Japan has sashimi, Korea has kim chi and Thailand has tom yum soup - all of which will have you craving with your tongue out and stomach rumbling. Likewise, Bridgestone will have you yearning its tyres for your car - and will have a high possibility of bringing a fresh new meaning to the phrase 'good things come in small packages'.

Granted, a set of tyres isn't exactly small but that's all relative, more so when it's to a car. Forget all the marketing talk from the different tyre brands you have heard and seen. Dispelling the myths that all tyres are essentially the same (which is to help your car move from point to point), Bridgestone's new comfort flagship tyre - Turanza T005A - will change your perception of what calming comfort and silky smooth really is.

Created to replace its GR100 predecessor, the T005A is indeed a breath of fresh air that will impress even the most demanding driver. Here are five simple reasons why...


1. Calming comfort

I don't really know what comfort means. I've driven over 400 cars and a good 98 percent of them seem comfortable to me. So what is it exactly? After a few rounds of testing with the all Turanza T005A, I have a clearer idea.

It's that feeling of blue and green. That feeling that makes you stress-free. That feeling that brings back the vague memory of how soft it actually was when you thought it was hard.

Eerily, the T005A gives me those sensations. Driving the same car once with the GR100 and the all new T005A back to back, nothing comes to mind. But drive the different cars a couple more times and you'll start to wonder if the tyremaker is fooling your mind with its engineering trickeries. The T005A is convincingly pliant, which makes you wonder if Bridgestone tampered with the suspension and dampering of the car just for the sake of impressing you.


2. Sound of silence

But it seems to me that Bridgestone has done its research and testings just to be sure of what it's actually launching. Driving round the Thailand Bridgestone Proving Ground, with both the GR100 and the T005A back to back in a Toyota Camry, noise levels seem to display an insignificant difference.

When put through a series of different road conditions, however, the T005A starts to shine significantly. Yes, the GR100 has always been smooth, quiet and comfortable - as the tyremaker puts it - but it has obviously outdone itself.

With the new T005A, going through repaired asphalt, uneven road surfaces and bumps and ruts - which are conditions Singaporean drivers face on a daily basis - correction of steering wheel is almost down to zero and noise levels decreases drastically while the feeling of overall stability increases.


3. Be safe, not sorry

Then it occurred to me that with all these improvements combined, aging of the tyre could be affected. After all, improved noise levels and better comfort could actually lead to more wear and tear since more work needs to be done to the tyre to give you all that positive experience.

After some research and testing, I'm proven wrong. Apparently, the T005A is now equipped with a stiffer sidewall that not only reduces damping, it had also been reshaped a tad to optimise contact with the road.

This reshaping helps translate to the fact that consistent contact pressure on the road is applied and it ensures a flatter connection with the road, allowing for shock reduction and noise impact for better comfort as well as improved braking performance.

Needless to say, all these improvements add up to see a an overall reduction in wear and tear of the tyres and a safer driving experience.


4. Dry handling at its best

It's hard to see how tyres are good when the roads are dry, since the possibilities of the tyre skidding is lesser than when the roads are wet.

As a sign of confidence, the dry handling section is done at a skid pad area. This is where we perform emergency braking, hard turns, sudden lane changes and slaloms.

I am convinced the brand new set of T005A tyres are good but on dry grounds, most new tyres aren't shabby at all. Quiet, stable, grippy and comfortable are words that I will use to describe the Turanza flagship model at the dry handling section.

I move on to another similar car that's equipped with a brand new set of GR100 tyres. Now, it becomes clear that stopping distance for emergency braking has increased, steering correction for lane changes and slaloms are more significant and road noise is now more obvious over the Turanza T005A.


5. Enjoying it while its wet

It's essentially a true test for the tyres when the grounds are wet. With a set of 17-inch T005A fitted to a Toyota Camry, I am told this 'wet' station is the most interesting station of all.

I sit at the front, waiting for a professional track driver with gloves, helmet and racing suit to drive me around. He doesn't arrive. In his place, instead, is a young man who is dressed in a Bridgestone shirt and a pair of jeans. And no, both of us do not have our helmets on.

Ah, it must be a slow drive then. Unfortunately not. Entering a section of the huge circuit with strong water current flowing in, the driver starts flooring the car on the short straight, braking really late before the turn and accelerating hard out of the bend. There is a tinge of understeer and for a moment I actually believe that this young punk is going to get us killed.

Although I'd like to think that the inexperienced-looking driver saved my life with his driving skills, I'm sure the Turanza T005A contributed a very big part in ensuring that the car didn't lose its grip and stability. Whatever the case, at this point of tyre testing, I'm convinced of the T005A's capabilities.

I head back and do some probing. According to Bridgestone, tyres aren't just about moulding and adding treads to the surface of the rubber. When it comes to the Bridgestone Turanza T005A, the tyre has also been improved at the molecular level, with the introduction of an exclusive Nano Pro-Tech compound. This new compound is engineered to strengthen the bond between silica and polymer to increase the contact area, resulting in reduced heat generation and energy loss while leading to better wet performance and safety.