear rates on cheap tyres make them costly over 100,000+ km.
Winter3
Wet2
Dry2+
Running costs3+
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#6/15
Wet Braking#7/15
Wet Circle Cornering#7/15
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#8/15
Wet Handling#9/15
Dry
Dry Braking#1/15
Dry Handling#1/15
Economy
Price Value Ratio#5/15
Mileage#11/15
Fuel Efficiency#12/15
Rolling Resistance#15/15
Comfort
Ride Comfort#3/15
Noise Exterior#4/15
Snow
Snow Circle Cornering#14/15
Snow Handling#14/15
Snow Traction#14/15
Snow Braking#15/15
‘Eco-Meister’ and the new ‘Grüner Reifen’ environmental badge highlight tyres that excel in abrasion, resource use, and recyclability, with the Michelin CrossClimate 3 recognized for both dynamic and ecological performance.
15
15
Rating: Conditionally recommended
Winter3
Wet3-
Dry2
Running costs3+
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#15/15
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#15/15
Wet Braking#15/15
Wet Circle Cornering#15/15
Wet Handling#15/15
Dry
Dry Braking#1/15
Dry Handling#11/15
Economy
Price Value Ratio#5/15
Fuel Efficiency#12/15
Rolling Resistance#12/15
Mileage#15/15
Comfort
Ride Comfort#10/15
Noise Exterior#14/15
Snow
Snow Braking#14/15
Snow Handling#14/15
Snow Traction#14/15
Snow Circle Cornering#15/15
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 | | 90% | Premium | |
| 2 | | 89% | Premium | £165 92 Y |
| 3 | | 88% | Upper-middle | £88 92 Y |
| 4 | | 87% | Premium | £136 92 Y +1 More |
| 5 | | 87% | Premium | |
| 6 | | 85% | Premium | |
| 7 | | 84% | Premium | |
| 8 | | 84% | Upper-middle | |
|
| 9 | | 83% | Premium | |
| 10 | | 83% | Budget | |
| 11 | | 81% | Upper-middle | |
| 12 | | 80% | Upper-middle | |
| 13 | | 79% | Upper-middle | £91 92 Y |
| 14 | | 76% | Upper-middle | £138 92 W |
| 15 | | 75% | Budget | |
| 16 | | 74% | Upper-middle | £228 92 V +1 More |
|
| 17 | | 72% | Budget | |
| 18 | | 70% | Budget | £76 92 Y |
| 19 | | 67% | Premium | |
| 20 | | 66% | Budget | |
| 21 | | 62% | Premium | £119 92 Y +1 More |
| 22 | | 61% | Upper-middle | |
| 23 | | 61% | Upper-middle | £85 92 W |
| 24 | | 50% | Budget | £97 92 Y |
|
| 25 | | 48% | Upper-middle | £54 0 Y +1 More |
| 26 | | 36% | Budget | £81 92 V +1 More |
| 27 | | 23% | Upper-middle | £88 92 V |
