How Much is a New Tyre?

If the tyres on your car need changing, you may be wondering how much the new set will set you back. The answer to this, however, depends on a huge number of factors. Things such as how many tyres you’ll need, the size and type of your vehicle, how you drive, how you intend to use the vehicle, all go into making a decision to buy a particular set of tyres over another set. Even the cost of the most budget tyres varies from vehicle to vehicle depending on the size of the wheels.

For example, the lowest cost new tyre for a Vauxhall Corsa is likely to be somewhere in the region of £50, with the most premium option being an £85 Michelin tyre. For a whole set, the difference here could mean the difference between spending £200 or spending £340.

So why the difference?

The difference between Budget & Premium tyres

If you simply can’t afford to go for anything other than the lowest cost tyres, then at least you have an easy choice! But it’s worth being aware that, quite often, it’s a false economy.

The lowest cost tyres are often so cheap at the expense of some of the more serious research and development into tread patterns, rubber compounds, and other innovations that go towards making great, durable tyres. One of the easiest comparisons to make is with the tyre’s Rolling Resistance. This is categorised between A-E.

Tyres can account for between 20-30% of the overall fuel consumption of a vehicle and the differences between each category in the tyre’s ‘Fuel Efficiency’ rating mean that the tyre uses 0.1L less per 100km driven. Spread across all four tyres and comparing between category D and category A, you’re looking to be using significantly less fuel with category A tyres.

A fuel saving of 5-10% serves to easily save you in the region of £100-200 in fuel over the course of a year – depending how often and how you drive.

So, as you can see, the initial £160 saved on the cheaper tyres is made up in the long run in fuel savings.

On top of this, premium tyres will usually be harder wearing, more durable, and create less road noise – with an average lifespan of 20,000 miles, opting for premium tyres saves even more money in the long run.

Seasonal Tyres

Another key difference is between seasonal tyres and all-weather tyres. While you can get budget differences in the individual categories of Summer Tyres, Winter Tyres, or All Weather Tyres, it’s worth noting that a premium tyre will always perform better in each category.

The differences between these are the tread patterns and depths. In short, winter tyres tend to have deep tread grooves to better grip the road in wet or snowy conditions.

Heavy Duty Tyres

Another factor that’ll affect your buying decision is whether you need XL or heavy duty 4x4 tyres for offroading or bearing more weight.

The tyres for vehicles like pickup trucks, work vans, and motorhomes, usually have to withstand much heavier loads than normal passenger cars - often as much as 3.5 tonnes! As such, they’re often run flat but also constructed with reinforced cores to be able to withstand the extra loads.

Due to their more demanding construction, they’re often considerably more expensive than normal tyres – but they’re also essential for safely carrying loads on your vehicle.

Which one should you choose?

We’d always recommend that you go with the highest quality tyre that you can afford – because, short of an untimely puncture, the tyre will almost always pay for itself in longer term savings.

To see what options are available for your vehicle, put its registration number into our tyre search tool here. You can even book a tyre replacement at your local Kwik Fit through it!