Premium Tyres v Budget Tyres: Do You Get What You Pay For?

When it comes to choosing tyres, the general public is faced with a veritable plethora of brands to choose from. In addition to the established premium brands like Michelin, Pirelli, Goodyear, Bridgetsone, Continental etc there are a number of less known mid range brands, numerous second-line brands owned by the major manufacturers, private brands and literally dozens of budget brands coming from all corners of the earth. That being the case, it’s not surprising to find that the price of tyres varies hugely.

But why is this so? They’re all black and round after all. We thought it would be useful to give some insight into the different brands available on the market and why some cost more than others.

So do you get what you pay for when you choose which brand of tyre to buy?

By and large, yes. When you pay top dollar for one of the premium brands, it is not just the recognisable name you are paying for. You are paying for the millions of pounds worth of R&D and state-of-the-art technology that goes into the latest models of the top brands. It is usually only the top manufacturers that can afford the investment in truly innovative technology so it tends to be them that offer the latest in tyre development. The other brands on the market tend to be “me-too” products, following on with technology a couple of years behind. This is not to say that these products are no good. Simply that the latest models of the top brands offer the latest improvements in tyre technology and performance. By and large this is borne out by the results of the tyre tests carried out by the specialist motoring magazines, who test the tyres to their limits where the differences in performance become more apparent. In principle, then, if you do a lot of motorway driving, drive an up-market car or consider yourself a demanding driver, then it is usually worth spending the extra money on one of the top brands.

But what about other brands? Firstly, it’s worth pointing out that there are a number of mid range brands from leading international manufacturers, whose technology is at an extremely high level, but whose brands are not as recognisable as the top names. These brands, generally priced below the top premium brands, but above the budget sector, often offer exceptional value for money. Examples of this are the two Japanese brands Toyo and Falken and the two leading Korean manufacturers Hankook and Kumho.

But what about budget brands. How do you distinguish and identify value for money here? The very cheapest tyres in the market tend, these days to emanate from China. However, they shouldn’t be confused with the many economy ranges of tyres that sit between the mid-range and true budget brands. These often offer good quality at an affordable price and are often a good choice for drivers doing relatively low mileage, mostly urban driving , for families’ second cars or for drivers on a budget. A number of Taiwanese brands such as Federal, Kenda and Maxxis fit into this category as well as a number of private brands such as the Interstate brand, which we market in the UK.

As far as bottom of the range Chinese budget tyres are concerned, the jury is out. There is little doubt that the Chinese are investing heavily in manufacturing plants and in technology, much of which is supplied by the leading western manufacturers. That said, tyre experts (including many of the wholesaler who import these products) tend to be of the opinion that the quality of these tyres can still vary considerably.

The press remains unconvinced too. A tyre test carried out earlier this year by the German magazine Autostrassenverkehr tested a number of the better known Chinese brands but found it difficult to offer favourable reviews to any of them.

That said, Chinese tyres are certainly cheap but opinion is divided on how long this will last for. On July 1, the Chinese government reduced tyre export subsidies on tyre exports from 13% to 5%, a move, which, combined with recent increases in shipping costs is expected to result in price increases in budget tyres.

On the other hand though, China is seeing big capacity increases in ultra-high performance tyres, which are currently not able to be absorbed by the Chinese domestic market so downward price pressure is likely to continue in this area.