An ultra-high-performance (UHP) tyre is built for grip, braking and steering precision on quick cars, from hot hatches to sports saloons. The category is fiercely contested, and the leaders come straight from the latest independent tests, where wet ability separates the great from the merely fast.
The current test picture
The 2025 Auto Express summer test, run on UHP tyres in 225/40 R18 on a VW Golf GTI, sets the benchmark:
- Pirelli P Zero (PZ5): the overall winner, taking both wet and dry handling with remarkable breadth and refinement
- Bridgestone Potenza Sport: second, with the shortest wet braking in the test and matching dry pace, usually cheaper than the winner
- Hankook Ventus evo: third, refined and strong in the wet, a value-premium surprise
- Michelin Pilot Sport 5 and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, premium all-rounders within a whisker of the lead
- Continental SportContact 7: a sharp dry tyre that underperformed on this test's wet circuit, though a serial winner elsewhere
The 2025 evo test of UHP tyres in 235/35 R19 echoes the same premium names at the top.
Picking between them
For outright wet safety the Bridgestone leads; for all-round mastery the Pirelli; for value the Hankook. Track-leaning drivers should also see track-day tyres and semi-slicks, a different brief again. Brand context: Pirelli, Bridgestone, Michelin and Yokohama.
How to use this
UHP results swing hard by size and car, so confirm a current, dated test in your exact fitment, and weight wet performance for UK roads. The category background is under ultra-high-performance tyres and performance tyres; the best summer picks overlap closely.
From the reviews desk: on a proper performance car the difference between a top UHP tyre and an also-ran is night and day in the wet, where these cars can get you in trouble fast. The PZ5's the all-rounder, but the Bridgestone's wet braking is the number I'd buy on for a UK road car.
Sources and accuracy. Picks here are drawn from the 2025 Auto Express and evo performance tyre tests, paraphrased from the published tests. Ranges and results change yearly and vary by size, so read the current, dated test in your size. If anything here looks wrong, get in touch and we will check it and put it right.
Common questions
What is the best performance tyre in 2025?+
The new Pirelli P Zero (PZ5) won the 2025 Auto Express summer test of ultra-high-performance tyres, mastering wet and dry handling. The Bridgestone Potenza Sport was second with the best wet braking, and the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 are also top-tier. The right one depends on whether you prioritise wet, dry or value.
What is the difference between a performance and a touring tyre?+
A performance or ultra-high-performance tyre prioritises dry and wet grip, sharp steering and high-speed stability, using softer compounds that grip harder but often wear faster. A touring tyre prioritises comfort, quietness, longevity and efficiency. Sports cars and hot hatches suit the former; everyday cars usually suit the latter.
Do performance tyres wear out faster?+
Often, yes. The softer, grippier compounds that make a performance tyre stick also tend to wear faster than a touring tyre's, especially if driven hard. Some modern UHP tyres have improved on this, but as a rule you trade some tread life for the extra grip and feel.
Are expensive performance tyres worth it?+
On a capable car driven with enthusiasm, yes. The gap between the best UHP tyres and lesser ones shows up most in wet grip, handling precision and braking, exactly where a performance car's ability lives. On a car that never gets pushed, a cheaper touring tyre may be the more sensible buy.