Winter tyre test 225/45 R18 - AutoMotorSport 2017

Winter

2017

Year

10

Tyres

Winner

Continental ContiWinterContact TS 850P

Best Value

Semperit Speed-Grip 3

Test Vehicle

BMW 4

Tested tyres

10

Price vs Quality

See how tyre price relates to test performance at a glance

Results

Agenda:

Best value in test

Better than average value

Worse than average value

Worst value in test

1

Continental ContiWinterContact TS 850P

Rating: Test winner - highly recommended

£179

95 H

mytyres.co.uk

+1 More sizes →

95V

Wet9,6

Dry9,1

Snow8,7

Enviromental impact8,0

Strengths

Good and balanced performance on snow, very good on wet, convincing and sporty on dry asphalt.

Weaknesses

Negligible shortcomings in aquaplaning

2

Dunlop Winter Sport 5

Rating: Recommended

Wet8,9

Dry8,5

Snow8,9

Enviromental impact7,3

Strengths

Very safe braking on snow, on water balance properties

Weaknesses

#VALUE!

3

Semperit Speed-Grip 3

Rating: Recommended

Wet7,2

Dry7,6

Snow9,9

Enviromental impact8,6

Strengths

Úctihodné best traction and braking performance on snow, wet and safe, acceptable performance on dry road

Weaknesses

Does not exactly sporting characteristics

4

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4

Rating: Recommended

£183

95 V

mytyres.co.uk

+2 More sizes →

95V · £183 95V

Wet7,7

Dry8,1

Snow8,4

Enviromental impact7,2

Strengths

Quick response to control the snow, precise and balanced in the wet, surprisingly good dry

Weaknesses

#VALUE!

5

Fulda Kristall Control HP2

Rating: Recommended

£116

95 V

mytyres.co.uk

Wet6,8

Dry7,3

Snow9,5

Enviromental impact7,9

Strengths

Excellent traction and good braking on snow, very good aquaplaning

Weaknesses

Wet and dry rather mediocre, lacks dynamism

6

Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3

Rating: Still recommended

Wet7,9

Dry8,2

Snow7,8

Enviromental impact6,6

Strengths

Good steering response and reserves on all surfaces

Weaknesses

Wet and dry rather mediocre, lacks dynamism

7

Nokian WR A4

Rating: Still recommended

Wet6,3

Dry9,2

Snow7,1

Enviromental impact10

Strengths

Excellent traction on dry, extremely low rolling resistance

Weaknesses

Weak lateral guidance and control of the snow, a grip, small size and long stopping distance on wet

8

Hankook Winter i*cept evo2 W320

Rating: Still recommended

£135

91 H

mytyres.co.uk

+1 More sizes →

95V

Wet6,8

Dry8,3

Snow8,1

Enviromental impact7,3

Strengths

Decent braking performance on snow, very stable and precise on dry.

Weaknesses

Weaknesses in the driving snow and braking on wet

9

Kumho WinterCraft WP71

Rating: Still recommended

Wet7,1

Dry7,8

Snow7,8

Enviromental impact6,5

Strengths

Short braking distance on snow and dry. Acceptable braking distance and harmonious balance on wet

Weaknesses

Slightly unstable rear axle during lane change and handling on dry, slightly noisier.

10

Cooper WeatherMaster SA2

Rating: Conditionally recommended

Wet6,8

Dry7,1

Snow6,9

Enviromental impact5,9

Strengths

Acceptable braking distance on dry, good traction on snow

Weaknesses

Dry dull handling, small comfort, small reserves in the wet, high rolling resistance

Same size tyres not featured in the test

Tests usually don't cover the whole market - here is our selection what not to miss when shopping for tyres in this size.

#	Name	Our rating	Segment	Price
1	Upper-middle Hankook Winter i*cept evo3 W330 96%	96%	Upper-middle	£146 95 V
2	Premium Michelin PILOT ALPIN 5 94%	94%	Premium	£168 95 H +3 More
3	Premium Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005 90%	90%	Premium
4	Premium GoodYear UltraGrip Performance+ 90%	90%	Premium
5	Premium Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen-1 89%	89%	Premium	£130 95 H +2 More
6	Upper-middle Kleber KRISALP HP3 89%	89%	Upper-middle	£135 95 V
7	Premium Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2 89%	89%	Premium	£177 95 V
8	Upper-middle BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2 87%	87%	Upper-middle	£140 95 V

9	Premium Pirelli WINTER SOTTOZERO Serie III 86%	86%	Premium	£143 91 H +10 More
10	Upper-middle Nokian WR D4 86%	86%	Upper-middle
11	Premium Bridgestone Blizzak LM-001 84%	84%	Premium	£111 91 H +4 More
12	Upper-middle Firestone Winterhawk 4 84%	84%	Upper-middle	£98 95 V
13	Premium Bridgestone Turanza T005 83%	83%	Premium	£110 91 V +14 More
14	Budget Semperit Speed-Grip 5 81%	81%	Budget	£112 95 V
15	Upper-middle Falken EuroWinter HS01 80%	80%	Upper-middle	£222 95 T +3 More
16	Upper-middle Nokian WR Snowproof P 79%	79%	Upper-middle	£116 95 V +1 More

17	Upper-middle Toyo Observe S944 79%	79%	Upper-middle	£119 0 V +1 More
18	Upper-middle Nokian WR Snowproof 79%	79%	Upper-middle
19	Upper-middle Toyo Snowprox S954 78%	78%	Upper-middle
20	Premium Continental WinterContact TS 860S 76%	76%	Premium	£167 95 H +4 More
21	Budget Giti GitiWinter W1 74%	74%	Budget
22	Premium Hankook Ventus Prime 4 73%	73%	Premium	£119 95 H +7 More
23	Budget Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 WU7 69%	69%	Budget	£99 95 V +1 More
24	Budget Debica Frigo HP2 66%	66%	Budget

25	Premium Bridgestone Blizzak LM-32 66%	66%	Premium	£158 95 H
26	Budget Nexen WinGuard Sport 66%	66%	Budget
27	Upper-middle Uniroyal WinterExpert 65%	65%	Upper-middle	£135 95 V
28	Budget Barum Polaris 5 64%	64%	Budget
29	Upper-middle Yokohama BluEarth winter V905 62%	62%	Upper-middle
30	Upper-middle Firestone Winterhawk 3 61%	61%	Upper-middle
31	Budget Matador MP93 Nordicca 56%	56%	Budget
32	Budget Kormoran SNOW 40%	40%	Budget

33	Budget Fortune Fsr901 40%	40%	Budget
34	Budget Duraturn Mozzo Winter 1%	1%	Budget
35	Budget Kormoran SNOWPRO B2 1%	1%	Budget
36	Budget Imperial SnowDragon 3 1%	1%	Budget