While there may be an element of chance or uncertainty involved in buying tyres, it is vital to keep in mind that there are a few ways to mitigate this and make informed decisions.
Firstly, it is essential to look for tyres designed for your specific vehicle and driving conditions, considering factors like weather, terrain, and driving habits.
Secondly, you must research and choose a reputable tyre brand and model that has been well-reviewed and tested by experts and consumers.
With this in mind, we could consider having one of the best assessments for a tyre explicitly made for crossovers, as for the last year, we have been keeping tabs on a set of Bridgestone Turanza T005A to find out how they fare.
The Turanza T005A is Bridgestone's touring tyre, designed to deliver greater comfort, superior quietness, and assured safety for short- and long-distance journeys.
Although most associate touring tyres with larger, premium sedans, it is built for many different vehicles. Considering what crossovers provide to many Malaysians these days, where they can do it all, it is also highly suitable for crossovers like the Honda HR-V.
About a year ago, we gave a set of Bridgestone Turanza T005A to engineer Sassindren Selvaraja, who won the CarTell x Bridgestone tyre giveaway contest. He was excited to try them out, even though he already had a set of premium tyres on his Honda HR-V.
As an engineer who needs to attend to client needs around the country, Sassindren travels a lot with his HR-V. When it is not utilised for work purposes, the HR-V is primarily commandeered by Sassindren's father, who uses it as his run-around town vehicle.
Together, they accumulated around 17,000km of usage from the new set of Bridgestone Turanza T005A. Generally, Malaysians travel between 10,000km to 20,000km a year, so the T005As on Sassin's Honda HR-V can be considered well-used.
This allowed us to check out how much tread depth was left on the tyres after that usage. According to Bridgestone's website, new tyres typically come with 7mm – 9mm tread depth, depending on the type of tyre. Some truck and SUV tyres may have deeper tread depth than others, but the Bridgestone Turanza T005A 215/55R17 fitted on Sassin’s Honda HR-V has 7.2mm of tread depth when brand new.
When we checked the tread depth on Sassin's set of T005A, the tread depth gauge showed that he had around 6mm of tread left on his tyres. Moreover, the reading was uniform across the four tyres, showing consistency in manufacturing.
Bridgestone says it is important to maintain a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm for your tyres, so on the back of this and Sassin's high mileage and tyre wear, he should be getting around 51,000 km out of the tyres and to us, that sounds good.
One of the first questions we asked Sassin was whether he had noticed any changes in the vehicle's handling, performance or behaviour since installation? He said they'd been a pleasure and have been the same since installation. He hasn't had any unusual vibrations or noises while driving, he added.
We also looked closer at the tyres when we interviewed Sassin, and there were no visible signs of wear, such as cracks or bulges on them. We assume this is due to the quality of the tyre and Sassin's effort to maintain the tyre pressure, but Sassin said they were easy to maintain as the tyres hold the air pressure very well. ” Sometimes when I check them, they still have the same tyre pressure as when I last filled them up”.
Since we've had this spell where it's scalding earlier in the day, followed by heavy rain closer to the evening, we had to ask Sassin how the tyres had performed, going from very hot to very wet.
Sassin said, “let's face it, it rains a lot these days, and there's no escaping it. But, as I've mentioned in my previous reviews, there's a sense of assured wet weather performance regarding the T005A. They have a good grip in the wet and always leave me in control if I ever accidentally smash through a puddle. Aquaplaning is scary, but I feel safe with the T005A.”
So as you can see, the tyres have treated Sassin well, but to be frank, we expected it to do so, as they are high-quality Bridgestone tyres which usually deliver outstanding performance.
Through the year-long review, we've established that the Turanza T005A provides improved handling and grip, better performance in wet conditions, and a smoother, quieter ride.
We want to thank Sassin for being such a great sport and Bridgestone for providing drivers with a great set of tyres which shows their passion for excellence.
If you want to find out more about the Turanza T005A touring tyres, you can visit: https://www.bridgestonetyre.com.my/en/tyre/turanza-t005a
Keyword: Bridgestone Turanza T005A touring tyres: 1-Year Honda HR-V owner review