Need 2 (front) tyres for the other halves MPV and don’t know which brand is best option.
Need 215/55r16 97H and I’m looking at Avon, Firestone, Bridgestone or Michelin (listed in ascending price order) are they all about the same or does the extra £40 a tyre make a huge difference?

The correct size and rating, black and round also helps and then whatever brand you are happy paying for.

For me I run Avon’s, and have for years – I like how they ‘feel’.

With the wife’s car I always put Michelins on. Predictable and last well.

I usualy get whatever the “energy saver” tyre on offer is. Looing at the tyre labeling they usaly come out top for wet braking too which is nice.

Michelin Energy saver+
Goodyear Efficient grip
Dunlop Sport BluResponse

Have a play arround with the load/speed ratings on the kwikfit/blackcircles/whoever website, as long as you meet the minimum for your car some combinations work out quite a bit cheaper than others.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/

One thing I found is that different model rate differently according to size AND the car they are put on how that car uses them.

I found an enthusiast forum for my car and of the four makes suggested, used that link and the feedback therein to decide. FWIW my car would (apparantly) eat michelins to pieces.

I found an enthusiast forum for my car

I love the C-max one, it’s a load of downtrodden bitter Dad’s who resent it and determined to ‘mod’ it with such outlandish items as a longer rear wiper blade.

I have used Prestivo for years on all our cars ( fiesta, Peaugot 306, picasso and a golf GT)
Half the price of the leading brands no issues with the grip last really well and they have a fantastic warranty if you have a puncture / blow out ( as the wife had when she hit a pot hole) you only pay for the wear used.

I would be basing my decision on which brand does an All Season tyre. (summer and winter). Kleber Quadraxer is a favourite, and unusual as despite being All Season it earns the Snowflake winter tyre seal of approval. The only reason I’d avoid that one is if you have a particularly sporty car that you like to drive ‘enthusiastically’.

And always guaranteed to start a heated debate on here, but the garage should recommend it anyway (as do the tyre manufacturers), get them to swap the wheels round so the new ones are on the back.

after years of prestivo, kumho etc I’ve been impressed with Avon’s and they’ve been lasting longer. enough to justify the extra cost.

Any of your main brands mentioned OP are fine. In my experience Avon are good in the rain but a little softer in compound and road noise levels good. Bridgestones good all round grip and real ably durable but do seem to get noisy the more they wear down! Michelin always seemed to grip/perform best and most so on front axles where they seem to have the most durable long lasting shoulders which equates to nice even tyre wear across the tread over the life of the tyre, which also in my experience is the longest out of all you mentioned. Only ever had one set of firestones and it was that long ago I can’t recall how they wore/performed. In my opinion you do get what you pay for.

do not get the dunlop blueresponse. They are utter rubbish.

yes they roll ok but the lack of grip in anything other than a baking hot summers day is shocking!

Totally depends on the car, different cars (and models within them, i.e 1.4 petrol is a lot different to the 2.0 diesel in terms of weight for a start) and conditions.

I tend towards tyres that are very good in the wet, as it generally is wet round these parts, and thats whats likely to throw you into the ditch.
Uniroyal rain expert 3? Around £120-130 a corner so sort of mid priced tyre, great for winter, little noisy in the dry maybe (?) but soft sidewalls, good for conforming to chopped up ridged water logged roads, bad for sharp cornering on hot days.

In the car tyre world, anything under £100 for 16/18″ size is probably a really cheap tyre, usually you need to be in the £120-150 range to get something ‘of quality’

I’ve got Avon’s on my van. Being van tyres they did start with nice deep tread, but 20,000 miles and the fronts still have loads of life in them, rears are hardly touched. I had to swap the fronts across a couple of thousand miles ago as the nearside outside was wearing a little quicker than the offside, but there’s loads of roundabouts on my commute which accounts for that. Grip performance is good too.

