5 categories (12 tests)
Test Category | Best Performer | Worst Performer | Difference |
---|---|---|---|
Dry (2 tests) | |||
Dry Braking | ▲ Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3: 44.3 M | ▼ Sava Eskimo HP2: 47.3 M | 3.0 M (6.3%) |
Dry Handling | ▲ Continental WinterContact TS 860: 82.9 Km/H | ▼ Kumho WinterCraft WP71: 80.1 Km/H | 2.8 Km/H (3.5%) |
Wet (3 tests) | |||
Wet Braking | ▲ Bridgestone Blizzak LM005: 29.2 M | ▼ Debica Frigo HP2: 34.2 M | 5.0 M (14.6%) |
Wet Handling | ▲ Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus: 74.7 Km/H | ▼ Debica Frigo HP2: 69.5 Km/H | 5.2 Km/H (7.5%) |
Straight Aqua | ▲ BFGoodrich gForce Winter 2: 78 Km/H | ▼ Yokohama BluEarth Winter V905: 62.8 Km/H | 15.2 Km/H (24.2%) |
Snow (2 tests) | |||
Snow Braking | ▲ Kleber Krisalp HP3: 24 M | ▼ Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3: 26.4 M | 2.4 M (9.1%) |
Snow Handling | ▲ Kleber Krisalp HP3: 78.4 Km/H | ▼ Fulda Kristall Control HP2: 75.3 Km/H | 3.1 Km/H (4.1%) |
Comfort (1 tests) | |||
Noise | ▲ Nexen WinGuard Sport 2: 68.7 dB | ▼ Sava Eskimo HP2: 76.1 dB | 7.4 dB (9.7%) |
Value (4 tests) | |||
Wear | ▲ Michelin Alpin 6: 51250 KM | ▼ Kumho WinterCraft WP71: 35260 KM | 15,990.0 KM (45.3%) |
Value | ▲ Sava Eskimo HP2: 7.62 Price/1000 | ▼ Nokian WR Snowproof: 11.69 Price/1000 | 4.1 Price/1000 (34.8%) |
Price | ▲ Sava Eskimo HP2: 300 | ▼ Michelin Alpin 6: 520 | 220.0 (42.3%) |
Rolling Resistance | ▲ Nokian WR Snowproof: 7.43 kg / t | ▼ Kumho WinterCraft WP71: 9.99 kg / t | 2.6 kg / t (25.6%) |
The Top Three
After finishing just fifth in the braking shootout, you'd be forgiven for thinking Continental have some serious opposition for the TS860 dominance, but now all aspects of the tyres performance has been tested, they're back on top with another win for the TS860. As with previous tests, the Continental excelled with an all round performance, while having the second lowest wear on test! An impressive feat, and another sign that the high wear Continental tyres have experienced in the past are firmly behind them.
The new Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ finished in second place, again with a very well balanced performance and low wear, with the new Michelin Alpin 6 close behind it. As usual, the French tyre displayed the best wear on test, combined with an excellent all round performance, but as with all three tyres, it came at a price, with the top three tyres having some of the highest purchase prices on test.
The Rest
This time, the "best of the rest" award goes to Apollo, with the Aspire XP winter proving to have an excellent blend of winter qualities, and a very low purchase price, leaving it as the fourth best value tyre on test (a metric dividing purchase price with tread wear!)
Bridgestone couldn't hold onto the win from the braking test, struggling a little in the snow testing, but it is still an excellent result for the LM005, and a tyre that looks to be well suited to the British style winters thanks to a very strong dry and wet performance.
Vredestein once again put on an impressive performance finishing sixth place overall, with the Wintrac Pro noted as a sporty feeling winter tyre. Like the Bridgestone, it coped better in the dry and wet than it did the snow, so a good candidate for the UK market.
The final notable performances are Dunlop finishing in sixteenth, and Pirelli finishing eighteenth place. Buying premium doesn't always guarantee you a premium performance, with the Pirelli having both poor grip, and very high wear.
Read on for all the data below.
Dry
As is the case with siped tyres, and the main reason you shouldn't run winter tyres year round, all the winter tyres lagged behind the summer reference during dry testing, with the best on test (Pirelli) a full 6 meters behind the summer.
There was a smaller, but still significant gap during dry handling testing.
