[Moose Test]

Hello all,

I've been fortunate enough to grab an eBay bargain and now have four new Volvo original wheels for my 2007 XC90 V8 Sport. I can now for the first time consider running dedicated summer and winter tyres. Tyre size is 255/50 R19.

For summer I am considering Uniroyal RainSport 3, or possibly Dunlop's SP QuattroMaxx or Sport Maxx RT2. I really don't have any call to off road, nor venture into muddy fields, and if I do, it would be in the latter part of year when I'll have other tyres on. These are aimed squarely at tarmac / concrete.

In the Rainsport's favour, I think that the softer compounding and increased side wall flex might balance out the slightly harsh ride of the sport suspension setup, which is a bit noticeable on the pot-holed A and B roads of East Anglia. That said, the sport corners nearly as well as my Smart Roadster (which drives like it's on rails, and is also shod in RainSport) without any of the prominent wallowing of my D5 XC90 SE and I really wouldn't want to lose that. I probably only cover 6-7k miles per year in this vehicle, so with a winter set on for half the year, I'm not too concerned about wear rate. I still think that I should get 2-3 years out of them, by which time they are getting old anyway. And they are, frankly, cheap by comparison to Pirelli, Conti etc.

For the Dunlop, I know nothing about these and can't seem to find that much online. The tyre label suggests wet weather performance equal to that of the RS3 but with significantly reduced road noise (which I like the sound of, or more to the point, don't).

Does anyone have any experience with either on the XC90? Are the RS3's just that little bit too soft for a heavy, fast SUV?

TIA.