Head-to-head Updated

Vredestein Ultrac vs Pirelli Powergy — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

Powergy leads, 67–63 Narrow edge

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Ultrac

Summer

Tests 61 · 14 tests Owners 64 · 411 reviews

Best test result: #2 of 14 in 2025 Summer and All Season Combined Tyre Test (straight aqua)

“I have vredestein ultrac pro’s on my golf R currently in 245/40r18 - I have been very pleased with the performance for the price. They’ve taken over 1G in corners with no issues. Wearing pretty well about 5k miles in as well. I’d say they’re about 85-90% as good as a PS4S or EC02. Been surprisingly good in the rain too”

Tire BPirelli

Powergy

Summer

Tests 76 · 1 test Owners 61 · 1,796 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 10 in 2026 autozurnal Eco Summer Tyre Test (noise)

“Pirelli cinturato P7 and Pirelli Powergy Hi all 👋🏼 So I had 4 Pirelli Cinturato P7’s on my Ford Focus ST. I got a flat tire (front left) while I was on vacation so I decided to get 2 new tires at the front. I asked the guy at the tire shop to get the same tires (so the Pirelli Cinturato’s). He got me Pirelli Powergy’s instead… He didn’t really speak English and there was not time as I was driving home the next day. So I just accepted it. Now my question is what’s the main difference between these tires? And does it matter I got 2 different tires now? (2 powergy’s at the front and 2 Cinturato’s at the back) Thanks!🙏🏼”

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 76

    Dry

    Ultrac +4
    72
    Why this score
    SourceUltracPowergy
    Professional tests (TWG score)8377
    Reviews found online6664
    Dry Braking (% of best)94%94%
  2. 81

    Wet

    Ultrac +9
    72
    Why this score
    SourceUltracPowergy
    Professional tests (TWG score)9075
    Reviews found online6967
    Wet Braking (% of best)87%96%
    Wet Circle (% of best)95%98%
    Wet Handling (% of best)25%97%
  3. 67

    Comfort

    Powergy +1
    68
    Why this score
    SourceUltracPowergy
    Professional tests (TWG score)–74
    Reviews found online6558
  4. 67

    Noise

    Powergy +7
    74
    Why this score
    SourceUltracPowergy
    Professional tests (TWG score)6779
  5. 28

    Treadwear

    Powergy +29
    57
    Why this score
    SourceUltracPowergy
    Professional tests (TWG score)10–
    Reviews found online5651
  6. 65

    Handling

    Ultrac +1
    64
    Why this score
    SourceUltracPowergy
    Reviews found online6564
Scores at a glance
Vredestein Ultrac vs Pirelli Powergy: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryVredestein UltracPirelli Powergy
Relative Score 63 67
Dry 76 72
Wet 81 72
Comfort 67 68
Noise 67 74
Treadwear 28 57
Handling 65 64

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
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Less important
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Neutral
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Recomputed
Headline score

Ultrac

Powergy

The professional test results behind the scores

Each result is shown as % of the best tire in that test. “Same test” rows are the strictest comparison: both tires were measured side by side.

DisciplineCategoryUltracPowergyΔBoth?
Curved Aquaplaning Curved 95% #3/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test 81% #8/10 · 2026 autozurnal Eco Summer Tyre Test +13.8 Different tests
Dry Braking Dry 94% #6/10 · 2025 Autobild SUV Off-Road Summer Tyre Test 94% #4/10 · 2026 autozurnal Eco Summer Tyre Test 0.0 Different tests
Rolling Resistance Efficiency 75% #8/8 · 2023 Motor Summer Tyre Test 81% #5/10 · 2026 autozurnal Eco Summer Tyre Test −5.3 Different tests
Noise Other 97% #14/16 · 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 100% #1/10 · 2026 autozurnal Eco Summer Tyre Test −2.5 Different tests
Overall Ranking Overall 7% #14/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test 20% #5/10 · 2026 autozurnal Eco Summer Tyre Test −12.9 Different tests
Straight Aqua Straight 99% #2/14 · 2025 Summer and All Season Combined Tyre Test 92% #4/10 · 2026 autozurnal Eco Summer Tyre Test +7.2 Different tests
Subj. Dry Handling Subj 92% #5/6 · 2024 ACE/ARBÖ/GTÜ Summer Tire Test R17 93% #3/10 · 2026 autozurnal Eco Summer Tyre Test −0.5 Different tests
Wet Braking Wet 87% #6/8 · 2023 Motor Summer Tyre Test 96% #5/10 · 2026 autozurnal Eco Summer Tyre Test −8.9 Different tests
Wet Circle Wet 95% #6/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test 98% #3/10 · 2026 autozurnal Eco Summer Tyre Test −2.8 Different tests
Wet Handling Wet 25% #5/6 · 2024 ACE/ARBÖ/GTÜ Summer Tire Test R17 97% #2/10 · 2026 autozurnal Eco Summer Tyre Test −71.9 Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Ultrac

