Test drove the new Hyundai i20 this afternoon, and Hyundai are now fitting Michelin Energy Savers to the i20 range.

Kumhos can vary considerably - Hyundai Santa Fe had them as standard until 2012 - the earlier Kumho lasted "for ever", eg 50-60,000 miles and gripped well while the later KL21 were worn out in 30-35,000 miles and had poor grip in the wet, not good for an all-season tyre.

So generalising on the brand is dangerous - find out opinions on specific models.

Big fan of Avon tyres, budget prices and always grip well. Plus they are made in the UK.

Apollo Tyres don't own Cooper Tires - the deal fell through in December 2013.

Are you sure it doesn't say designed in the UK?

All the Avon tyres I've seen lately are made in China.

I don't think it matters very much where they're actually manufactured.

If you want to be patriotic and support British industry, buy goods either that are manufactured here, or whose maker is based here (like Avon, presumably), so that its profits / losses are made by a UK company.

So it's better to buy a Chrysler/Jeep built in America because their taxation residence is the UK, than a Vauxhall built at Ellesmere Port because their taxation residence is Switzerland, as part of GM Europe.

Ultimatelty profits end up with the parent company - both Chrysler and GM being in the US. I've never wanted a car of either brand, but although I'm reasonably patriotic 'buying British' isn't a big issue, as it would be too restrictive for most goods, not just cars. And most of the time, even if it did matter, I've no idea where the ultimate parent company is.

On a pendant note, Chrysler is now part of Fiat-Chrysler with Fiat having full control and domiciled for tax purposes in the UK.

Like many industries, the car industry makes it very hard to buy patriotically even when you want to - it also means that the national image of any brand isn't always what it seems.

Staying on tyres, of course in the old days all the rubber was imported from the Far East, Malaya typically - long since superceded by synthetic materials coming from goodness knows where.

Edited by RT on 25/01/2015 at 17:09