Autos

Articles Index

Review: Nokian WRG3 Asymmetric

Nokian's WRG2 is probably the best true All-Season tire in existence. Nokian's WRG3 is not, but it's trying pretty hard.

Review: Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport AS

When Bridgestone looks at the state of the SUV/Light Truck market, they see that it is transitioning away from big heavy SUV's and towards much lighter, sportier “crossover” vehicles. As they note, this is what “The Boss” wants from the car companies, and what “The Boss” wants from these CUV's is not just ample cargo space and better fuel mileage, but the kind of responsive acceleration, braking and handling that crossover-type vehicles provide. That's where the Dueler H/P Sport comes in.

Review: Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS

The Bridgestone RE97AS is designed to have a smoother and quieter ride than the RE970AS, but has somewhat less track-style performance. At the same time it has more performance and a less smooth ride than, say, the Ecopia line, making it pretty much a “Goldilocks” tire in most respects.

Review: Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 Studded

Studded tires are the very, very best in terms of winter grip. Nokian's Hakka 7 studded tires are certainly among the very best of that group, at least until the Hakka 8 becomes available.

Review: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV

Nokian's Hakkapeliitta R2 passenger snow tires are "crazy good." The SUV version is just as crazy and just as good.

Review: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2

I travel to Ivalo in Finnish Lapland to try out Nokian's newest snow tire, the Hakkapeliitta R2, which is better than it's predecessor in every way I can see.

Review: Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus

"When we're working with our engineers, they say, 'You're asking for everything!' and we say, 'Well, yeah. That's what the customer seems to want.'"

Review: Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3

Michelin will launch their new Pilot Sport A/S 3 Ultra High Performance All-Season tire this summer. "L'audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace!"

Review: BFGoodrich G-Force Rival

Let me put it this way: BFGoodrich's pure competition tire, the R1 and their street tire, the G-Force Comp-2, loved each other very much. When the stork finally arrived, they named it Rival, and found that they had a child who was greater than the sum of its parents. And what a cute kid it is...

Review: Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season

As a reviewer, I try to make clear when I have a bias, whether positive or negative. I do have something of a negative bias regarding Pirelli. Mostly this comes from years of doing tire repairs and seeing lots of “bubbles” in apparently weak Pirelli sidewalls. I do freely admit that this is partially because they tend to aim for very high performance, and partially because they tend to make a lot of very low-profile tires. With the P Zero Nero All Season, however, the sidewalls are clearly not the issue. The issue is the lack of real wet grip and the ease with which the tire breaks away at the limit.

Review: Firestone Destination LE2

The Firestone Destination LE2 does exactly what it's supposed to do. And no more.

Review: Continental ExtremeContact DW

Continental's summer-only ExtremeContact DW (Dry/Wet) is not quite as good as the DWS (Dry/Wet/Snow.)

Review: Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric All-Season

It's hard to know whether to judge the new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric All-Season by the standards of a track tire or a winter tire, but all indications are that it's at least pretty good at both.

Review: Fuzion Touring

The Fuzion Touring, made by Bridgestone, is simply a decent tire at a great price.

Review: Yokohama Avid Ascend

Yokoahama's Avid Ascend is the first consumer tire available in the US using orange oil in the rubber compound, and this technology makes for one great Grand Touring tire.

Review: Continental ExtremeContact DWS

The ExtremeContact DWS (Dry/Wet/Snow) are Continental's offering in the Ultra High Performance All Season niche, designed for 3-4 season capability without sacrificing high-speed performance. By all accounts, they fulfill on that promise in a big, big way.

Review: Bridgestone Blizzak WS70

A review of the new Bridgestone Blizzak. WS70's are great on ice and snow, but have some trouble on dry roads.

Review: Michelin X-Ice Xi2

Michelin's X-Ice Xi2 winter tire is the primary challenger to Nokian's dominance of the winter tire market. Has Michelin finally caught up to the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R?

Review: Nokian eNTYRE

Nokian Tyres of Finland is well-known for their mastery of snow tires. However, they also are leaders in the field of low rolling resistance, and their newest offering is a summer-biased all-season Grand Touring tire called the eNTYRE. I was able to check these tires out on my Prius Nerdmobile for a long-term test of their handling capabilities and fuel-efficiency.

Review: Bridgestone Ecopia EP422

Among the many low rolling resistance “eco-tires” being marketed this season is Bridgestone's Ecopia EP422, a Grand Touring, All-Season tire designed to have very low rolling resistance and therefore high fuel-efficiency. The Ecopia is also marketed as an ecologically conscious tire due to its construction. However, the real questions are: How does it handle and how fuel-efficient is it really?

Review: Bridgestone Potenza RE970 AS Pole Position

To say that the long-awaited successor to Bridgestone's Potenza RE960AS Pole Position, the Potenza 970AS, exceeds its predecessor in every way is somewhat akin to noting that Salieri was considered to be an excellent court composer until Mozart breezed into town.