What Van? Britain's biggest and best van buyers' guide

Apollo, Bandag, Boto, Kenya, Next Tread, Pinso Rovelo, Saetta, Triangle… Nobody truly knows the precise number of tyre brands – including many you’ve never even heard about – that are sold in the UK, but it’s estimated at 700 plus. That results in a bewildering choice for retailers and van drivers alike, according to industry experts. 

The International Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ITMA) quotes some 41 million car and commercial tyres were replaced last year (excluding the five million part-worn alternatives). And that figure would be considerably higher if it weren’t for the fact that, according to ITMA, up to 40% of all discarded tyres were in an illegal state by then.
In fact, data compiled by Halfords reveals the number of vehicles running on tyres below or on the borderline of the minimal legal tread of 1.6mm depth leapt by a staggering 71% compared with last year.

Hardly inexpensive, van tyres are in real world terms cheaper than ever, even though they have grown in size and performance over recent years. Cut throat competition keeps prices competitive; 40 years ago, a typical best brand 155 x13 radial as fitted to the Bedford (Vauxhall) Astramax for instance was ticketed around the £40 mark (£124 in today’s money, according to the Bank of England). In contrast, a search on the web unearths the much fatter modern 185/60 x15 equivalent from under £100 for a premium Yokohama, with lesser brands retailing at half of this. 

When the time does come to replace your van’s tyres you have essentially four choices to make: premium, mid-range and economy brands, and part-worn tyres.  

Premium

As the term implies, these are best known branded household name tyres, fitted by the factory and at the forefront of tyre technology. By and large these state-of-the-art designs will possess the best of everything: grip, noise level, comfort, fuel efficiency and wear rate. Michelin says its van range is effectively a series of de-tuned truck tyres rather than upgraded car tyres that are specifically designed to survive van life. Bridgestone, which has just launched its new EV ready Duravis van tyre, says, “86% of drivers listed ‘wet performance’ as one of the most important aspects when purchasing replacements.” 

“Budget [brands] may be ‘A’ rated in one area but would likely offset this with poor performance elsewhere,” Bridgestone’s technical manager, Gary Powell, warns.

Mid range

Self explanatory, this sector sits between the top names and the economy tyres. Some names have become quite well known. Celebrating 40 years of tyre making, Falken has been elevated to original equipment status by Mercedes-Benz no less. “[We are] often embarrassing more expensive rivals in the respected independent tyre tests in Germany and the UK,” claims Andreas Giese, chief corporate officer at Falken Tyres Europe. 

A fair number of mid-range tyre manufacturers are in fact second-tier brands made by the big boys. A prime example is Michelin which also markets Polish made Kormanan and Tigar.

For those operating older vehicles with an eye on costs but still wanting acceptable performance, a good mid-range tyre makes an ideal compromise, a point made by Kumho Tyre UK’s marketing director, John Thrupp. “While the old adage of ‘you get what you pay for’ generally holds true, there remains a huge gulf in quality between the best
and worst performing products on the market, with the biggest brand names
not always finishing on top of the pile.”  

Budget tyres

This is where some of the oddest names lurk. Price aside, another reason for the surge in popularity of economy brands is their improving performance and quality levels. Although some remain better than others, which is why you must take notice of the independently supplied information contained on every tyre label. Far from being fringe buys, economy brands (that’s budget and mid-range combined) account for well over half of all UK tyre sales. 

How good is a good ‘budget or mid-range’ tyre? As one distributor (Tyre-warehouse.co.uk) puts it on its website: “Budget manufacturers can be just as good as a premium tyre that came out a few years ago.” They probably won’t possess the best overall grip, but for those who don’t drive around like the archetypal mythical white van man they may prove more than adequate and a safer bet than buying a used tyre.

Part-worn tyres

Aside from the possibility of buying a bad tyre, you should also question the economic value of a part-worn tyre, as one with only half of its life left represents dubious value. For example, a 4mm tread depth is good for 10,000 miles maximum, according to the RAC. In contrast, fleets with Michelin’s Agilis 3 LCV tyre have mileages of up to 80,000 miles before wearing down to a similar level, according to Martin Thompson, Michelin’s AGB brand manager, UK and Ireland.