Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2: Pirelli's new all-weather tyre, also for hybrid and electric cars

Pirelli is also backing All Season or all-weather tyres, also known as all-season tyres. This type of tyre, which in 2014 accounted for barely 3% of total new tyre sales in Europe, rose to 14% in 2020, and is expected to reach 20% by 2025.

Of course, there are countries where All Season tyres enjoy greater acceptance, such as Germany (22%), France (14%) or Italy (22%). In Spain, for now, only 7% of users who changed their tyres in 2020 opted for All Season ones. Still, after the passage of storm Filomena, and with the growing range and awareness of these tyres, we will surely see their presence increase in our market in the short term too.

At the end we leave you a compilation of articles for those who want to go into more detail about how All Season tyres work, and why they are a magnificent alternative to winter tyres. Now we are going to look in more detail at what Pirelli offers with its new Cinturato All Season SF2, which are sold in 65 sizes for rims from 15 to 20 inches, for city cars as well as mid-size saloons, estates and SUVs.

A tyre for the whole year, in summer and in winter, even when it snows

The Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2 tyre, which replaces the Pirelli Cinturato All Season Plus, also carries the M+S and 3PMSF markings (a pictogram showing a three-peaked mountain with a snowflake inside). This winter certification guarantees that it has passed specific tests for driving on snow.

And don’t overthink it: some people don’t believe in the advantages of All Season tyres, but that is how it is. With this type of tyre you can keep moving on a snowy road where the use of snow chains is required, and you will have maximum safety when driving in winter with low temperatures and rain, without having to change them in summer, as happens with winter tyres.

Specifically, the new Cinturato All Season SF2 boasts results achieved in tests carried out by independent certification bodies such as TÜV SÜD or DEKRA in Germany. According to these tests, the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2 outperform their main rivals in terms of dry braking distance and handling on snow. Also in measurements of fuel consumption and rolling noise.

Among its rivals are tyres with performance and market acceptance as good as the Bridgestone Weather Control A005 EVO, the Michelin CrossClimate+ or the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 3. There you have it, although we hope to test them soon so we can give you our assessments.

The technology of the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2

Beyond its most direct competitors, a good yardstick for the evolution of the new Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2 is to compare it with its predecessor. And here the results point to improvements in dry braking of up to 3.5 metres, 2 metres on wet ground and 1 metre less on snow, according to internal tests carried out by Pirelli itself. Its resistance to aquaplaning has also been improved.

A 50% increase in lifespan is also mentioned. I find this surprising, as it is not usual for a new tyre to announce such significant improvements in durability. And I do not mean that the Cinturato All Season Plus had problems in this regard. As always, in this section the best “judges” will be the users themselves.

How do they achieve all these improvements in the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2? Through the usual means, the things engineers can play with when developing a new tyre: a completely redesigned structure and tread, and new compounds with latest-generation polymers.

Specifically, the tread grooves now have an adaptive design, with 3D channels and side slots in progressive sections. In winter, with low temperatures, the grooves open to provide more grip on snow, while when braking on dry or wet asphalt they close, providing more rigidity.

Available with puncture-resistant technology and for hybrid and electric cars

A distinctive feature of the new Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2 is that, in addition to variants with Run Flat specification, which allow you to keep driving without air in case of a puncture (for about 80 km and at a maximum speed of 80 km/h), some sizes are offered with Pirelli’s Seal Inside technology. This consists of a special mousse-type compound bonded to the inside of the casing, capable of automatically sealing punctures in the tread – for example those caused by a nail – up to 4 mm in diameter.

Another innovation is the Elect technology with which Pirelli distinguishes Cinturato All Season SF2 tyres specially adapted for hybrid and electric vehicles. In this case, the compound, structure and design change slightly, seeking to improve the characteristics that matter most in these cars: lower rolling noise, lower resistance for greater range, and the ability to provide more grip when pulling away or starting from a standstill, thanks to the high torque from low revs that characterises electric motors.

Finally, Pirelli includes in its Cinturato All Season SF2 a “TyreLife” guarantee, which covers the replacement of one tyre (out of each set of 4) during the first year from purchase, in case it suffers irreparable damage.

Related information of interest

• All Season tyres vs winter tyres
• Winter tyres: why they are better than chains
• These are the best tyres so you don’t get stranded in the snow
• Danger! Almost half of Spanish drivers pay no attention to the condition of their tyres