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Tyre test: results by category

It's an impressive win for the much-improved Falken ahead of the fancied Continental, but the budget tyre proved a false economy

A brand-new winner, some high-flying new names and some big brands pushed down the order. Falken has changed the name a little to Ziex ZE320 and dropped the Ecorun name, but has clearly changed a lot of its characteristics, very much for the better, and the past champion, the Continental, finds itself second, sandwiched there by a talented newcomer, the Firestone. 

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Just below the top three is the Maxxis, earning its best result with strong performances in the most important tests that lifted it clear of a pack of three separated by the very smallest of margins. Pirelli and Michelin would have expected to be higher up the order, Nokian can be pleased with its return, while all three have ground to make up in some significant areas. 

Once again, the rest of the field is made to look good by our ‘budget’ tyre, which is in fact an utter false economy, performing very poorly in all the critical tests. If you are ever tempted by low-price options, we implore you to do your homework, spend a bit extra on an established brand and get significantly more safety and better performance.

Winner: Falken Ziex ZE320 Ecorun 

Unsurprisingly, a strong all-round showing secured top spot for the Falken. It was class leading in three of our nine dynamic tests and on the podium in four others, making it a worthy winner.

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Results by Category

Overall  
1stFalken100.00
2ndContinental99.70
3rdFirestone98.90
4thMaxxis97.80
5thPirelli97.20
6thMichelin97.10
7thNokian97.00
8thDynamo92.40
Price  
1stDynamo£54.00
2ndMaxxis£64.00
3rdNokian£69.00
4thFalken£80.00
5thFirestone£88.00
6thContinental£107.00
7thMichelin£108.00
8thPirelli£125.00
Wet braking  
1stContinental100
2ndPirelli95.4
3rdMichelin93.3
4thMaxxis92.6
5thFirestone92.3
6thFalken91.9
7thNokian90.3
8thDynamo78
Wet handling  
1stFalken100
2ndPirelli99.3
3rdFirestone99.2
4thContinental99
5thMaxxis98.5
6thNokian98.2
7thMichelin97
8thDynamo90.7
Wet cornering  
1stMaxxis100
2ndContinental99.8
3rdFalken98.6
4thFirestone98.5
5thMichelin96.4
6thDynamo95.3
7thNokian84.5
8thPirelli83.6
Rolling resistance  
1stMichelin100
2ndMaxxis92.9
3rdFirestone88.9
4thFalken87
5thNokian86.8
6thContinental83
7thPirelli81.3
8thDynamo74.7
Curved aquaplaning  
1stFirestone100
2ndNokian98.7
3rdFalken95.1
4thPirelli90.6
5thMichelin89.4
6thContinental87
7thMaxxis80.5
8thDynamo76.4
Straight aquaplaning  
1stFirestone100
2ndNokian97.8
3rdFalken92.1
= 4thMichelin91.6
= 4thPirelli91.6
6thContinental90.5
7thMaxxis89.4
8thDynamo85.9
Dry braking  
1stFalken100
2ndContinental98.9
3rdPirelli98.3
4thNokian96.2
5thMichelin94.9
6thMaxxis94.1
7thFirestone93.6
8thDynamo87.4
Dry handling  
1stFalken100
2ndMaxxis99.6
3rdContinental99.1
= 4thDynamo98.7
= 4thFirestone98.7
= 6thNokian98.6
= 6thPirelli98.6
8thMichelin97.5
Noise and refinement  
1stFirestone100
2ndContinental99.4
3rdFalken98.7
4thDynamo98.4
5thPirelli98.1
6thMaxxis97.5
= 7thMichelin97.4
= 7thNokian97.4
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