Both the Cooper Evolution Tour and the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring are compatible with the same range of vehicles from sedans, SUVs, crossovers, and compact cars and are designed to work throughout all seasons.
To give you a gist of how these tires compare, the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring has been around for longer, has better traction, a quieter ride, and better treadwear than the Cooper Evolution Tour.
Let’s start off with a bar chart, so, you may get the idea of both tires quickly.
Table of Contents
Dry traction comparison
When comparing the dry traction of both of the tires, the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring tire wins as it provides better traction than the Cooper Evolution Tour.
The Cooper CS5 Grand Touring tire has shown excellent traction on dry pavements throughout varying speeds.
We noticed a stronger grip of the road with the CS5 tires when compared to the Evolution, even in the corners which is usually where you have to slow down.
Although you shouldn’t be expecting a sporting tire’s grip with the CS5, the dry traction that this tire has is safe enough for any regular driver.
The Cooper CS5 Grand Touring tire provides its excellent dry traction by using the high- silica tread compound along with micro-gauge siping.
Although the Cooper Evolution Tour tires have generally received positive feedback on their traction on dry pavements, some customers have complained about the tire feeling wobbly and a bit unstable in some places.
However, for the most part, these tires grip the road very strongly, even when turning corners.
This is because the Stabiledge technology which makes use of tiny bumps being added in the tread block grooves helps the tires in gripping the road better.
Wet traction comparison
When it comes to wet traction, the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring tire performs better and has slightly higher traction on wet pavements than the Cooper Evolution Tour tire.
When put to the test, the Grand Touring tire performed very well on both, damp roads and a completely wet pavement with a few inches of water.
Although most people don’t drive these tires at the same high speeds during the rain (whether heavy or light), as we did during our tests, our tests did prove that it is safe to drive cooper grand touring tires during such conditions.
The CS5 tire maintains traction with the help of ribs and inboard shoulders and multiple micro-gauge sipes which move the water out from underneath the tire during driving while maintaining strong contact with the road.
The tire is able to accelerate and brake easily during light rain and remains communicative with the driver which makes it perfect for people who get spooked by the prospect of driving in rain.
The Cooper Evolution, on the other hand, does not provide the best traction on wet roads. When compared to the CS5, the handling and grip on wet roads are much more unpredictable, less responsible, and less communicative.
The limited traction that is available on these tires is provided by the micro-gauge sipes and tread grooves which are wide and help with the evacuation of water during the drive.
Additionally, both the tires are designed with an asymmetrical tread in which the inner side is modified for improved grip during wet conditions.
Hydroplaning resistance comparison
Both the Cooper CS5 and the Cooper evolution tire provide the same level of hydroplaning resistance on wet roads. Hydroplaning resistance is the tire’s ability to maintain contact with the road despite harsh weather conditions.
A good hydroplaning resistance comes with the tire’s ability to move water out of the way while driving as quickly as possible to prevent skidding on wet roads.
Both of these tires use wide circumferential grooves and lateral grooves present on the tire to move the water out and hence prevent hydroplaning.
All in all, they are both extremely safe to drive on the road in wet conditions, even in heavy rain conditions.
Noise level comparison
When comparing the noise levels of the Cooper Evolution and the Cooper CS5 Grand touring tires, the Cooper CS5 tires are better at eliminating noise while driving, with the Cooper Evolution tires not too far behind!
Although the Cooper evolution tires are almost inaudible on highways, smooth and comfortable, some users have reported experiencing a whining, almost humming noise at speeds above 50-60 mph.
The Cooper CS5 grand touring tires, on the other hand, are almost completely noise-free when driving.
These tires suppress the noise by using an optimized tread pitch sequence which decreases the noise levels by creating a sound canceling frequency that essentially cancels the noise that is made by the tires as they are on the road.
Ride Comfort
When comparing the ride comfort of both tires, both the tires provide a similarly stable and nice experience on the road, even on bumpy and uneven surfaces of the highways and roads.
This is to be expected, as both the tires have been designed to provide a premium driving experience at a cheaper price, which means, greater stability on the road, more control, increased steering response, and most importantly, a smooth ride with reduced noise levels for both.
The tires have a polyester casing covering their steel belts and a stabiledge technology which keeps the tire in close contact with the roads.
By keeping the tires as close to the road as possible, the number of vibrations felt by the passenger is decreased, and that immediately makes a ride more comfortable.
Rolling resistance and fuel consumption comparison
Cooper tires have launched a line of tires that are specifically designed for efficient fuel consumption.
Both the Evolution tour and the CS5 make use of this technology which optimizes their fuel consumption and reduces rolling resistance.
This fuel efficiency does not compromise on the traction and is done because of the tire’s tread design.
Steering Responsiveness Comparison
In the steering response comparison, the CS5 tires perform slightly better than the Cooper Evolution tires.
The Cooper CS5 tires have been excessively praised for their soft, yet stable and firm feel on the road.
However, the response of the steering is less precise on corners.
The copper grand touring tire gets its responsiveness and stability from its special tread design which has larger tread blocks and fewer empty areas and some outboard shoulder blocks.
The excellent responsiveness and firm feel of the Cooper Evolution tire are felt immediately as you get it out on the road.
The acceleration and braking are very precise on the dry tarmac with firm handling but it does get a little compromised while driving on wet roads.
While we do not recommend this tire for very enthusiastic drivers who require an immediate response from the steering, it is meant for drivers who want a bit of a secure response with a slower reaction from the steering.
Treadwear Comparison
When it comes to the treadwear life, the Cooper Evolution has an expected tread life of 60,000 to 65,000 miles with a warranty.
These tires are built to have a long-lasting life by using a special silica compound that results in even wear, hence giving the tire longer tread life.
Since the tires are built with such high-quality material, they are mostly resistant to damage and minor bumps in the road won’t lead these tires to wear so quickly.
The Grand Touring tire is rated for 80k miles, however, most people have reported that these tires have only lasted them up to 50,000 to 60,000 miles at the latest before needing a replacement, even after rotation of tires, regularly monitoring tire pressure, etc.
Both the Cooper Evolution Tour tire and the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring tire come with a wear square indicator on the tire.
As the tire starts to wear out, their wear square changes shape, reducing to a horseshoe shape (75% wear), an ‘L’ (50% wear), and an ‘i’ which indicates that the tire needs to be replaced.
Keep in mind that you have to play your part with maximizing the tread life of tires as much as possible by rotating them on a regular basis, and keeping up with tire maintenance.
Conclusion
When put to the test, although both the Cooper Evolution Tour and the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring tire performed similarly in most of the tests, the CS5 tire did perform slightly better in most categories.
The one category where the Evolution Tour tires had the lead was in their snow traction.
If you live in an area that experiences snow at some point during the year and want a fuel-efficient tire with a long tread life, limited off-road abilities, and excellent handling, I’d recommend the Cooper Evolution tire.
On the other hand, if you live in a relatively snow-free area, and want an excellent steering response, cornering, and traction abilities with a long tread life, I’d recommend the Cooper CS5 Grand Touring tire.
