Founded: 1998
Founder: Sava
Headquarters: Kranj, Slovenia
Parent: Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company
Website: https://www.sava-tires.com/
Sava is not amongst the leading European brand of tires, but they are up there on Olympus. They don’t necessarily provide a lot of comfort, but given how the test every single one of their products, they can boast a decent enough performance.
They are generally in the affordable category, as you might expect from an Eastern European company. This, however, doesn’t make them a terribly poor choice. All tires are subjected to many tests designed to see if they perform well under different weather conditions – all in accordance with EU certification.
Sava tires are a unique case. They may not be very well-done in traction department, but their endurance is exceedingly long. You can drive up to 40.000 km without any significant damage. Still, it feels like they sacrificed some of the performance along the way.
There are many types of Sava tires, but each of them has grip flaws to some extent. Most behave well on dry ground and good enough of wet. Under harsher conditions (during snow or extreme rain), they tend to slip and wiggle.
However, it mostly applies to the cheaper options within the brand. The normally-priced products tend to perform much better, some – with almost no substantial issues – all that in addition to the famed long life and strength.
Now, it’s a bit of a challenge to find them outside of their natural habitat in Europe, but it likely doesn’t have anything to do with the financial difficulties of the company. See, Sava belongs to Goodyear now, and they are an American tire company that has other subsidiaries to cover other parts of the world market.
Sava is not exclusive for Europe, but it’s where they concentrate the most. Otherwise, they are generally cheap worldwide.
Sava tires are a good deal. You won’t have to buy a new pack for several years after acquiring a few Savas. But it’s better to look elsewhere if you live amidst rough terrain or in harsh climate.