2014 Auto Bild Winter Tyre Test

Test Summary
Wet Braking	Nokian WR D3
Dry Braking	Dunlop SP WinterSport 4D Continental WinterContact TS 850 Goodyear UltraGrip 8 Performance
Wet Handling	Dunlop SP WinterSport 4D Goodyear UltraGrip 8 Performance Fulda Kristall Control HP Uniroyal MS Plus 77
Rolling Resistance	Barum Polaris 3 Uniroyal MS Plus 77 Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 Semperit Speed Grip 2
Noise	Goodyear UltraGrip 8 Performance
Snow Handling	Goodride SW608 Westlake SW 608
Ice Braking	Michelin Alpin A4

The 2014 Auto Bild winter tyre test tested sixteen 225/50 R17 winter tyres across fifteen disciplines, covering snow grip, wet grip, dry grip, rolling resistance and comfort.

Starting with fifty different tyre models, Auto Bild put every tyre through a winter tyres toughest test - wet braking. Auto Bild then took the top twenty winter tyres from wet braking through to snow braking, and once it had combined the wet and snow braking distances for the top twenty, it chose the top sixteen tyres for this more thorough "full" test.

The Summer Tyre

In addition to the results below, Auto Bild included a summer tyre on test for comparison purposes.

Unsurprisingly, in the snow, the summer tyre was useless, stopping over 31 metres longer than the best winter tyre in snow braking, and unable to gain enough traction to even complete the snow handling tests!

Dry testing also presented no surprises, with the summer tyre convincingly besting every winter tyre on test, stopping 4.6 metres shorter than the best winter tyre in dry braking, with a similar advantage in dry handling. The compromises a winter tyre has to make for snow performance means with todays technology, a winter tyre will never outperform a summer tyre during dry braking.

Most interesting was the wet scoring. The summer tyre put on a good show during wet braking, beating fifteen of the winter tyres, and just beaten by the Pirelli winter for second place, but finished ninth in wet handling and was considerably down in the aquaplaning tests too. Unfortunately we don't know what temperatures the wet testing was carried out, but this marks an improvement for winter tyres over previous years.

The Results

Click here to view Results as a single table and adjust the score weighting based on your own driving needs!

1st: Dunlop SP WinterSport 4D
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 50 Dry: 6 Wet: 8 Snow: 9 Comfort: 6 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 8 Cost: 7 Outstanding winter tyres with dynamic handling qualities on snowy and wet roads. Responsive steering with good feel, and safe aquaplaning properties. Good price / performance ratio and high mileage None listed Read Reviews Buy from £181.99
2nd: Michelin Alpin A4
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 48 Dry: 6 Wet: 7 Snow: 8 Comfort: 5 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 6 Cost: 10 A model winter tyre with a very good price / performance ratio. Stable cornering and best handling qualities in the snow. Precise steering with good feedback. Low wear and low rolling resistance None listed Read Reviews
3rd: Continental WinterContact TS 850
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 48 Dry: 5 Wet: 8 Snow: 8 Comfort: 6 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 6 Cost: 9 Winter specialist with impressive handling on wet roads. Excellent aquaplaning results with short braking on wet roads. Comfortable and quiet None listed Read Reviews
4th: Nokian WR D3
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 44 Dry: 8 Wet: 6 Snow: 7 Comfort: 6 Rolling Resistance: 5 Noise: 7 Cost: 5 Balance winter tyre with safe handling. Short braking distances on snow. Dynamic handling, precise steering and good braking on dry roads. Low noise and good comfort None listed Read Reviews
5th: Goodyear UltraGrip 8 Performance
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 49 Dry: 5 Wet: 8 Snow: 9 Comfort: 8 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 7 Cost: 6 A premium winter tyre with excellent performance in the snow and wet. Good cornering in all weather, good ride comfort Slightly long dry braking Read Reviews
6th: Bridgestone Blizzak LM32 S
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 45 Dry: 5 Wet: 7 Snow: 8 Comfort: 4 Rolling Resistance: 5 Noise: 8 Cost: 8 Balanced in all weather conditions. Good snow traction, short braking distances on snow and wet roads, good value for money Slightly long dry and wet braking Read Reviews
7th: Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 40 Dry: 6 Wet: 7 Snow: 8 Comfort: 5 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 4 Cost: 3 Great handling on wet and snowy roads with a precise turn in and good feedback. Shorest wet and dry braking, low rolling resistance Average aquaplaning results and average wear Read Reviews Buy from £156.38
8th: Semperit Speed Grip 2
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 46 Dry: 6 Wet: 6 Snow: 7 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 7 Cost: 6 Balanced performance. Good balance on snowy and dry roads, good comfort and rolling resistance Only average handling on wet roads Read Reviews
9th: Hankook Winter i cept RS
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 40 Dry: 6 Wet: 5 Snow: 7 Comfort: 5 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 6 Cost: 5 Safe performance on snowy and dry roads, strong snow cornering, good aquaplaning results Average grip and braking in the wet, average comfort Read Reviews
10th: Uniroyal MS+ 77
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 39 Dry: 4 Wet: 5 Snow: 9 Comfort: 5 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 6 Cost: 3 Winter specialist wit short braking and sporty handling on snowy roads, very low rolling resistance Understeer and average grip in the dry, high wear Read Reviews
11th: Barum Polaris 3
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 40 Dry: 5 Wet: 4 Snow: 7 Comfort: 6 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 6 Cost: 5 Low price, good snow performance and good comfort. Low rolling resistance Average performance on wet and dry roads Read Reviews
12th: Fulda Kristall Control HP
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 40 Dry: 4 Wet: 4 Snow: 9 Comfort: 5 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 8 Cost: 4 Good snow performance, quiet Average wet and dry handling, long dry braking, high wear Read Reviews
13th: Kumho IZen KW27
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 35 Dry: 4 Wet: 6 Snow: 6 Comfort: 5 Rolling Resistance: 5 Noise: 6 Cost: 3 Good traction and short braking distances on snowy roads. Good aquaplaning scores Understeer in the wet, long dry braking, average wear Read Reviews
14th: Westlake SW 608
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 34 Dry: 3 Wet: 7 Snow: 4 Comfort: 3 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 9 Cost: 2 Good wet braking, cheap Unbalanced handling in the snow and on dry roads, low comfort, low mileage Read Reviews
15th: Goodride SW608
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 32 Dry: 3 Wet: 7 Snow: 4 Comfort: 2 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 9 Cost: 1 Short braking distances and good handling in the wet, low noise, cheap Unbalanced handling in the snow and on dry roads, long dry stopping distances, very poor wear Read Reviews
16th: Cooper WM SA2
225/50 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 28 Dry: 3 Wet: 6 Snow: 6 Comfort: 2 Rolling Resistance: 3 Noise: 7 Cost: 1 Short braking on wet and snowy roads Average dry results, high rolling resistance, high wear Read Reviews