Bridgestone Turanza T001 tyre review

Decent fuel economy comes at the expense of braking performance. It’s about time this tyre was replaced.

Bridgestone had a torrid time when we last tested 16-inch tyres, with the T001 struggling home seventh in a field of eight. The result was made worse as the test was carried out at the brand’s own state-of-the-art test track in Italy. So Bridgestone can take some heart from this result, albeit with the T001 in V rather than H-rated form.

Nobody needs to tell the company that the Turanza is getting on a bit, but at least it proved a match for rivals from fellow premium brands Michelin and Continental. For a tyre that is beginning to show its age, the rolling resistance result looks pretty good – it was just a couple of per cent in fuel consumption behind the best in a field with a wide range of results.

But the trade-off is often wet braking, which is why tyre labels include ratings for both. The Turanza needed more than three metres further to stop than our winner from Dunlop, and was still doing 18mph when that tyre had brought our Golf to a halt. On the wet handling track, the rear moved more than most. All easily controlled, but it showed a lack of grip. This tyre was happier in the deeper water of the aquaplaning tests, where it was a clear winner in the tread-distorting curved test and a close third in a straight line.

On dry roads its braking was again exposed, but this time it was two metres off the winner. While there was a lack of sharpness on the dry handling track,it had enough grip to finish joint third, just under a second behind the winner.