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Tyre test: results by category

It was a close-fought competition, but Pirelli did enough to just pip its rivals and take the crown

A close contest right down to ninth spot, with the top eight covered by just two percentage points, showing that these are all good-quality tyres. The ninth-placed Ceat SportDrive delivers acceptable performance but, significantly, is well short of the standard in wet braking and on the wet circuit. Yet it’s more expensive than the majority of the tyres here, so ranks low on both performance and value for money. 

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Eighth is a disappointing result for Continental, which comes up a bit short in the wet, while seventh is a good finish for the Yokohama, another product that’s better in the dry than the wet. The Goodyear is an impressive tyre whose sixth place overall reflects the strength of the competition this year. 

Kumho surprised with fifth overall. Despite lowly placings in most of the wet tests, it was great to drive on the wet track and added refinement and economy for a strong mix. The Michelin was also a better drive in the wet than the tests suggested and got within one per cent of the win. 

The top three are all great. The Hankook was superbly refined and impressive in the wet, as was the Bridgestone that came within an ace of top spot. But the winning Pirelli topped the tables in the wet and dry, and delivered superb refinement. 

Winner: Pirelli P Zero (PZ5)

The new PZ5 version of the P Zero puts Pirelli back at the top of a very competitive class with a remarkable, unmatched breadth of ability. It combines excellent refinement with mastery of the wet and the dry.

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Results by Category

Overall  
1stPirelli100
2ndBridgestone99.9
3rdHankook99.3
4thMichelin99.1
5thKumho98.6
6thGoodyear98.4
7thYokohama98.1
8thContinental98.0
9thCeat95.2
Price  
1stKumho£84.99
2ndHankook£99.81
3rdYokohama£101.49
4thBridgestone£105.92
5thGoodyear£108.52
6thContinental£111.99
7thCeat£112.49
8thMichelin£119.99
9thPirelli£135.15
Wet braking  
1stBridgestone100
2ndPirelli97.5
3rdMichelin95.0
4thHankook92.6
5thYokohama90.3
6thGoodyear88.0
7thContinental85.8
8thKumho83.6
9thCeat81.5
Wet handling  
1stPirelli100
2ndHankook99.8
3rdBridgestone99.4
4thKumho99.0
=5thGoodyear98.9
=5thMichelin98.9
=7thYokohama98.0
=7thContinental98.0
9thCeat92.1
Wet cornering  
1stPirelli100
2ndBridgestone99.7
3rdMichelin99.4
4thGoodyear99.1
5thYokohama98.8
6thContinental98.5
7thHankook98.2
8thKumho97.9
9thCeat97.6
Straight aquaplaning  
1stMichelin100
2ndHankook98.2
3rdGoodyear97.0
4thBridgestone96.8
5thContinental96.4
6thPirelli96.0
7thYokohama95.2
8thKumho95.0
9thCeat92.4
Curved aquaplaning  
1stMichelin100
2ndHankook99.9
3rdYokohama97.4
4thGoodyear93.5
5thPirelli92.0
6thCeat91.0
7thBridgestone88.6
=8thContinental82.5
=8thKumho82.5
Dry braking  
1stYokohama100
=2ndBridgestone97.3
=2ndContinental97.3
4thPirelli96.7
5thGoodyear95.5
6thHankook93.3
7thMichelin92.5
8thKumho92.3
9thCeat88.7
Dry handling  
=1stPirelli100
=1stBridgestone100
3rdContinental99.4
=4thYokohama99.2
=4thKumho99.2
6thGoodyear99.1
=7thHankook98.7
=7thMichelin98.7
9thCeat97.9
Noise and refinement  
1stKumho100
2ndHankook96.0
3rdPirelli93.0
4thCeat90.0
=5thBridgestone88.0
=5thYokohama88.0
=7thContinental87.0
=7thMichelin87.0
9thGoodyear84.0
Rolling resistance  
1stCeat100
2ndKumho95.1
3rdMichelin94.0
=4thContinental91.8
=4thGoodyear91.8
6thHankook88.6
7thPirelli87.6
8thBridgestone84.8
9thYokohama78.0
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