I was fortunate to obtain a test drive to review the all-new Falken Sincera SN201 all-season touring tire. This tire is designed for compact cars and midsize sedans. It was launched together with the Falken Ziex CT60 A/S (a touring tire for modern crossovers) during the latter part of 2017.
The Falken Sincera SN201A/S is a tire that delivers credible all-season performance with better traction and grip on light snow. The tire is backed by a solid 65,000-mile limited tread life warranty and is available in 14” to 18” diameters.
There is no doubt the Sincera SN201 A/S is meant to fulfill the needs of the most popular compacts and sedans on the road like the Ford Focus, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Hyundai Elantra, and the Nissan Altima. It has a rather conservative symmetrical tread design but it is equipped with angled tread grooves that allow the tire to maintain a decent level of grip on snow-covered roads. I think this is the perfect tire to exploit the demands of the coming winter season.
If you have to change the tires in your compact or midsize sedan but you don’t need dedicated performance of proper winter tires, you should definitely take a closer look at the Falken Sincera SN201. This review will reveal all the marvelous facets (and minor shortcomings) of the Sincera SN201 so you can get an idea of how this tire feels on the road.
Features
I took a look at the features of the Falken Sincera SN201 A/S and it didn’t take long for me to discern that the tire is designed for winter performance above everything else. It’s like a touring tire sprinkled with the DNA of a winter tire to provide excellent performance in any kind of weather.
The tire has a high sipe density on the face of the tread to enhance all-weather traction and grip. It has four circumferential grooves to effectively disperse water to improve traction on wet roads. The tire is also engineered with a solid center rib to deliver better handling and stability when you’re cruising down the highway.
Like I mentioned above, the Sincera SN201 A/S is equipped with unique angled tread grooves, which are like miniature versions of the tread grooves that you can find in an all-terrain tire. This will enhance grip on slippery or icy roads while providing additional biting edges on dry or wet roads.
The Falken Sincera SN201 A/S is also offered at a friendly price so it won’t make your wallet empty.
Test Drive
I spent a reasonable amount of driving time behind the wheel of a 2015 Honda Accord Sport. The car was fitted with the stock 18-inch wheels and brand new Falken Sincera SN201 A/S.
Dry Traction
The Falken Sincera SN201 A/S is not a high-performance tire so I wasn’t expecting much in terms of traction on dry roads. However, the tires had excellent adhesion even as I was navigating over dirt-covered roads. The steering also felt responsive while braking was excellent given the heft of my test car.
The tires also felt good at higher than average highway speeds. I didn’t get the sense that the tires were breaking traction as I approached a fast corner. But if you push a bit more you will hear the tires grasping for grip as they try to find themuch-needed traction to obey my ham-fisted steering inputs. Braking was also good enough as roads were covered in sand and loose dirt.
Overall, not bad for a touring tire. Although I wish the tires had more to offer in terms dry performance, the levels of traction were perfect for normal day-to-day driving.
Wet Traction
The Accord felt magnificent on the highway as I piloted over slippery wet roads. It’s almost the same story with how the tires performed in the dry: it felt good at low or average speeds but you will need to be more alert as your speed rises. Water puddles were no problem with the Falken Sincera SN201 A/S. The tires simply glided over them without losing traction.
Snow Traction
Falken’s unique design for the Sincera SN201 A/S paid off in the snow. The tires felt at home even when traversing over two or three inches of snow. The tires were able to stop my Accord on slippery surfaces without much fuss or drama. I felt that the tires had a bit more grip compared to other touring variants and the car felt more stable even when the roads were covered with slush.
Comfort
The Falken Sincera SN201 A/S is primarily a touring tire at heart so I was expecting a lot of road comfort on cruising speeds. Despite the hybrid DNA of a winter tire, the Sincera SN201 A/S rolled comfortably over minor road undulations. Deep potholes and craters will still emit a loud thump but nothing too distracting to merit a concerned look on your face (unless you go over the really deep ones).
Noise
I figured out that there will be some compromises along the way since it is difficult to mend the benefits of two different tires in a single affordable package. The Falken Sincera SN201 A/S is not what you would call totally hushed on the highway since it still rolls a bit more quietly than a performance tire. However, you can expect a bit more tire roar over rough concrete surfaces, especially at higher speeds.
Treadwear
The Falken Sincera SN201 A/S tires fitted to my test car were still new so I can’t say much in terms of tread wear at this point. Falken says the tires will still offer impressive wear characteristics but we will need to do more testing to confirm if the Sincera SN201 A/S scores high in terms of value.
Conclusion
The Falken Sincera SN201 A/S is a worthy choice for car owners looking for an all-season touring tire that offers a higher level of performance in the snow.
Nice article, could you do another. How about one on the FALKEN SN-250 AS, 195 70R 14, which I’m looking at for my 76 280Z. Thanks in advance.
It’s here: https://drivingpress.com/falken-sincera-sn250-as-review/
Thank you!