Autocar tested five leading budget brands (GT Radial, Linglong, Nankang, Triangle and Wanli) against an established Continental brand tyre. The magazine conducted its own tests for wet handling and braking, dry handling and braking and aquaplaning, plus a stringent high-speed test at the Contidrom test centre in Hannover. Summing up Autocar senior tester Jamie Corstorphine said: “We expected the bargain tyres in this test to fall short of the Continental, but we were not prepared for just how poorly some performed.”

Here are the results from the wet braking from 50mph test: The Continental stopped in the shortest distance (31.7 metres), followed by the Nankang (roughly 33.8 metres), GT Radial (about 35.8 metres), Wanli, and Triangle, with the Linglongs taking the longest to stop (40.2 metres). The Linglong equipped VW Golf Autocar used for its tests was still doing 27.8mph at the point where it had stopped on the Continentals.

Overall the Continentals easily won, scoring top marks in all but one test. A consistent performance earned the GT Radials second place, but a wet lap time 3.4 sec adrift of the Continentals indicated just how far even it falls short. (Tyres & Accessories/Staffordshire, U.K.)