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A straight empty road ahead of the car

Tires

A car that pulls is an alignment question

The hatchback drifted right on a straight, calm road. The tires were even. The drift was not a mystery of brand.

Tomas Rehn, Road Test Editor · 23 April 2026

On a calm day with even pressures and even tread, the hatchback still asked for a small constant correction to the left to stay in the lane. Drivers adapt to this and then call it the car's character. Character is a kind word for a setting.

We wrote the direction and the conditions

We noted which way it pulled, that the road crown was not the explanation on this stretch, and that a swap of the front tires left to right did not move the pull to the other hand. That is as far as a desk note goes before a proper alignment, which we booked and which brought the correction back to nearly nothing.

We will not publish "it pulls a bit" as local color. If it pulls, we say so, and we say what we ruled out. A habitual tug is a measurement waiting to happen.

See a mistake? Write the desk. How a piece is tested, and what the desk will not sell, is set out in How we test and Editorial standards.