Summer tyre test 235/55 R18 - Die Reifentester 2026

Summer Testing was conducted at the Bridgestone proving ground in Aprilia, Italy.

2026

Year

5

Tyres

Audi Q3 and VW Tiguan mid-size SUVs.

Winner

Continental PremiumContact 7

Best Value

Continental PremiumContact 7

Test Vehicle

Audi Q3

Tested tyres

5

article

Die Reifentester Summer Tyre Test 2026 (235/55 R18): Continental PremiumContact 7 Edges Out Falken and Nokian in Tight Five-Way Battle

Die Reifentester tested 5 summer tyres in size 235/55 R 18 on an Audi Q3 and VW Tiguan at the Bridgestone proving ground in Aprilia, Italy. An additional Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6 was included as a direct summer-vs-all-season comparison. The result: all five summer tyres earned a "good" rating, but with very different character profiles.

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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

1

Continental PremiumContact 7

Rating: Good

£124

100 V

mytyres.co.uk

+1 More sizes →

104Y · £163

Wet

Wet Braking#1/6

Wet Handling#2/6

Aquaplaning Cross#3/6

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#3/6

Dry

Dry Braking#2/6

Dry Handling#3/6

Comfort

Noise Interior#5/6

Economy

Rolling Resistance#6/6

Summary

Published overall result: — · 1/5
Best discipline position: Wet braking (1/6)
Lowest discipline position: Rolling resistance (6/6)

2

Falken ZIEX ZE320

Rating: Good

£109

104 V

mytyres.co.uk

Wet

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/6

Wet Handling#3/6

Wet Braking#4/6

Aquaplaning Cross#6/6

Dry

Dry Braking#1/6

Dry Handling#1/6

Comfort

Noise Interior#3/6

Economy

Rolling Resistance#3/6

Summary

Published overall result: — · 2/5
Best discipline position: Longitudinal aquaplaning (1/6)
Lowest discipline position: Cornering aquaplaning (6/6)

2

Nokian Powerproof 2

Rating: Good

£133

0 V

mytyres.co.uk

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#1/6

Wet Handling#1/6

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#2/6

Wet Braking#2/6

Dry

Dry Handling#1/6

Dry Braking#4/6

Comfort

Noise Interior#6/6

Economy

Rolling Resistance#4/6

Summary

Published overall result: — · 2/5
Best discipline position: Cornering aquaplaning (1/6)
Lowest discipline position: Interior noise (6/6)

4

Michelin Primacy 5

Rating: Good

£138

100 V

mytyres.co.uk

+1 More sizes →

104W · £138

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#3/6

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#3/6

Wet Braking#3/6

Wet Handling#4/6

Dry

Dry Handling#3/6

Dry Braking#5/6

Comfort

Noise Interior#3/6

Economy

Rolling Resistance#1/6

Summary

Published overall result: — · 4/5
Best discipline position: Rolling resistance (1/6)
Lowest discipline position: Dry braking (5/6)

5

Bridgestone Turanza 6

Rating: Good

£105

100 V

mytyres.co.uk

+1 More sizes →

104W · £177

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#3/6

Wet Braking#5/6

Wet Handling#5/6

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#6/6

Dry

Dry Braking#3/6

Dry Handling#5/6

Comfort

Noise Interior#2/6

Economy

Rolling Resistance#1/6

Summary

Published overall result: — · 5/5
Best discipline position: Rolling resistance (1/6)
Lowest discipline position: Longitudinal aquaplaning (6/6)

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 Dunlop Blue Response TG 98%	98%	Premium	£119 100 V
2	Premium Continental UltraContact NXT 96%	96%	Premium	£130 104 W +1 More
3	Premium Pirelli CINTURATO (C3) 94%	94%	Premium	£181 104 V
4	Premium Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 94%	94%	Premium	£137 100 V +2 More
5	Premium Goodyear Efficientgrip 2 SUV 92%	92%	Premium	£118 100 V +1 More
6	Premium Pirelli P ZERO PZ4 89%	89%	Premium	£131 100 V +3 More
7	Premium Pirelli Cinturato P7 C2 88%	88%	Premium	£146 104 T
8	Premium Bridgestone Turanza T005 88%	88%	Premium	£118 100 V +10 More

