In December last year, we replaced the Dunlop SP Sport 2000 tires that came fitted on the Skoda Octavia RS, and replaced them with a set of Goodyear Excellence rubber of the same size (205/55 R16). And I must say that there was a little trepidation at the time.

You see, the RS was one of the few performance focussed sedans sold in the country – with a 20 valve, 1.8 litre turbocharged motor that first did duty in the original Audi TT. And it featured an old-school turbo that provided a real shove in the back as the power kicked in – to the extent of, at times, being able to suddenly overpower the front wheels. As a result, the SP Sport tires that came from the factory were from Dunlop’s high performance range and offered very high levels of grip. With that said, the Excellence tires came highly recommended – with the exception perhaps of a supposed high wear rate.

Well, after having completed 10,000 kilometres on the tires, we can confirm that they do, in fact, live up to their name. In our first review after 1,000 kilometres, at the start of the year, we were extremely impressed – but held off on an ‘excellent’ verdict because we hadn’t experienced the tires in the wet, and also weren’t in a position to comment on durability. Well, since the start of 2010, we’ve tested the Excellence tires in the city, on the highway, in the mountains, and also in the rain. Moreover, we’ve been anything but gentle with them, and they’ve held up extremely well. Surprisingly, they’re still as good as new. Moreover, they look good as well courtesy of Goodyear’s three-zone tread pattern – with its diagonal asymmetric groves in the middle of the tire.