Right, I can finally do an initial report on Goth Leo's new tyres. I went for the Goodyear Vectra marketingspeak-marketingspeak something or others. This was largely on an evaluation of the various tyre web site reports, and then the clincher was someone on Mastodon who had an EV saying he had very good experience with them.
My biggest concerns are, I am sure, the same as yours; how is economy affected, and how is cabin noise?
I chose a company in Tain, Godsmans Tyres, because we;ve dealt with them for years and I trust them, though I could probably have got them a lot cheaper elsewhere though perhaps with more hassle. (Just heard of someone who took their car to Kwikfit for a slow-leak repair, the mechanic climbed in and drove the car straight into the car lift to the extent that the car was undriveable. Just saying...)
Just back from the 70 mile trip from Tain. This road goes straight across the spine of northern Scotland and includes about 30 miles of single track. I had a strong wind on the nose all the way home. My weather system here at home (
Clachtoll Current Weather Conditions) reports average winds of 20mph and gusts in the high 30s, but it must have been a lot more than that on the tops. It also rained hard. I had the wipers on the second speed on several occasions. The single track was more stop-start than usual too, so all in all this was not an indicative run. But I could not help being disappointed at just under 3.7miles/kWHr for the trip. Under more normal circumstances we expect it to hover around the 4.0 mark - it's not an easy or straight run at all.
So time will tell regarding economy, and I should not expect this first run to indicate much. I will report back on this as we do more mileage.
Noise levels were also not fully indicative, but it was noticable that the irritating drone the factory tyres set up at certain speeds is either reduced or a less irritating frequency. It seemed quieter anyway, and, essentially, the new tyres are definitely not noisier.
As far as handling is concerned, it's a different matter. I thought the car handled well with factory tyres. But cornering, already a joy, is absolutely certain with the Goodyears. The car just points where you want it, and absolutely hugs the corners.
The road is bad, and there were numerous huge puddles, often right across the width of the singletrack. It's less like hitting a wall with the new tyres - noticeably so - if you take these a little faster than is ideal. The new tyres made me realise that I'd developed a little hesitancy in the wet with the factory tyres. I was aware that there was some compensation I was doing that was no longer needed. It's hard to put a finger on exactly what, but it was noticeable.
One aspect of the factory tyres that worried me was when we cross the several large cattle grids around here. On a couple of occasions in the wet the car has actually moved sideways on the metal. It was this that made me worry about how the tyres would cope in winter. Well I crossed 3 cattle grids on the way home, and the car stayed where it should on all three. In addition, the noise across the grids was very markedly less. And again, on our bad, rough single tracks, the noise across rougher sections is reduced a lot, as is any hesitancy when hitting those spots.
This has not been a cheap decision, but it's already clear, under less than ideal conditions, that there is a world of difference between the factory tyres and the Goodyears
for our conditions. Please note the bit in italics. I am not advocating for anyone and everyone to make such a decision, but just reporting on our needs here, and that new tyres seems to help to meet them. I should also add that I have no problem whatsoever with any "Made in China" moniker on tyres, and would have been equally happy with good performing all-season tyres from a Chinese factory. (Full disclosure: the last 2 sets of tyres on our old Panda 4x4 were made in China, and they were fine.)
We can have wintry conditions at any time from October to May in these parts. While I would not choose to venture out in conditions I might have done with a 4x4, I still feel a lot happier now with good, appropriate tyres.
Let me know if anyone wants further reports as we put some mileage on the Goodyears.