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and confidence in wet weather conditions
  • High level of ride comfort and ability to absorb road bumps
  • Low road noise and quiet operation

Cons

  • Rapid tread wear reported by several drivers
  • Softer sidewalls leading to less initial steering feedback or stability
  • Occasional complaints of tramlining or tracking narrow road repairs
All owner themes in the Ultrac review

Tire B Powergy

Pros

  • Significantly reduced road noise and quiet highway ride
  • Strong dry and wet grip for daily commuting
  • Comfortable and smooth ride quality compared to run-flats

Cons

  • Faster than average tread wear or shallow initial tread depth
  • Negative impact on fuel economy (MPG) for some users
  • Soft sidewalls leading to muted steering feedback and less precise handling at the limit
All owner themes in the Powergy review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Vredestein Ultrac

Positive

Community members generally view the Vredestein Ultrac and Ultrac Pro as a compelling, budget-friendly alternative to premium high-performance summer tires like the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Users frequently highlight significant cost savings alongside comparable dry and wet performance, comfort, and noise levels, though a few note trade-offs in extreme cornering stiffness.

Top themes
#Price and Value Comparison#Comparison to Michelin PS4S#Wet and Dry Grip#Ride Comfort and Noise#Tread Wear and Longevity#Handling and Steering Feel

Based on 17 community posts

Tire B

Pirelli Powergy

Mixed

Community opinion on the Pirelli Powergy line is mixed, with users noting it serves as Pirelli's budget or eco-oriented offering compared to higher-end models like the Cinturato. While some find them to be a decent, affordable upgrade over older worn tires, others report concerns regarding ride comfort, noise, and potential mixing issues with other tire models.

r/GRYaris ·3 upvotes ·2025-03-07

“Are Pirelli Powergy Winter the right winter tires for the GR? Hey, my parents bought a GR Yaris last week and it’s a great car but I looked at its winter tires and those are Pirelli Powergy Winter. I’m not an expert on tires but as far as I know the P-Zero Winter would be the right choice for a GR. My father didn’t bought them because he thought it was the right tires rather a tire salesman talked him into it. I talked him into Pirelli as those were the factory tires for his Volvo 850R and would be a better choice then his current Conti Premium 5 but somehow my father misunderstood me to that point that Pirelli’s are the greatest tires ever. So he asked the salesmen for the best Pirelli Tires and told the car it’s for but the salesman sold him those Powergy tires and said that not all Pirelli’s are in stock. As my father isn’t an enthusiast but loves likes to drive performance cars he didn’t knew better and now it’s too late. In my eyes a good salesman (not in the way of profit for the company rather costumer experience) would have told him that the P-Zeros winter are out of stock but can be ordered or would show him tires from different companies. Another option is the salesman though he meant the GR Sport Yaris for which P-Zero winters are too much as not many persons in their sixties drive a real GR. So my question are the Powergy enough for the GR or should he get P-Zeros next Winter (in a few weeks we will put on summer tires)”

r/tires ·1 upvote ·2026-08-31

“Ripples in side wall Just been washing the car and found what I can only describe as ripples in the side wall of my front-right tyre. Had these fitted in June, only just noticed the ripples. The other tyres are perfect. I’ve probably done around 2,000 miles on them. Should I be concerned, and do they look like a manufacturing defect, or as a result of damage? (I’ve not hit any serious potholes that I’m aware of). These tyres are Pirelli Powergy, fitted to a Volvo XC60. Date code is 3325. Any help gratefully received. Read more”

Top themes
#Budget eco tire line#Comparison with Cinturato#Mixed ride comfort#Winter and all-season variants#Accidental mixing with other tires

Based on 15 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Vredestein Ultrac B · Pirelli Powergy
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / Crossover—
Sizes available6587
Rim diameters15″ – 21″15″ – 21″

Which one should you actually buy?

Vredestein Ultrac

Pirelli Powergy

Winner: Pirelli Powergy — better treadwear and noise. Pick the Vredestein Ultrac if wet and dry matter most to you.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Pirelli Powergy scores 57 vs 28 on treadwear.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Vredestein Ultrac scores 81 vs 72 on wet.

Pick tire B You want a quieter cabin

Pirelli Powergy scores 74 vs 67 on noise.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Vredestein Ultrac scores 76 vs 72 on dry.

Tire A · Vredestein Ultrac
Tire B · Pirelli Powergy

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How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.

67

Narrow edge

Powergy

Amazon