Test Summary
Wet Braking	Maxxis Premitra HP5
Dry Braking	Fulda SportControl 2
Wear	Maxxis Premitra HP5
Rolling Resistance	Firestone RoadHawk
Snow Handling	Sava Intensa UHP 2 Fulda SportControl 2 Apollo Aspire XP Kleber Dynaxer HP4 Avon ZV7
Ice Braking	Maxxis Premitra HP5 Sava Intensa UHP 2

The talented guys at ACE Europe have just released their first summer tyre test for 2020, and interestingly they've tested nine 215/55 R17 summer tyres from the mid range sector of the market!

Sadly, like ADAC, ACE doesn't provide any of the raw data, but the test still provides a rather unique insight into how the highly contested midrange sector of the market looks. These tyres often save you money when compared to a premium tyre, but don't fall into the performance category of "ditch finders" like budget tyres can. It's a shame there's no premium tyre as a benchmark, but it's something we're looking to do in the future!

The Best of the Mid Range

If you've been following tyre tests from the past 12 months, it should be no surprise that the Maxxis Premitra HP5 wins the test, acing nearly all the categories and showing no real weakness.

Goodyear will be pleased with their second tier brands Sava and Fulda, as they essentially matched their overall performance, locking out second and third spots.

Apollo, the owners of Vredestein, take fourth place, with a slight weakness in the wet, and everyone's midrange favourite brand Toyo struggled a little more in the dry for fifth.

Kleber, owned by Michelin, could only manage sixth place overall, again struggling in the wet but proving to be very quiet, where the Bridgestone owned Firestone also struggled on the wet surfaces, but had very low fuel useage.

Rounding out the test are Hankook and Avon. Both brands will be disappointed, but in particular this is a very unusual result for Hankook who are now considered a premium brand, and often beat premium rivals.

Results

1st: Maxxis Premitra HP5
215/55 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 308 Dry: 51 Wet: 60 Rolling Resistance: 18 Noise: 7 Cost: 18 Overall: 154 Short braking and good handling in the dry and wet, high aquaplaning resistance, low fuel use, good value None mentioned Highly Recommended Read Reviews
2nd: Sava Intensa UHP 2
215/55 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 292 Dry: 47 Wet: 56 Rolling Resistance: 17 Noise: 8 Cost: 18 Overall: 146 Good wet handling, high resistance to aquaplaning, low noise, good value Long wet braking Recommended Read Reviews
3rd: Fulda SportControl 2
215/55 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 290 Dry: 47 Wet: 61 Rolling Resistance: 17 Noise: 8 Cost: 12 Overall: 145 Short braking and good handling in the wet, good aquaplaning resistance Relatively expensive Recommended Read Reviews
4th: Apollo Aspire XP
215/55 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 272 Dry: 45 Wet: 51 Rolling Resistance: 17 Noise: 8 Cost: 15 Overall: 136 Low noise Average wet and dry handling, low lateral aquaplaning resistance Recommended Read Reviews
5th: Toyo Proxes Sport
215/55 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 270 Dry: 44 Wet: 56 Rolling Resistance: 16 Noise: 7 Cost: 12 Overall: 135 Short wet braking distances, good aquaplaning resistance Long dry braking, high rolling resistance, expensive Recommended Read Reviews    Buy from £122.71
6th: Kleber Dynaxer HP4
215/55 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 258 Dry: 47 Wet: 45 Rolling Resistance: 17 Noise: 8 Cost: 12 Overall: 129 Low noise Average wet handling, weak aquaplaning resistance, expensive Conditionally recommended Read Reviews
7th: Firestone RoadHawk
215/55 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 252 Dry: 44 Wet: 43 Rolling Resistance: 20 Noise: 5 Cost: 14 Overall: 126 Very low rolling resistance Long wet braking, poor wet handling, long dry braking, high noise Conditionally recommended Read Reviews    Buy from £118.99
8th: Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125
215/55 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 244 Dry: 47 Wet: 36 Rolling Resistance: 19 Noise: 7 Cost: 13 Overall: 122 Good handling in the dry, low rolling resistance Poor wet handling, very poor lateral aquaplaning resistance Conditionally recommended Read Reviews    Buy from £119.89
9th: Avon ZV7
215/55 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 238 Dry: 41 Wet: 41 Rolling Resistance: 16 Noise: 8 Cost: 13 Overall: 119 Low noise Long braking distances and poor handling in the dry, high rolling resistance Conditionally recommended Read Reviews    Buy from £93.50