Founded: 1909
Founder: E. Schiff
Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Parent: Apollo
Website: http://www.apollovredestein.com/
Apollo Vredestein is an India-owned brand located in the Netherlands. At the moment, Apollo is one of the leaders on the Indian tires market, and Vredestein is a key component of their European expansion. But Vredestein is an old brand, and before being absorbed by Apollo, they’ve accumulated quite a few tricks of their own.
Who makes Vredestein tires? While they have some semblance of autonomy, the creation of new Vredestein tires is tightly controlled by Apollo, which might not be ideal for the tires.
If one had to put Vredestein into one of the price categories, if would be ‘affordable’. The prices start at about $45, but you can find pricier variants in the assortment if you don’t trust cheap tires. There are a lot of options to choose from. The only problem is that they aren’t very easy to find.
You can buy them off the Apollo stores, but they are much scarcer than, say, Michelin stores. If you can find them, they would be a good deal, given the sheer quality of their make and how little they cost.
Where are Vredestein tires made? The bulk of Apollo’s manufacturing might in located in India, but they also have a few facilities in the Netherlands, specifically for Vredestein’s needs, and also a plant in Hungary to back them up.
The handling is very good. These tires can withstand most elements, including water and ice. The softness of the rubber allows them to go over harsh roads, although they aren’t good with getting out of tracks.
They also can be obnoxious in the noise department. These aren’t always noisy, but high speeds and sometimes poor balancing can make them pretty loud. Not too loud, per se – just enough to be drowned by the music.
The real treat is the durability, however. It’s common for them to last as much as 60,000 miles if the driver is cautious. If you don’t, they can pop very easily, given their general softness. They are definitely not for racing, but you can afford a bit of aggressive driving. That’s a very good result, considering these treads don’t cost that much.
They are worth buying, that’s for sure. That is, you need to find them, first. They can be hard to find, so you should take good care of Vredestein treads.
