Founded in 1872 in Milan, Italy, the European Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is the fifth biggest tire manufacturer in the world (right there after Goodyear). With nearly 150 years of experience in the consumer business (car tires, motorcycle and bicycle tires), Pirelli has become one of the world leaders in the tire industry. One of their innovations is the wide radial tire, which was created by Leopoldo Pirelli upon a request from the Lancia rally racing team. Today, Pirelli tires are used as the control tires for the World Rally Championship for Superbike Championships.
Being that Pirelli is one of the oldest, most reputable global brands, it’s not surprising their tires are sought after by numerous car manufacturers for their high-end, luxury car models which use the brand as their Original Equipment (OE) manufacturer. And although slightly more expensive than your average tire, Pirelli models have some of the highest tread life warranties. But are they the right tires for you? To help you answer that question, we’ve reviewed three of Pirelli’s best selling models, and put together a short buying guide.
Best Selling Pirelli Tires
Scorpion ATR, On-/Off-Road All-Terrain, All-Season Tire
Scorpion ATR is one of Pirelli’s most popular all-season all-terrain tires. Developed for light trucks, including pickups, crossovers and SUVs, this tire combines excellent off-road capability with pleasant on-road manners, delivering more than solid performance in all weather situations.
The Scorpion ATR’s design and build materials enable it to have great all-season traction, as well as fantastic resistance to wear. This tire is the definition of versatility as it performs well both on highways and rugged terrains, in dry, wet and even light snow conditions. Furthermore, it’s comfortable and quiet like all Pirelli tires, delivering smooth and stable rides no matter the road conditions.
P Zero, Max Performance Summer Tire
P Zero is Pirelli’s unique High Performance Summer tire derived from the company’s 100 years of motorsport experience. Made for the drivers of high-performance luxury sedans, powerful sports cars and sports coupes, this high-quality tire is used as OE for most performance oriented vehicles on the market.
If you’re an aggressive driver and you need an ultra-high performance Summer tire, this is it. Thanks to its asymmetric tread pattern, special rubber compound and structural integrity, the P Zero delivers fantastic all-around performance. Brilliant in both dry and wet weather conditions, this model is stable and practically resistant to hydroplaning, with excellent braking responsiveness. It’s worth noting that this tire is not intended to be driven in winter conditions; in fact, near-freezing temperatures, regardless of snow or lack of it, will make the P Zero model unstable and slippery. But during the summer and super-hot temperatures? The tire absolutely shines.
Cinturato P7, All-Season Plus Touring Tire
Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus tire is Pirelli’s best-selling luxury touring tire that is specifically designed for the North American luxury touring market. Developed not only to provide excellent all-season performance, but less rolling resistance for better fuel economy, this model seems to have it all, plus a fantastic warranty.
The Cinturato P7 is an environmentally friendly tire and Pirelli’s EcoImpact symbol confirms this. Energy efficient, with low noise and long wear, this model is designed to provide the best in terms of all-season performance. With solid year-round traction, including light snow and ice, the Cinturato P7 is designed to be driven in North America’s diverse weather conditions. Hot or cold temperatures, rainy or snowy conditions, it doesn’t matter as this tire provides great grip, handling stability, and even wear.
Pirelli Tires Buying Guide
With almost 150 of experience in manufacturing tires, Pirelli is one of the most reputable tire brands in the world. Although their prices are higher than average, the cost is most certainly justified. All Pirelli models deliver above average performance, including outstanding handling stability and responsiveness. Most of their tires are also super-comfortable and quiet, although this trait depends on the model and its characteristics. The only con is a small number of option sizes for common trucks. Nevertheless, if you can find the right Pirelli tire for your vehicle, it’s pretty much guaranteed you won’t regret your purchasing decision.
Why Choose Pirelli Tires?
Developing ultra-reliable consumer tires for over a century, this European tire manufacturing company has a lot to offer. Exceptional design and cutting-edge technologies make Pirelli tires premium tires, and the fact that they’re outfitted on each Formula 1 race car testifies to their quality. The company is constantly challenging the boundaries of style, technology and sustainability, making it a pioneer in the entire industry. But why should you, a consumer who wants the best for their vehicle without spending a ton of money, choose Pirelli tires? There are two main reasons.
Innovative Tire Technologies
To provide long life and superior year-round traction, Pirelli utilizes state-of-the-art modeling and cutting-edge technologies. The Pirelli Noise Cancelling System or NCS for short, is the brand’s solution to reducing road noise and vibration, and includes:
- Sound absorbing sponge: to reduce frequency filtering through the car and to provide superior comfort
- NCS itself: to reduce noise by two to three decibels, which improves overall ride comfort.
Another interesting tire technology is Pirelli’s Extended Mobility tech which ensures safety and security even in the event of a flat or total loss of pressure. This innovative feature works by utilizing Seal Inside and Run Flat technologies.
Reliability
When a brand has nearly 150 years of experience in tire manufacturing, you know you can always expect quality and reliability, no matter the tire model. Indeed, every single Pirelli tire we ever tried or reviewed has shown exceptional stability and long-lasting tread life, plus solid to above-average traction. Besides experience, Pirelli also has its Research and Development (R&D) division working for it: with around 1,800 experts involved in the process, Pirelli’s R&D department is focused on products and technologies, processes and the development of renewable materials.
Design Features
Thanks to various innovative features and tire technologies, as well as unique designs, Pirelli tires provide excellent all-around performance. They have solid year-round traction (at least the all-season models do), are highly responsive to braking and cornering and are also very comfortable with little to practically no road noise.
- Safety and Durability: if there is one thing you can expect from every Pirelli model it’s safety. All of their tires are designed to provide maximum stability while driving in pretty much all weather and often all road conditions. As a result, these tires are also incredibly durable, with some of the longest tread life in the industry. What makes Pirelli tires supremely safe and long-lasting is their design, cutting-edge technologies and features, as well as their strong internal structures.
- Excellent Traction and Handling: by using special and innovative rubber compounds such as high-silica content, low oil and carbon black rubber, these tires deliver superior all-season traction. Dry, wet or snow, it doesn’t matter with all-season Pirelli tires. As mentined, they’re also very stable, providing fantastic handling capabilities in different weather and road conditions.
- Ride Comfort: the Pirelli NCS provides superior ride comfort no matter the model. Road noise and vibration are significantly reduced, resulting in very quiet and smooth rides, especially while the tread life is still new-ish. Of course, like in most tires, as the tread becomes more worn out, the noise does become more apparent, however, we’d still rate it above average. Pirelli’s Run Flat technology provides an additional layer of safety and comfort, so there’s no question these tires deliver on all fronts.