Wet
The Bridgestone LM005 was the only winter tyre which beat the summer tyre during wet braking, while the Michelin could only match the summer tyre.
The Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ was the best winter tyre during the wet handling lap.
There was over 15 Km/H difference in straight aquaplaning testing.
Snow
The snow testing was separated by 2.4 meters, with all tyres having an acceptable performance for most of the UK.
Snow handling showed the well priced Kleber to have the best all round balance of snow performances.
Environment
The Nokian SnowProof had an incredibly low rolling resistance, with nearly all the winter tyres having lower fuel use than the summer reference.
The Nexen and Continental were the quietest tyres on test during the external noise testing.
Cost / Wear
Michelin is always strong in wear testing, and it continued its dominance by having a big advantage. Continental and Apollo also proved to have really strong wear characteristics, while Uniroyal, Kleber, Pirelli and Kumho wore out nearly 15,000 km sooner than the Michelin.
The "Value" score is simply the price of the wear in Euros, per 1000 km. In this test, the lower priced tyres proved to be the best value, with even the excellent wear of the Michelin unable to offset its higher purchase price.
Results
1st: Continental WinterContact TS 860 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Best driving characteristics in all conditions. Direct steering, stable cornering, low fuel use and excellent tread wear None mentioend Test Winner Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Excellent driving properties on wet and snowy surfaces, precise steering behavior with dynamic wet and snow handling, and short braking distances. Low wear. None mentioned Exemplary Read Reviews Buy from £119.92 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd: Michelin Alpin 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
A model winter tyre with excellent snow and wet performance, good aquaplaning resistance, short wet braking, good ride comfort and lowest wear None mentioned Exemplary Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th: Apollo Aspire XP Winter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Well priced winter tyres with a balanced performance, stable wet and dry handling, short snow and wet braking, good aquaplaning resistance, best price / performance ratio None mentioned Exemplary Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5th: Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Good wet and dry grip, with dynamic handling and good steering precision Average lateral stability on snow Exemplary Read Reviews Buy from £135.91 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6th: Vredestein Wintrac Pro | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
A new winter tyre with excellent wet and dry handling Average lateral stability on snow Exemplary Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th: BFGoodrich gForce Winter 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Good value tyres, high aquaplaning resistance, low noise, low wear Average dry grip Good Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8th: Semperit Speed Grip 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
A strong all round tyre with good winter characteristics, stable wet handling, low noise and low rolling resistance Average aquaplaning, average dry braking Good Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9th: Hankook Winter i cept RS2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The winter king with the best performance on snow, good dry handling, well priced Average wet performance Good Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10th: Uniroyal MS+ 77 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
A good winter performance with stable characteristics in all conditions, low rolling resistance, low price Average dry braking Good Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11th: Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
A balanced winter tyre with stable driving characteristics in all conditions, short snow braking, low noise, low price Long dry braking, high rolling resistance Good Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12th: Fulda Kristall Control HP2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Good ride comfort, good aquaplaning resistance, low price, low rolling resistance Average corning in the wet and snow Good Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13th: Nokian WR Snowproof | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Excellent snow handling, with sporty dynamic steering, low noise, very low fuel use Average wet grip, average aquaplaning resistance Good Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14th: Yokohama BluEarth Winter V905 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Good traction on snow, short wet braking distances, good dry handling Understeer in the wet, poor aquaplaning resistance Good Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15th: Kleber Krisalp HP3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Very good in the snow, dynamic handling and short braking distances, high aquaplaning resistance Understeer and long braking distances in the dry, average wear Ok Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16th: Dunlop Winter Sport 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Snow specialist with good traction and short braking distances, good aquaplaning resistance Understeer in the dry and wet, long dry braking distances Ok Read Reviews Buy from £114.58 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17th: Sava Eskimo HP2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Dynamic handling and short braking distances in the snow, low rolling resistance, low price Average wet and dry performance, high wear Ok Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18th: Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Stable handling and short braking in the wet, low fuel use Average snow performance, average comfort, high wear Ok Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19th: Debica Frigo HP2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Excellent in the snow, low fuel use Poor wet and dry grip, high noise Conditionally recommended Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20th: Kumho WinterCraft WP71 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Short wet braking, good wet handling, low noise Poor dry grip, high wear, high rolling resistance Conditionally recommended Read Reviews |