Nokian Surpass AS01 Tire Review: Pushing This Ultra-High-Performance All-Season Rubber to the Limit

Nokian is synonymous with winter tires, but instead of the frozen north, we visited sweltering tarmac situated in the Nevada desert to push the company’s latest ultra-high-performance all-season tire to its limit on an autocross course and part of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway racetrack. Here’s what we learned about the new Nokian Surpass AS01 UHP all-season tire.

What Is a UHP Tire?

Ultra-high-performance (UHP) tires can be found on top-performing vehicles engineered to prioritize grip, stability, and stopping power. UHP all-season tires, however, make compromises when compared to their summer-oriented counterparts. Whereas summer-performance tires are made from stickier rubber compounds intended to maximize grip in warm and dry conditions, UHP all-seasons add confidence in wet conditions, improved treadwear, and a gentler ride quality, along with acceptable performance in light snow and winter conditions. In other words, UHP all-season tires are worth your attention if your daily-driven performance vehicle rarely sees snow or you plan to run a separate set of dedicated winter tires.

About the New Nokian Surpass AS01

Nokian’s Surpass AS01 is a new all-season tire designed with low rolling resistance and comfort in mind. That’s due, in part, to there being more silica in the rubber compound of the AS01 than any other Nokian offering. This keeps rolling resistance down while improving performance in wet conditions, according to the company.

Although the AS01 is an all-season offering with deeper treads for improved all-season performance, Nokian says its dedicated outer-middle rib, solid center rib, and three-dimensional sipes provide more stability when the tire is pushed through corners.

When road conditions are less than favorable, Nokian’s aramid sidewalls are intended to offer protection from potholes. Paired with the tire’s 55,000-mile treadwear warranty, Nokian is confident the Surpass AS01 will offer most drivers many years of performance, comfort, and efficiency. What’s cooler than the warranty? The treadwear-percentage indicators are baked right into the tread elements so there’s no old-school penny test needed to gauge how much rubber you have remaining to use.

On the Track

The Nokian Surpass AS01 likely won’t be the rubber you dedicate to your car for track days, but still we slid behind the wheels of a Mercedes-Benz C300, Polestar 2, and Toyota GR Supra to feel what the new tires are like at their limit. We completed five laps of the short road course in the C300, pushing the sedan into the corners until we felt the tires give. From our largely unscientific butt accelerometer, we felt the Nokians behaving predictably through the turns.

Adding another half ton to the rolling mass, we powered up the Polestar 2 and hit the same course. EVs give all their torque at once; if a tire has any tendency to be vocal, there are no combustion-engine noises to mask it. The Nokian Surpass AS01 allowed us to swing the Polestar intuitively around the course, and it howled quietly as we neared the maximum possible lateral acceleration. There were no surprises to the car’s handling here, even when we applied generous throttle in the turns.

Laps in the GR Supra finished our on-track experience as the rear-wheel-drive drift missile asserted its tail-happy tendencies through the short autocross course. The biggest tell after this exercise was a bit of visual wear on the tires after multiple rounds of journalists competed for the quickest time around the cone course. Still, where some all-season tires would appear distressed after this flogging, the Nokians appeared to only have just been warmed up.

Nokian Surpass AS01 Sizing

These tires are for sale now and are available in 65 sizes for 16–21-inch wheels, with replacement sizes for many popular performance and electric vehicles.