Yokohama Advan Fleva v701 - 5,000 km later

I got the Flevas installed onto my Ford Fiesta back in September 2017 when I was changing my wheels from 16" to 15". It took me so long before I write this review because the Ford is mostly only used on weekends and it was racking up mileage very slowly -

These rubbers came highly recommended from a few friends, mostly because it of the price to performance ratio. Here is my non-professional review after running them for around 5,000 kms.

Dry grip

Very good. Granted it's no Michelin Pilot Sport 4, but highly dependant on your usage and the vehicle it is fitted on. What strikes me more is how forgiving it is when it is running out of traction. The loss of grip is quite progressive, instead of suddenly giving up. There is plenty of squeal to warn you that you are crossing the limit.

Wet grip

Par for the course in it's category. I haven't had any trouble driving sensibly in the rain, and it drives through water puddles like they aren't there. I'm not the kind of driver who pushes in the wet; it is simply too unpredictable. Just ask @aaronleang.

Steering feedback

Because I have downsized my wheels, I had to increase the sidewall height to keep the overall size within 3% of the stock size. Because of the higher sidewalls, steering feedback is largely muted saved for the largest of potholes. While we're talking about sidewalls, my one and only beef with this tire are the soft sidewalls (softer sidewalls tend to roll the contact patch from the tread area onto the sidewalls, lessening the grip). Granted, most tires around this price point would be similiar in this aspect - If you want stiffer sidewalls, you will need to top up for Michelin Pilot Sport 3 or Pilot Sport 4.

Noise

It is definitely not the quietest tire around, but it's not the worse either. Thankfully the Fiesta has decent soundproofing so the tire noise is not as intrusive except for very bad road conditions. Overall, the noise levels are acceptable to me.

Wear rate

I forgot the treadwear rating, but suffice to say 5,000 km later, there is still plenty of tread left for at least another 10,000 km. And that's 80% aggressive driving with them.

Verdict

My 195/55r15 size Flevas costs RM220/pc - this is easily the best bang for buck currently on the market if you are looking for a good wet/dry/comfort balance.