July 26, 2019
Thanks to their nice balance of on-road refinement, fun-to-drive character, longevity and all-season capability, Grand Touring All-Season tires have become the go-to choice for the family hauler. Whether it’s a woodside wagon, or more likely, a crossover or sedan, a tire from this category can be the right fit, and sometimes a good, basic tire is precisely what’s needed.
Sumitomo recently followed up their popular HTR Enhance L/X with the HTR Enhance LX2, a tire they claim makes improvements in ride quality, dry handling and light snow traction compared to its predecessor.
Another new addition to the market comes from Cooper Tires, with their Evolution Tour billed as a reliable tire with a soft, quiet ride, solid handling and satisfying fuel efficiency thanks to its advanced construction.
To find out how these two new tires compare to some proven competitors in the category, we ran the Sumitomo HTR Enhance LX2 and Cooper Evolution Tour through a full test alongside the BFGoodrich Advantage T/A Sport and the Kumho Solus TA71. Our evaluation used 2020 BMW F36 430i Gran Coupes fitted with new, full tread depth 225/50R17 tires mounted on 17x7.5 wheels.
Our 6.0-mile loop of expressway, state highway and county roads provides a great variety of road conditions that include city and highway speeds, smooth and coarse concrete, as well as new and patched asphalt. This route allows our team to experience noise comfort, ride quality and everyday handling, just as you would during your drive to school or work.
While the on-road behavior of our test group couldn’t match the luxury delivered by top-tier products, they were satisfying enough to meet the needs of basic, daily transportation.
True to its name, the Advantage T/A Sport felt the most engaging on our evaluation loop, with responsive handling and linear steering feel. The ride was a touch firm, and the tread created some noticeable growl over all surfaces, but in all it delivered a pleasant experience. The Evolution Tour lead the way in the "comfort" categories, with a soft ride that helped reduce the severity of large bumps, though it could feel a little unsettled over repetitive impacts. Similarly, noise comfort was a high point, with just a quiet, but distinct tone that could be heard in the cabin. Light handling and steering response were both a little more relaxed than the BFGoodrich, with slightly less urgency and precision in the tire’s reaction to driver inputs. With the firmest ride of the group, the Solus TA71 was taut and well composed over the bad stretches on our route, and only a small amount of tread noise made its way to the driver’s ears. Steering feel and light handling were acceptable for the category. The ride of the HTR Enhance LX2 was soft, but felt a little underdamped, making impacts more of an event than in the other tires. Some light, high-pitched ringing over coarse surfaces was noticeable in the cabin, and the steering was responsive and linear.
Our 1/3-mile per lap test track course includes 90-degree street corners, a five-cone slalom and simulated expressway ramps. Run in both dry and wet conditions, the test track allows our team to experience the traction, responsiveness, handling and drivability normally only encountered during abrupt emergency avoidance maneuvers or competition events.
Around the track, the BFGoodrich felt the most composed and athletic, with crisp response to inputs and confident braking modulation, and it earned the highest subjective score from our team by a considerable margin. The Sumitomo was balanced and delivered acceptable traction and handling, while the Kumho felt the most free of the group. It would glide around the track a bit, with some movement at both the front and rear axles that was easily controllable. The Cooper’s reflexes felt slightly slower than the other tires, though with calculated inputs and remaining within the tire’s limits, it was only a breath slower than the rest of the group.
Wet testing saw significant division between the abilities of the tires in our group, with the BFGoodrich earning the top subjective score from our team. Moderate traction limits meant the driver could drive somewhat assertively, though some care was still required. The Kumho posted the fastest average lap times, and it felt reasonably good to drive. Asking too much of the front tires resulted in stubborn understeer that took a long time to recover, which certainly hurt its overall score with our team. A noticeable step back brings us to the Sumitomo, which in addition to modest traction, was also a little tricky to drive. Small inputs were met with reasonable response, but the rear end was quick to step out with additional throttle. Fortunately, it was very easy to catch and quick to recover, so it was more frustrating than nerve-wracking. The Cooper was another significant jump backward in ability. With minimal grip to work with, realistically, all our drivers could do was slow down, take it easy, and tiptoe around the track, as any attempt to push harder was met with slipping or spinning tires. The low traction available wasn’t sufficient to do two things at once, so the steering wheel needed to be pointed straight ahead when accelerating or braking, and both feet off the pedals for turns.
