Top 10 car batteries

Accumulators of this series sometimes manage to show miracles of survivability - in fact, even the author has one of them, after standing for three years in a semi-discharged form in the corner of the garage, after a couple of charge-discharge cycles began to work normally, although, according to the logic of things, after three such winterings of the plate should have showered. Well, perhaps the notorious PowerFrame, which, according to the company's website, prevents the destruction of the plates, really works?

As a model for ranking the best batteries for cars, we took the 60 amp-hour version, which gives out 540 amps according to the EN standard. Of course, given the fact that some participants in the rating have less capacity, this already gives Varta a head start, but, alas, in this series the capacity closest to 55 A * h is 52 A * h, and even in the not very popular frame size 175x207x190. However, even it is outperformed by many competitors in the current of cold scrolling (470 A), so not all are really arguing about current output with “Warta”.

At the same time, the battery has an excellent backup capacity, and this is no less important than the starting current figures. The “behavior” of batteries of different models is very different: for example, one can produce titanic amps during the standard test cycle, and literally in a few seconds “go out”. But the battery, though not so vigorously spinning starter, but allowing you to make several attempts without the risk of sitting down to zero, is much more attractive.

Therefore, Varta Blue Dynamic, although it has now become a little expensive, probably deserves a strong second place.Indeed, if we do not find fault with little things like the absence of a hydrometer eye in the lid?

When it comes to the best batteries for a car, the Tyumen plant has something to counter foreign competitors, especially now, when the price gap with imports has become very noticeable. So, (... drumming ...) let me imagine: let this battery be so simple that the Premium inscription looks randomly stuck, but they didn’t spare the lead. Although the battery from Tyumen does not give out record numbers of starting current and reserve capacity (here the undisputed leader is Varta), its 510 amps according to EN will be enough for most motors in winter. And, whatever one may say, 98 minutes of reserve (for “Warta”, for comparison - 110) you will not be disappointed for a long time, the difference will become really noticeable only if the battery is fairly worn out: the difference in technologies already affects it.

So for batteries, the Boris Razor's rule works fine: gravity is good, gravity is reliable. Two or more kilograms (!) Of excess lead (compared to Varta and Mutlu) allowed the Tyumen battery to argue confidently with more technological competitors, there are no problems with access to banks - there are traffic jams right at hand, and these batteries are traditionally considered to be one of the best in frost resistance.

So, if money is running out, the Tyumen car battery will definitely be the best choice, especially in cold regions. And only for electronically saturated cars, where “extra” current amps and reserve capacity minutes are not superfluous, you should take a closer look at the “Warta” or “Mutlu”.

Well-known calcium battery with a fairly attractive price. At the same time, their resource, according to reviews, is not bad. What else can you find? For example, a starter current of 600 amps is very impressive for a non-AGM 60 amp battery. But at the same time, this raises concerns in the “rate of fire”: many batteries with high starting current and give up with repeated attempts to run faster.

Therefore, we dwell on the winter trials. Under the conditions envisioned by the EN standard, a new and fully charged Topla Energy battery is really capable of delivering the stated current: well, when loud promises are supported by deed. If you have a large engine, and even diesel, Topla may already be an interesting option for purchase. At the same time, the battery and a good backup capacity - an additional bonus from Slovenia.

Then why does this battery have such a low rating score? The point is in the "rate of fire", which confirms the practice. In the cold, the battery is able to spin the starter well, yes, but you will not have so many attempts to start: if you don’t grab the engine a few times normally, Topla will significantly “weaken” and the probability of starting will decrease sharply. But, if the car has no problems with serviceability, the fuel is good, and you didn’t lose the oil viscosity, then in -30 Topla Energy will adequately cope with its task.

Another calcium battery that is not serviced only externally - the decorative cover is removed, and the plugs under it are easy to remove. Its capacity is 62 ampere-hour, but the starting current is the same 540 A as the models from the rating top, which have a smaller capacity. But the battery has a good frost resistance, and the self-discharge is low - if you do not drive in the winter so often, there will be less chances to find a “dead” battery waiting for a new trip.

