Tyre Reviews Tyre Tests

The 2021 Auto Bild Sportscars winter tyre test has tested twelve of the best winter tyres in 245/40 R18 size using a Mercedes C Class, AND have included a summer and all season tyre as reference.

This is exceptionally useful for those of us wondering whether to fit winter or all season tyres for the bigger while size, and for a change Auto Bild named the all season tyre used, it's the Vredestein Quatrac Pro. 

There are however some drawbacks to the single reference tyre. The Quatrac Pro is an older patter now, and certainly not the best all season tyre on the market anymore. This means while it was good in the dry, it didn't beat all the winter tyres as you'd expect (the Michelin CrossClimate 2 certainly would have), it struggled in the wet, and if you'd expected it to come last in a group of winter tyres in the snow tests, you're also in for a surprise.

ADAC tyre tests are some of the most influential in the world, and for the 2021 winter season ADAC have chosen to test eighteen 225/50 R17 tyres and sixteen 195/65 R15 winter tyres, across two tests. This article covers the 17" test, to see the 15" test please click here.

In this tyre test we take nine of the best performance winter tyres in the popular 225/40 R18 size and test them in the dry, wet and of course snow to see what the best winter tyre is for the 2021/22 autumn and winter.

Every year, the German publication Auto Bild selects a tyre size, finds as many winter tyres as possible in that size, and tests them all in wet braking. The top thirty tyres proceed to snow braking, then the top twenty overall to the full winter tyre test.

For the 2020 winter tyre test, Auto Bild rounded up fifty one winter tyres in the rather huge 245/45 R18 size, and a summer tyre as reference.

For their third winter tyre test of 2019, Auto Bild have stepped up the fun and fitted an Audi S5 with eleven sets of 255/35 R19 ultra high performance winter tyres, and included the usual set of reference summer tyres!

Following on from a win in Auto Express, the new Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ takes its second win of 2019, once again proving to have a near flawless blend of qualities. Vredestein have also continued their run of good results with a very strong second place for the Wintrac Pro. This tyre is significantly cheaper than the premium winter tyres in the UK, so is probably the best choice if you need to save a few pounds.

It's winter testing time, and as always, Auto Bild are leading the way! Following on from the 53 winter tyre shoot-out, Auto Bild have taken the top twenty 225/45 R17 tyres through to the full test, along with a summer tyre as reference. Each set of tyres has been tested in the dry, wet and snow using a RWD BMW 1 Series, and Auto Bild are one of the few publications which test for wear. It's an exciting test! (if you're into tyres...)

Following on from the 195/65 R15 winter tyre test, the excellent German publication Auto Bild have tested ten UHP winter tyres in 245/45 R18.

The biggest shock in the test is the winner - it's the brand new Vredestein WinTrac Pro. This new tyre from Vredestein proved to have Continental like qualities, displacing the Continental WinterContact TS850 P from it's usual top spot and performing well in the dry, wet and snow tests. The Continental WinterContact TS850 Pl, which has now been replaced by the Continental WinterContact TS860 S, proved that it's still a quality option and finished a very close second place.

We're a little bit late with this one, as it's likely the UK has had most of its bad weather for winter 2017/18, however we can't resist covering a winter ultra high performance tyre test, especially when they use a RWD Toyota GT86 as the test car!

For this test, Sport Auto magazine fitted the GT86 with ten different patterns of 225/40 R18 sports winter tyres, and put the tyres through the normal dry, wet and snow testing.

The first winter tyre test of 2017 has been published! The German publication Auto Motor und Sport [AMS] have tested ten ultra high performance winter tyres in 225/40 R18. This extremely popular 18" tyre sizes is fitted to performance saloons such as the Audi A4, Skoda Octavia VRS, and the 232 bhp BMW 430i Grand Coupe used for this testing.

This year Sport Auto magazine have tested six performance winter tyres in 235/40 R18.

Due to the limited number of patterns in the test, and no all season or summer comparison, we'll forgo the usual commentry and just present the results below.

Using a BMW 3 Series wearing 245/40 R18 tyres, Auto Bild placed eight ultra high performance winter tyre patterns to the test.

Testing 10 premium UHP winter tyres in 225/50 R17, including three patterns released in 2015, Auto Motor und Sport put the tyres through the usual range of dry, wet, snow and environmental tests across Finland and Germany.

Our copy of the 2015 ACE winter tyre test is a little thin on details, but we thought it was important to include as it tests many of the new winter tyres for 2015, in the popular 225/50 R17 tyre size.

This year, Sport Auto have tested seven different UHP winter tyres in 235/35 R19, on a VW Golf R.

There's not much we can say about the excellent 2015 Auto Express Winter Tyre Test, other than head over to the Auto Express site and check out the full review!

Most winter tyre tests cover sizes up to 16 inch wheels, as these are by far the most common winter tyre sizes fitted across Europe. Unfortunately, if you're looking to keep your performance car mobile over winter, these tests are largely useless as a reference, as tyre patterns and performances can drastically change as the sizes increase.

Luckily Auto Bild Sportscars have us covered with their latest ultra high performance winter tyre test. Auto Bild have taken eight UHP winter tyres in 225/40 R18 and tested them on a RWD Mercedes C Class across the usual range of snow, wet and dry tests and have included a summer tyre as reference.

Winter tyres can be a problem in the UK. Mainland Europe are very good at putting smaller wheels and tyres on, but in the UK where even the most modest town hatchback is being fitted with 17 or 18 inch wheels as standard, and performance car now being fitted with 19 or even 20 inch wheels, finding a test covering larger winter wheel sizes can be difficult.

Fortunately Auto Bild Sportscars is there to offer us some guidance for the 2014 season, and have tested 235/35 R19 winter tyres on a BMW M135i. Sadly, they only managed to find six patterns to test, compared to fifty in their 205/55 R16 tests, but it gives us a good indication of what winter tyres are like in larger sizes.

It's the test we look forward to all year, the Auto Bild winter tyre shootout. 

2014 sees Auto Bild testing fifty different winter tyres in 225/50 R17. As usual, they test all fifty tyres in wet braking from 50 mph, then take the top twenty through to a snow braking test from 31mph. The top fifteen from this test then go on to the full winter tyre test, where Auto Bild crown the best winter tyre of 2014.