F1 Assymetrics?

contis are supposed to be good these days

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m62b0s292p113232/Continental_Tyres_Car_Continental_ContiPremiumContact_2_Continental_Conti_Premium_Contact_2_-_215_55_R16_93H_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_E_Wet_Grip%3A_B_NoiseClass%3A_2_Noise%3A_71dB

Totally depends on the car, different cars (and models within them, i.e 1.4 petrol is a lot different to the 2.0 diesel in terms of weight for a start) and conditions.

This.

I use Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics.

I’ve tried a few brands over the years, Uniroyal, Pirelli, Falken, Bridgestone. Nothing i’ve used beats the Goodyear’s for combination of wet and dry grip, predictability and wear.

Around £100 each for 225/45 R17

do not get the dunlop blueresponse. They are utter rubbish.

yes they roll ok but the lack of grip in anything other than a baking hot summers day is shocking

so shocking that:

When independently tested by TUV SUD against the Michelin Energy Saver+, Continental Premium Contact 5, Bridgestone Turanza T001 and Pirelli Cinturato P7, the new Dunlop tyre proved to be pack leading with wet braking of up to 3 meters shorter than the average of leading premium brands, and a 3% faster performance during wet handling tests

I’ve got some. I would buy again, and did.

Other tyres I would buy again:

Fulda sportcontrol
Goodyear Efficientgrip
hankook ventus prime

Tyres I wouldn’t buy again:

P6000s

Around £120-130 a corner so sort of mid priced tyre,

If that’s your idea of mid price I think you need to change where you buy your tyres!

The advances in design over the years mean that there are very few poor tyres and I’ve found even budget tyres can be very decent. I would go with whatever tyre offers the most important combination to you ie. grip, price etc. Fully fitted examples

P6000s

as known on old 306 forums as “ditch finders”

What tyres are on there at the moment?

Michelin are a very safe bet and usually last a lot longer than other brands in my experience. Contis and other premium brands also very good.

have been pleasantly surprised by some Khumos I was running, I consider them to be a mid range tyre.

My favourite tyres are my Nokian ones. They are winter tyres so take them off in summer but I look forward to being able to put them on as they ride very well and grip fantastic. Would be more than happy to try their other season tyres.

I use Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics.

another fan here.

Wouldn’t buy Pirellis…

Hardly anyone’s used enough to really know what’s better or worse I think and you tend to end up comparing your old worn out ones with nice new ones too. My hankook ventus evo v12 somethingorothers seem good, and reviewed well. My Kumho KH17s were almsot as good, not as good in the dry, bit cheaper.

I think there’s basically 3 jobs to do- avoid anything rubbish, avoid anything stupidly overpriced, then convince yourself that whatever you bought is awesome.

do not get the dunlop blueresponse. They are utter rubbish

I’ve got them on the back of the C-max at the moment, on the one hand they’re the only tyres I’ve ever managed to get the back end to slide with, on the other I was driving like a tit at the time and didn’t go back to a back to back test with anything else. I’d probably buy them again if they were the cheapest of the bunch again.

Northwind’s got it right, how often do you actualy skid your car on a normal bit of road? I don’t think my old rear tyres aver slipped, was it becasue they were awesumz, probably not, more likley because I made it through that partuicular 20,000mile stint without driving like a tit and putting them to the test.

For going fast there’s T1-R, for anything else there’s something black, round and mid-priced.

ok so people think the blueresponse are good. Im just saying i dont and wouldnt buy them again.

They are ok at best when new but with over half of the life of the tyre left they have no cross cuts (just radial grooves) so are lethal on anything other than a dry road (again imo)

Having said that if braking and cornering isnt your thing im sure youll love them, or if you want to practice driving on snow without their actually being any.

Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics.

Another strong recommendation, better that the equivalent Michelin, bridgestone & continentals I’ve had on my cars

My Hankook Ecowhatsits are, um, guff. About the same mpg and noise as the old Icept winter tyres and despite being far better rated than the Maxxis MA-P1’s I had before both the Maxxis were quieter and more fuel efficient (not to mention they handled the wet far better though I’ll see how I do now the front of the car isn’t falling apart)