Bridgestone Turanza 6 Tyre Review

When purchasing new tyres for your vehicle, there are lots of things to consider. There’s price of course, but then there are aspects like grip/handling, road noise, wet weather performance, and low rolling resistance and wear. Ideally, you would want all of these attributes in your tyre but that’s not always possible. Take a performance tyre; it may offer excellent grip and braking qualities but the trade-off is often increased road noise, tread wear and a premium price.

So what is a Turanza 6? 

Bridgestone’s Turanza line of tyres has been around since the early nineties. The name is a combination of Bridgestone’s Potenza (performance tyres) and touring. And so the Turanza seeks a balance of performance and comfort. Now in its sixth iteration, the Turanza 6 improves on its predecessor, the Turanza T005, across all areas of tyre performance. It has a particular focus on wet weather performance, energy efficiency and noise.

What kind of customer is Turanza 6 designed for?

It’s a premium tyre designed for use in just over one-half of all passenger cars and SUVs available on the market currently. Sizes range from a 195/65R15 up to 315/30R22. Prices range from $245.35 to $628.35, depending mainly on the size. So it has a good chunk of the market covered.

It’s also designed for those wanting a tyre that will deliver good durability over its lifetime. Reduced road noise is always a plus, which will likely make daily driving more relaxing. The improved wet weather performance will be a bonus in wintry conditions, giving you more confidence in the rain, especially when it comes to emergency stops.

What new tyre tech is it packing?

Bridgestone claims the Turanza 6 offers best-in-class performance in the wet, especially when it comes to cornering. It says fitting Turana 6 tyres will also help improve a vehicle’s fuel economy while delivering a 20 per cent increase in total mileage compared with its T005 predecessor. 

To help achieve these improvements, the Turanza 6 tread pattern design has high volume slots in the shoulder which help channel water away from under the tyre and therefore minimise the risk of aquaplaning. These slots also work as a silencer, helping reduce noise in dry conditions by allowing the air to escape from underneath. The Turanza 6 also double-angle grooves or channels (sipes) that interlock to increase pattern stiffness and deliver improved grip levels. Low gauge body ply and tread plies are said to reduce rolling resistance.

EVs can wear out their tyres faster than other cars due to added vehicle weight, and the instant torque delivery also increases tyre wear. So choosing the right rubber for your EV is important. Bridgestone has added its Enliten technology to the Turanza 6, which improves its rolling resistance, helping reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. Therefore, the company says the T6 is well suited to EVs, PHEVs and Hybrids.

How does it perform?

We took three cars, a Toyota RAV4, Camry and CH-R, all fitted with Turanza 6 rubber, for a loop of Sydney on a cold, wet day. Setting off from the CBD, we headed north through the suburbs to Bobbin Head, traversing a variety of urban, motorway and highway surfaces, ending up at Sydney Motorsport Park. By then the skies had cleared and the tarmac had dried. Which was good for the dry slalom test with the RAV4, where the rubber performed well. For the wet handling test I stepped into the Camry. I was quite impressed with the cornering abilities of the Turanza 6 in the wet. Putting the Camry through the slalom course, it sure was stable. This was followed by a longer corner where the Turanza 6 held its line nicely. Another Camry was fitted with a budget friendly Dayton DT30 for comparison. Taking the ‘budget’ Camry out on the wet course the understeer was much more noticeable, and I had to lift off to get the large car back on line. The wet and dry stopping performance of the Turanza 6 also outperformed the Dayton comfortably.

Times are tough at the moment so going for the cheapest tyre might be tempting. But making sure you get the right rubber for your vehicle will save you money in the long run. Stopping power in wet conditions could be the difference between a close call and a crash. With its range of improvements, the Turanza 6 seems to balance price with performance nicely. And hopefully it delivers on its promise of improved longevity too. We all need things to last a bit longer these days.