The manufacturer specializes in the production of batteries already since 1888 - it was then that The Electric Storage Battery Company was founded, which used the Exide trademark. These batteries had time to visit in the Antarctic, and even on the Moon - the company clearly has something to brag about. It is a pity that Antarctic travels didn’t have a particular impact on the Exide Excell performance: yes, the batteries are reliable and stable in quality, but in Russia the “American” (even if made in Europe) does not feel very confident compared to the other participants in the ranking of the best batteries for car. The starting current in the cold is already lower than that of competitors, and the backup capacity suffers. The charge rate of a cold battery is also not particularly impressive - in the end, we have a “strong middling”, but no more. It’s a pity, of course: considering the experience gained during the company's work, we expected more from it.

Suddenly (though not for everyone) Bosch, despite the big name, was no less loud. It would seem that everything is in his hands: and a good starting current (540 A with a capacity of 60 Ah, like the leaders of the rating), and the price, in general, at the level of the same “Warta” ... But, alas, reality and expectations are different things.

In practice, this battery shows itself absolutely average. The reserve capacity, for example, of a fully charged battery is the same as that of a much cheaper Tyumen. Moreover, in the cold it gives up even faster than the domestic battery - after the first attempt to crank the starter (we will not argue - very confident), the battery noticeably "deflates". In addition, the battery does not like a deep discharge, no matter how interesting technologies the manufacturer promised. It is more difficult to “reanimate” it than the leaders of our rating.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the interest of Russian motorists Bosch loses noticeably: in fact, if we ignore the brand, we are asked too much for not the best results. If you live somewhere in Voronezh or even more so near Sochi, then it will behave no worse than others ... but in Tyumen it will definitely give way to Tyumen.

Compared to the battery rating of the classic type, where Bosch looked pale, among AGM-batteries, the position of the German concern is stronger. It seems that they pay more attention to premium products?

In any case, the battery came out as a worthy competitor to the Varte, demonstrating good starting characteristics (starter current with a capacity of 60 Ah * 680 A), and a quick charge charge, and a sufficient amount of reserve capacity. You can feel the difference only “face to face” - in this case, it is still worth rehashing the old German saying Bosch ist Bosch: they say, “Bosch” is “Bosch” as a sign of quality by definition. But we will be objective: it is more correct to say Varta ist Varta. Even with the difference in price.

For modern cars, the designers of which like to combine a voluminous engine with a compact battery compartment, this battery from Exide Technologies will be a pleasant surprise: the ability to load 680 amps at 60 amp-hours capacity is a great result. The battery was developed for use on vehicles with a start-stop system, which the manufacturer did not fail to mention on the sticker. From here and its characteristic features - the ability to quickly gain capacity and give a large impulse current, for cars that are constantly deafening and start the engine in the urban cycle, this is most relevant.

On the other hand, this car battery is also one of the most expensive, ranked among the best. You just cannot assess its advantages on a regular city car with the most common engine capacity of 1.5-1.6 liters, and that, having started to give high current cheerfully, it will quickly sit down, you will have time to notice it many times. So this battery has a rather specific character, in our rating, calculated for average car owners, it will have to cut points.

The list of participants of the AGM-battery rating closes the 60-amp Running Bull from a fairly well-known Austrian brand. This model boasts a starting current of 640 amperes, which not only greatly exceeds the results of half of the AGM-batteries rating (for fairness, we note that they have slightly less capacity), but also brings the battery closer to gel performance.

Banner's name as the best battery for the winter is hampered by the fact that it significantly reduces its performance in the cold: although the company’s promotional materials indicate that it supplies its products to the conveyors of German automakers, a stinging little joke about the fact that with 41 th year the Austrians did not learn to Russian frost. Finally, the Running Bull score was finished off with its indecent price.