The best all-season tyres 2021 - The results
Our comprehensive test aims to help you choose the best all-season tyre
The results
1st: Continental AllSeasonContact
- Score: 100%
- Price £103.94
Continental has only been making all-season tyres for a short while, but this victory comes on the heels of strong performances in the last couple of years.
The AllSeasonContact has more focus on dry and wet grip than many rivals, yet it also managed to dominate in the snow tests. No other rival could get within two per cent of its scores on the white stuff. This tyre’s class is apparent from the driving seat too, as it provides a great handling balance with big reserves of grip and traction.
In the wet, rivals Hankook and Goodyear managed to best the Continental, and the Hankook was markedly better in the curved aquaplaning test. The Continental performed well on the wet handling track though, with good stability and grip as lock was applied.
Dry braking wasn’t a particularly strong point for our overall winner, but a top economy score helped the AllSeasonContact to the top of the podium.
2nd: Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3
- Score: 99.7%
- Price: £110.03
We’ve given the Vector 4Seasons second place on our test results podium, but it only just pipped the Hankook, and some may prefer the Korean tyre if they are less focused on driving in freezing weather and are looking for maximum braking potential in dry and wet conditions. That said, although not quite as good as the Hankook, the Goodyear still performed very well in both shallow and deep surface water.
In the snow, the Vector 4Seasons rated higher than the Hankook, although it was still just beaten by the Continental. Goodyear’s latest all-weather tyre rounded off a terrific performance with a second overall for fuel economy.
3rd: Hankook Kinergy 4S2
- Score: 99.6%
- Price: £87.50
The Kinergy 4S2 isn’t the best choice if you’re frequently confronted by snowy road conditions, but it’s a hit for drivers looking for strong performance on both wet and dry roads. Indeed, if the tyre wasn’t quite so far off the pace in the snow, it would have been a worthy challenger for the top slots.
As it is, the Kinergy beat all comers overall in the wet tests, and was particularly impressive in the aquaplaning tests where it scored two outright wins. It also did well in the wet circle test, providing good traction with sharp responses, whereas it couldn’t quite get a grip in the snow.
The Hankook tyre also impressed us under braking, with a third place in the dry, while the tyres triggered the ABS less frequently than most. Unfortunately efficiency was let down by low rolling resistance scores, which put paid to the challenge for the runner-up medal.
4th: Michelin CrossClimate+
- Score: 98.8%
- Price: £105.00
With this tyre Michelin has deliberately targeted the more typical mix of dry and wet driving conditions we see in the UK, and has paid less attention to performance in ice and snow.
In spite of that, the CrossClimate+ still puts on a decent performance in the snow, giving credence to the marketing line that this is a ‘summer tyre with winter capability’. In fact, the tyre came third overall in our snow tests, where it matched the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons.
When it came to wet handling tests this Michelin did OK, but it wasn’t quite on the pace. Resistance to aquaplaning was relatively poor in deep water especially, and unfortunately the lack of a dry handling element to this year’s test may have cost the CrossClimate+ a better overall ranking.
5th: Cooper Discoverer All Season
- Score: 97.1%
- Price: £82.25
Cooper joined the all-season brigade in 2019 with this tyre, and there’s little to separate it from its sixth-placed rival the Vredestein Quatrac Pro.
The Cooper Discoverer scored a win in the cabin noise test, and also performed well with a second and third place in the deep water aquaplane contest. However, it couldn’t get close to this performance in shallow aquaplane conditions, where it came in last, which was where the Discoverer ended up across all the wet tests.
On the track this was evident in a noticeably lower level of grip than that offered by its rivals, although the tyre did feel nicely balanced. Braking in snow was a relative highlight, where it took a podium slot, but again good handling was marred by low limits of traction.
6th: Vredestein Quatrac Pro
- Score: 96.9%
- Price: £110.21
Vredestein used to be a kingpin of the all-season tyre segment, but we’ve only included it in our testing again in the last couple of years.
The Quatrac Pro is targeted specifically at performance drivers, and its asymmetric tread points to a focus on grip in good conditions. Unfortunately, as we weren’t able to perform a dry handling test this year, the Quatrac Pro’s overall result may well have been one of the casualties.
Performance in snow was off the pace, and its scores were seven per cent behind the test-topping Continental’s. You could feel the relative lack of grip straight away behind the wheel, with the car sliding more easily and lacking balance – the front would slide first and then grip, causing the rear to slide instead.
Wet performance was more impressive, with a win in the circle test and braking scores that were close to the best too. Poor fuel efficiency helped clinch the final spot in our test though.
