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Pirelli Cinturato P7 review

The Pirelli Cinturato P7 has good refinement and great economy, but the latter comes at the expense of wet performance in particular

While never too far off the pace, the Pirelli (dubbed the P7C2 to separate it from other iterations) failed to shine in all but fuel efficiency – which it topped – and refinement, where its low noise on different surfaces and its ability to take the edge of all manner of bumps and ridges helped it to second place. 

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It was seventh fastest around the wet handling circuit, which was consistent with its measured performances. It was sixth in wet braking, although less than 1.5m behind the best, fifth in wet cornering, and seventh and eighth respectively in the curved and straight-line aquaplaning tests. Around the wet circuit, the Cinturato was only 1.3sec off the fastest tyre, but it wasn’t an easy ride, because the front end promised lots and then abruptly pushed wide, while the rear would also let go with little warning, which made it hard to be relaxed or consistent. 

It was only equal sixth fastest on the dry handling circuit and seventh in dry braking. At the limit, it was quieter than its rivals and although its responses felt a little soft, it generated good grip and was willing and exploitable. Its strongest suit was economy, its low rolling resistance making it by far the most economical tyre in this test. In fact, by our measurement, the Pirelli was a whisker away from being rated B rather than the C of its EU label.

Blackcircles.com says…

“Customers note that the tyres meet their expectations, with good performance and low road noise.”

Results

Pirelli Cinturato P7  
Overall99.00% 
Price£120.20 
Wet braking95.8%6th
Wet handling98.10%7th
Wet cornering98.6%5th
Curved aquaplaning85.90%7th
Straight aquaplaning95.20%8th
Dry braking94.80%7th
Dry handling98.50%=6th
Cabin noise96.00%2nd
Rolling resistance100.00%1st

Buy the Pirelli Cinturato P7 from Blackcircles.com…

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Products editor

Kim has worked for Auto Express for more than three decades and all but a year of that time in the Products section. His current role as products editor involves managing the section’s content and team of testers plus doing some of the tests himself. 

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