Touring tires are geared towards optimizing your ride quality on the road. However, with so much competition in this oversaturated market segment, does the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II make its mark?
| Pros | Cons |
| A thoroughly enjoyable driving experience with responsive steering | Reduced steering response as compared to its predecessors in exchange for more comfort |
| Highly comfortable ride quality — easily masks big and small bumps | |
| No notable road noise even on rough patches or at higher speeds | |
| Works well in mildly snowy conditions | |
| Exceptional braking and handling in the rain | |
| Outstanding grip and traction on dry tarmac | |
| Durable build with a lengthy treadwear warranty |
Cars are primarily used for driving around the city and traveling through the highways. That’s what makes the segment of grand-touring tires so popular within the tire market.
These highway tires provide an optimized driving experience with supreme comfort, smooth ride quality, and exceptional handling.
However, with high market saturation comes fierce competition. This has pushed the latest models to offer additional perks like best-in-class durability, more extended warranties, and improved performance in different weather conditions.
This article reviews a new challenger within the grand-touring tire niche. It comes from a brand with a history of producing excellent highway tires; Pirelli. Their Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II comes with bold claims!
Let’s dive into its features and find out how well it deals with different road conditions.
Features
Providing an exceptional driving experience and luxurious ride quality is no longer enough to stand out in the grand-touring tire market.
Pirelli has attempted to provide better compatibility with more extreme weather conditions with this tire. After all, it has ‘All Season’ in its name.
With its tread compound made out of high silica content, the P7 Plus II manages to provide excellent traction on wet roads. The asymmetric tread pattern design vastly improves its traction on snowy, wet, and dry surfaces.
Like its predecessor, the P7 Plus II also offers fantastic ride quality with minimal road noise making it to the cabin. Pirelli has further enhanced these qualities along with the tire’s impact on fuel efficiency with some of their latest technologies integrated into the design.
Performance on dry roads
Steering response has always been remarkable on all of Pirelli’s grand-touring tires. However, the P7 All Season Plus II features some changes further to optimize the overall experience of drivers and passengers.
The Plus II slightly reduces the sharp steering response that most drivers enjoy, but the passengers enjoy a smoother ride in exchange. Thanks to this move, the tire does an even better job at masking rougher steering inputs, bumps, and even potholes.
You might think it’s a significant downstep for the driving experience. While that’s partially true, you quickly get used to the non-linear response — after which it’s relatively easy to appreciate the smoother steering response it offers.
You’ll mainly see it as a positive change on twisty roads as you comfortably breeze through them.
The tire’s cornering capabilities are akin to some of the finest touring tires out there. The braking performance is about as sweet as it gets. You’ll always feel confident enough to push the P7 Plus II to its limit.
Performance in wet conditions
Pirelli P7 Plus II’s excellent road grip makes the drive effortlessly engaging, regardless of whether the road is dry or wet.
The Italian tiremaker seems to have put some deliberate thought into optimizing the tire’s wet performance. They’ve managed to ace it in all departments on wet roads, including;
- Cornering
- Braking performance
- Wet traction
- Hydroplaning resistance
- Managing under and oversteer
All of these rainy weather qualities in the Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II are neck-and-neck against the finest competitors out there. It’s easily one of the best performing touring tires in wet conditions.
Performance on snow
Pirelli has also incorporated some impressive winter reinforcements in the Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II.
For instance, the silica-based tread compound performs better in freezing temperatures. The tread pattern has an asymmetric design with multiple sipes, which plays an essential role in enhancing snow traction.
The tire is usable on light snow with ample traction and grippier handling, thanks to these winter upgrades. It’s still far from a winter tire but a great performing all-season tourer.
Off-road capabilities
Touring tires have no place on an off-road track. They shouldn’t be anywhere close to hardpacked surfaces like dirt or gravel. Not only because they’ll underperform in such conditions but also due to potential chip damage and punctures from sharp stones or rough surfaces.
Ride Quality
It wouldn’t be unfair to crown the P7 All Season Plus II as the new comfort king within the highway tire category. Pirelli has really earned that title with all the performance improvements they’ve made to perfect the Plus II’s ride quality.
Even on a broken road at high speeds, you barely feel the bumps. However, a large part of a smooth ride also relies on the suspension quality of your car.
The tire does a perfect job of eating up the unevenness of rough patches on the road, making sure that no strong vibrations make it to the cabin. On smooth expressways, you’ll feel like you’re flying — that too, without any noise!
If ride quality and comfort are some of your highest priorities, you can’t make a better choice than the Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II!
Conclusion
The P7 All Season Plus II is among the best highway tires out there. If you’re looking for a set of tires with the best possible driving and traveling experience without having to switch them around all year — you’ll love this purchase.
Its dry-road performance is exceptional, and not many competitors come close to its wet traction either. Even if you get some light snow during the winters, these tires will easily keep you in the middle of the road as you travel from point A to point B.
Without any significant disadvantages to speak of, this tire is an easy recommendation to anyone looking for comfort and fun driving sessions.
