Founded: 2012 Founder:
Headquarters: Swindon, United Kingdom
Parent:
Website: http://imperial-tyres.com/
Imperial tires are produced by an independent fitting company from England. Despite the name and their promise to provide absolutely ‘royal’ performance, they are far from unaffordable. Moreover, they might be amongst the cheapest tires options to come from UK.
Imperials are known, first and foremost, for their price. The selection is rich, but virtually all the tires are somewhere between ‘very cheap’ and ‘still affordable’ in cost. The difference between the myriad of their products, therefore, is tied to various characteristics.
The handling and traction characteristics are surprisingly good, although they could be better. Still, it’s unfair to complain about the lost potential with this price. They work fine on most precarious surfaces, and that’s enough. There are other, more pressing flaws.
They could be constructed better, that’s for sure. Imperials have a reoccurring weakness – theires are often too soft. This (and other decisions) led to reduced durability (about 15.000 km on average).
If you drive carefully enough, you may postpone their death by several more seasons, but it’s up to you to decide whether you even want to prolong their life or not.
The low price still pays off these disadvantages, but you might consider buying better tires if you value the longevity of your rubbers