9	Premium Continental PremiumContact 6 83%	83%	Premium	£123 100 H +3 More
10	Upper-middle Firestone Roadhawk 2 83%	83%	Upper-middle	£104 100 V
11	Premium Hankook Ventus S1 evo3 SUV K127A 83%	83%	Premium	£133 104 W
12	Upper-middle Falken Azenis FK520 80%	80%	Upper-middle	£105 +1 More
13	Upper-middle Toyo Proxes Comfort 78%	78%	Upper-middle	£120 100 +1 More
14	Premium Michelin Primacy 4+ 78%	78%	Premium	£180 104 V
15	Upper-middle Kumho Solus HA31 78%	78%	Upper-middle
16	Premium Hankook Ra43 Dynapro Hpx 77%	77%	Premium	£132 100 V

17	Premium Continental Ecocontact 6 77%	77%	Premium	£124 100 V +23 More
18	Premium Hankook Ih61 Ion St As Suv 77%	77%	Premium	£129 100 V
19	Premium Hankook Ventus Prime 4 76%	76%	Premium	£146 41 IKAIO +1 More
20	Premium Hankook Ventus Evo 76%	76%	Premium	£132 100 V
21	Upper-middle Cooper Summer 76%	76%	Upper-middle	£121 100 V
22	Upper-middle Kumho Ecsta PS71 SUV 75%	75%	Upper-middle	£96 100 V +1 More
23	Upper-middle Uniroyal RainSport 5 69%	69%	Upper-middle	£95 100 H +1 More
24	Budget General Tire Grabber GT Plus 68%	68%	Budget	£128 100 H +1 More

25	Premium Pirelli Scorpion Elect 68%	68%	Premium
26	Upper-middle Toyo Proxes Sport 2 67%	67%	Upper-middle	£128 +1 More
27	Premium Michelin e.Primacy 67%	67%	Premium	£133 104 T +2 More
28	Upper-middle BF Goodrich Advantage 2 67%	67%	Upper-middle	£121 100 H +4 More
29	Budget Debica Presto 61%	61%	Budget	£96 100 V
30	Upper-middle Firestone Roadhawk 60%	60%	Upper-middle
31	Budget Maxxis Victra Sport 6 SUV 57%	57%	Budget	£123
32	Premium Continental Contipremiumcontact 2 56%	56%	Premium	£180 100 V +3 More

33	Upper-middle Kleber Dynaxer HP5 56%	56%	Upper-middle	£119 100 V +3 More
34	Budget Semperit Speed-Life 3 55%	55%	Budget	£98 100 V
35	Budget Norauto Prevensys 4 55%	55%	Budget
36	Premium Vredestein Ultrac+ 53%	53%	Premium	£122 100 V
37	Upper-middle Cooper Zeon 4XS Sport 49%	49%	Upper-middle
38	Premium Pirelli Powergy 48%	48%	Premium	£155 104 V
39	Budget Barum Bravuris 5 HM 44%	44%	Budget
40	Premium Vredestein ULTRAC 43%	43%	Premium	£129 +1 More

41	B Landspider Sportraxx UHP 42%	42%	B
42	Budget Avon ZX7 38%	38%	Budget	£159 100 H +1 More
43	Budget Barum Bravuris 6 30%	30%	Budget	£101 100 V +1 More
44	Budget Sava Intensa SUV 2 28%	28%	Budget
45	Budget Tomket Sport 23%	23%	Budget
46	Budget Tracmax X-Privilo TX-3 23%	23%	Budget
47	Budget Matador MP47 Hectorra 3 22%	22%	Budget
48	Budget Kormoran Ultra High Performance 18%	18%	Budget

49	Budget Tomason Sportrace 17%	17%	Budget
50	Budget Radar RPX-800 14%	14%	Budget
51	Budget Windforce Catchfors UHP PRO 9%	9%	Budget
52	Budget Lanvigator Catch Power Plus 8%	8%	Budget	£73 104 W
53	Budget Imperial EcoSport SUV 8%	8%	Budget	£92 100 V +1 More
54	Budget Marshal MU12 6%	6%	Budget	£119 100 V