Firestone Multiseason GEN 02 - All-Season Tyre Test 2023

Firestone was good in shallow wet tests but struggled in deep water

  • Score: 99.2%
  • Rating: 4th
  • Price: £96.99

Bridgestone-owned Firestone topped the battle of the sub brands with a performance that works well in our test, with its emphasis on wet grip and fuel economy. 

The newcomer was a clear winner at the pumps and EV chargers, ahead of the Michelin and Kleber, with around a two per cent advantage in fuel consumption over the bulk of the field – tempting for high-mileage drivers. The Firestone was also a star in wet braking – one of the focuses for our test weighting. It was less than a metre off the winning Vredestein and two metres ahead of the next sub-brand.

These were highlights, though, from a patchy set of results. It was largely at the bottom of the rankings, but by small enough margins to enable it to secure fourth overall. On snow it just managed to top the Uniroyal, but felt secure from behind the wheel, with good balance and slide recovery when the rear moved. 

In the wet that rear was much more stable, despite decent front grip, and gave the confidence to push hard. It struggled in the deep water, though, particularly when those vital water-shifting channels were distorted in cornering.

It was a similar story in the dry, where grip through long turns was in short supply, although it dealt well with quick direction changes. It also proved to be the noisiest in our test, although the gap to the best was small.

We say:

Tempting fuel economy and wet braking, but the Multiseason lacked consistency across the tests and struggled in deep water.

Blackcircles.com says:

Customers who buy this tyre are generally pleased with their choice, leaving reviews that highlight the wet grip performance and giving it a score of 4.2/5 overall.

Firestone Multiseason GEN 02 Score Place
Snow braking 95.6% >7th
Snow traction 95.5% 5th
Snow handling 97.9% 7th
Straight aquaplaning 91.7% 8th
Curved aquaplaning 71.6% 8th
Wet braking 98% 2nd
Wet handling 98.8% 5th
Wet circle 98.0% 5th
Dry braking 89.2% 7th
Dry handling 89.2% 7th
Rolling resistance 100% 1st
Cabing noise 97.2% 8th

Buy the Firestone Multiseason GEN 02 from Blackcircles.com

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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