Nexen Nblue HD

Competitively priced Nexen makes a great debut. This tyre seems to love wet roads.

A strong debut in our tyre tests from Nexen, which is making a big effort to get established in Europe. On this performance, the Nblue should succeed – especially at the price we’ve estimated, which is based on the V-rated version, rather than the H-rated tyre we tested.

Wet track tests account for half of our marks, so it was no great shock that the Nexen did well overall as it was second only to our champion in these assessments. It felt strong on the wet circuit – while the nose pushed wide at the limit, that limit was high. There was no movement at the rear of the car and the tyre gave a secure feel overall.

Unlike the Nokian, it worked well in the deep water of the aquaplaning assessments, especially the curve. It also took a podium in the critical wet braking test.

The Nblue was less successful in the dry, where it finished last for braking and handling. It felt soft on the handling track, loading up quickly, requiring plenty of lock and not feeling sharp. Given its wet road prowess, we weren’t surprised that the tyre wasn’t a top performer on rolling resistance – here it trailed Michelin and Continental by some margin.