In our light snow testing, the Evolution Tour stood out above the rest of the group. With the shortest acceleration and braking distances, the fastest lap time, and the highest subjective score from our testers, it led in every category. The Advantage T/A Sport was a noticeable step back, though it still delivered an acceptable performance when driven within its abilities. The HTR Enhance LX2 and Solus TA71 struggled somewhat in the snow, with modest traction from either option. The HTR Enhance LX2 ultimately proved more capable, but it didn’t communicate its abilities with the driver, which made it more difficult to drive and earned a slightly lower subjective score. The Solus TA71 had marginally less traction, but that fact was apparent from the beginning, so the driver always knew what to expect.
The order was shuffled in our ice testing, with the BFGoodrich setting the fastest 60ft. acceleration and shortest 12-0mph stopping distances. The Sumitomo was a close second in both regards, with the Kumho another step back and the Cooper rounding out the group. A little over seven feet separated the braking distances, with none of the options delivering traction anywhere near that of a dedicated winter tire.
Our Real World Road Ride features a relatively flat 6.0-mile loop of 65-mph expressway, 55-mph state highway and 40-mph county roads along with three stop signs every lap. Our team drove each tire approximately 500 miles over the course of several days. Since we wanted to compare fuel consumption results that typical drivers would experience, our drivers were instructed to maintain the flow of traffic by running at the posted speed limits and sustain the vehicle’s speed using cruise control whenever possible. They did not use hypermiling techniques to influence vehicle fuel economy.
| Tire | Test MPG* | Gallons/Year @ 15,000 Miles |
% vs. Most Efficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| BFGoodrich Advantage T/A Sport | 29.9 | 501.7 | -0.7% |
| Cooper Evolution Tour | 30.1 | 498.3 | -- |
| Kumho Solus TA71 | 29.7 | 505.1 | -1.4% |
| Sumitomo HTR Enhance LX2 | 29.6 | 506.8 | -1.7% |
| Our evaluation used Race Technology DL1 data loggers to record true distance traveled. | |||
Fuel economy is a consideration for most drivers, and within this group we found a negligible .5-mile per gallon disparity between our lowest and highest observed fuel economy. This difference would result in an additional 8.5 gallons of premium gasoline used per year for a vehicle driven 15,000 miles annually.
It’s important to note our test’s fuel consumption measurements follow consistent procedures designed to minimize variables that could influence the results; however, they do not represent an exhaustive long-range fuel consumption study. While our procedures require the test vehicles in each convoy to run under the same prevailing conditions, the week-to-week differences in ambient temperatures, barometric pressures and wind speeds that we experience over a season of testing can influence vehicle fuel consumption and prevent the absolute mpg values of this test from being compared directly against those of others.
Larger differences in consumption between tires may indicate a difference that might be experienced on the road, while smaller differences should be considered equivalent. As they say, your mileage may vary.
The BFGoodrich Advantage T/A Sport feels athletic on the road and the dry track. Moderate wet and light snow traction are acceptable for its position in the market, and some noticeable tire noise is a slight downfall. The Kumho Solus TA71 has reasonable limits in the wet, combined with adequate on-road manners, though it isn’t particularly engaging to drive, and it struggles in the snow. Sumitomo’s HTR Enhance LX2 has passable ride and handling on the road, though the ride could be a little better controlled. Dry track performance is satisfactory, as well, but it needs a big gain in wet traction and could use a bump in light snow, as well. The Cooper Evolution Tour is the group standout in light snow, and it has a soft ride that feels comfortable plus low noise that isn’t distracting or intrusive. It also has significant room for improvement in the wet.
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