The other point to consider is what type of tyre - depending on where you live, having better wet and snow grip could be useful - I usually fit all season, not summer tyres.

Premium makes do cost a little extra but £20 a tyre (£80 a set) spread over 2-5 year (depending on mileage) is not a high cost to pay.

A good review site which seems authoritive and thorough:

2021 Auto Bild All Season Tyre Test - Tyre Reviews and Tests

Edited by mcb100 on 14/02/2022 at 11:16

Of all the things I traveled in the summer, I liked the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 the most. From the budget ones, I would take Formula or something like that, but never buy a Nokian (micro hernias constantly appear, the steering wheel starts to hit at a speed of 100 km, just balance it goes normally, time passes again the same)

Eh?

Lost in translation perhaps? I have no clue what they were on about either, but Nokian tyres are normally good, though they are far better on all season and especially winter/studded tyres because that's their speciality.

We should be wary of tyre reviews from the the general public. As a rule they will be comparing old well worn tyres to brand new replacements. The new tyres should perform much better than the worn out tyres in most respects. Can they remember how the old tyres performed when they were new? Unlikely.

EU product labels were introduced to promote environmental improvements and are typically based on energy consumption and factors such as noise emission rather than the ability of the product to perform its function. For tyres the label rates fuel efficiency ( = energy consumption), external noise ( = airborne noise, an environmental factor), and braking ability. The latter is a measure of product performance which is not usually the subject of these labels but was included after intense lobbying by a major tyre manufacturer. The external (drive-by) noise rating cannot used as an indicator of interior noise as they are not related.

Tyres designated as XL (= extra load) do not necessarily have stiffer sidewalls than their "normal" equivalents. The load a tyre can carry depends on its inflation pressure and XL tyres can be inflated to 0.5 bar higher pressure than "normal" tyres to enable them to carry higher loads. The carcass cords in an XL tyre might have a higher tensile strength than those in normal tyres but can be just as flexible. With the exception of "run flat" tyres, tyre sidewalls are not designed to carry load and a tyre with no inflation pressure will support very little weight.

Thanks. Priorities comfort and quietness.

One other thing to note is that the tyre pressures can also make a big difference to ride quality and mpg.

When Honest John himself used to own this website and penned his Daily Telegraph column, he often recommended that drivers only use the handbook's (cold fill, i.e. not after use where the tyres and air inside will be warmer) as a guide, not rigidly stick to them, especially when fitting all-season and/or XL (higher load-rated) tyres.

Where the cold fill pressure for low (weight) loads may be 32psi (as mine is) and (say) 46psi for a fully laden (including full boot) car, the former might be for 'up to the driver plus 2 passenegers', thus you might find the ride is more comfortable at 31psi, maybe even 30 if you are the only occupant for the vast majority of the time (it's a good idea to alter the pressure if the load changes for a reasonable length journey).

You do, however, have to not go too far in reducing the pressure, as it will increase mpg (as you're increasing the contact patch size and thus frictional grip) and wear on the tyres, especially the driven wheels and on the outer edges.

Similarly in the other direction, pumping the tyres up to above the standard (say to 34psi on mine) means higher wear on the central part of the contact area, lower grip, but a bit higher mpg. I would do this (for my car only) if the car was carrying a couple of passengers.

It's always best to have the tyres pumped up to a level than evens the wear over the contact width area of the tyre. What that is will depend on what load (weight of the driver, passengers, boot contents) and the conditions. In warmer weather, the measured tyre pressure will be higher than in colder weather because the air heats up a bit and expands.

Tyres under very low pressures (20%+ lower) give a nice ride, but will wear a LOT more quickly and will be far more susceptible to damage, and especially blowouts, which can obviously cause serious accidents.