Due to two unusually harsh winters, interest in winter, or cold weather tires has never been higher in the UK. The benefits are now being understood - while winter tires naturally work wonders in snow, they also work extremely well any time the average temperature is below 7c, often out performing summer tires even in the dry. During early morning commutes, where the road temperature is around freezing they can offer noticeable more grip than a summer tire in the same conditions, allowing you to make progress safely, and can stop over 5 meters shorter than the equivalent summer tire from 62mph.
What type of cold weather tires?
The wide array of winter tires can be boggling! Premium, budget, studded, Nordic, European, stud-less ice and snow... the list goes on! The tires we recommend are premium European winter tires. While budget winter tires can offer vastly superior snow performance to any summer tire, budget winter tires can struggle when the roads are wet or warm. Premium manufactuers spend hundreds of millions of pounds a year on R&D and testing, ensuring their tires can meet the demands of one criteria, without significantly sacrificing other performance. With the average winter in the UK being 40% dry, 45% wet and 15% snow, we'd think twice before fitting a budget winter tire which might only be an advantage for 15% of the winter!Availability
As many people experienced last year winter tires sold out as the first snow fell. With the total units sold last year being 350,000, and demand far outstripping supply, you'd think the tire manufacturers would be forecasting millions of units this year. Unfortunately the industry prediction is only 500,000 units, so if we experience another harsh winter (as predicted by almost every forecast) expect supply to be limited again. Buy early.Winter tire recommendations
- 3PMSF: no
The Goodyear Ultragrip 7+ was an award winning tire last year, and its successor, the new Ultra Grip 8 is carrying on its winning tradition by winning the first 2 european tire tests published. Slightly better than the Ultra Grip 7 in every way, the Ultra Grip 8 is the tire to be on if you have a medium size, or family car.
- 3PMSF: no
Like the Goodyear, the Dunlop Winter Sport 3D was one of the leading winter tires last year, winning 4 of the 6 winter tire tests in 2010! This year, Dunlop have released a new version, the Dunlop Winter Sport 4D which promises to offer its predecessors excellent sporty characteristics along with slightly improved grip all round.
- 3PMSF: no
The Nokian WR G2 was a Tire Reviews favourite last year thanks to its "slush optimised" design and excellent wet and dry performance being perfect for the UK climate. The new version, the WR A3 (And its little brother - WR D3) again promises to improve on the G2 in every way. Like last year with the WR G2, supply will be extremely limited this year.
- 3PMSF: no
Conitnental's flagship winter tire, the Winter Contact TS830 P is one of the best winter tires for ultra high performance cars. Unfortunately with demand already outstripping supply , especially in the larger tire sizes (17"+) get them if you can find them.
- 3PMSF: no
While not the sportiest winter tire on the market, the Alpin A4 is a solid all round performer and perfectly suited to family cars. Its dry bias ensure it works well in the UK climate.
What about all season tires?
Traditionally "all season" tires have simply been tires with a less sporty tread pattern, and might not have worked any better in the snow than their summer counter parts. Fortunately there are now a number of all season options that have excellent snow properties and are extremely suited to the UK climate, perfect if you don’t fancy changing your tires twice a year.All Season Recommendations
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Bridgestone A001 Overall: The new Bridgestone A001 was designed specifically for the UK market, and as such offers excellent year round performance while keeping vastly superior snow performance when compared to summer tires. Currently unproven in group tests, it's one to watch. |
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Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Overall: The Goodyear Vector 4Seasons is another of the "new breed" all season tires. When compared to full winter tires in a winter tire group test last year it offered 90% of the snow grip (much more than a summer tire), equal wet performance and leading dry weather properties |
Other Winter Tires
As mentioned above, demand is once again likely to outstrip supply this year so getting one of the above tires in your size could prove difficult. As with any tire, you largely get what you pay for but there are a few other good winter brands you can trust.Vredestein - Specialising in winter tires the Wintrac Extreme is an extremely popular tire. Unfortunately supply problems stopped it being in the recommended list above.
Fulda - While being largely ignored in the UK, Fulda are a near premium brand in Germany and make excellent quality tires. The Fulda Kristall Montero is another capable tire, if you can find it.
Hankook - The Optimo 4S is an excellent all season tire, again hard to find.