Active Road Noise Control (RNC) has become an important complement to passive treatments for mitigating low frequency tire–pavement noise in automotive cabins. While numerous global and local RNC systems have been reported in the literature and implemented in production vehicles, their performance is often evaluated using inconsistent indicators and measurement methodologies, making direct comparison difficult. This paper presents a critical review of performance evaluation metrics and measurement methods for automotive RNC systems. Key performance indicators, including sound pressure level reduction, effective frequency range, spatial effectiveness, adaptability, and robustness, are discussed with an emphasis on noise reduction measurements used in both industrial practice and academic research. Existing standards and test procedures are reviewed alongside commonly used experimental methods, such as single point microphone measurements, artificial head measurements, and small and large microphone array techniques. Reported noise reduction performance of representative global and local RNC systems is summarized to illustrate the influence of system architecture and measurement methodology on published results. The review highlights current limitations in RNC performance assessment, including test scenario complexity, measurement variability, and the lack of unified international standards. These findings provide guidance for selecting appropriate evaluation methods and support future development and standardization of automotive RNC system evaluation and measurement.
