2017 Auto Bild Winter Tire Test

The next phase was testing the remaining thirty patterns for snow braking, which was then combined with the wet braking distances to allow the ten worst tires to be dropped. This left twenty winter tires which Auto Bild regarded as the best winter tires on the market, and deemed worthy enough to take through to the full testing.

As ever with Auto Bild testing, they undertake all the usual dry, wet and snow testing, but also including important factors such as wear and cost per 1,000 km, which a lot of tests are unable to include.

The results as closer than ever, and you'd be hard pressed to classify any of the top 10 tires as bad tires, but three in particular rose to the top.

Dry

In the dry grip testing, no tire got close the reference summer tire. During the braking tests, the Pirelli was the closest, but with all twenty winter tires separated by just 3 meters overall when braking from 100 km/h, the differences between the top ten were small.

The Continental winter tire was a step above the rest during dry handling, however it was still a large margin behind the summer reference tire in another closely contested category.

Winter tires often have a bad reputation for being noisy, but every winter tire managed to best the summer reference on test, with the Bridgestone winter tire quietest by some margin.

All tests are the combined results of drive by noise readings at both 50 km/h and 80 km/h.

Wet

The shallow water wet testing results were a little more spread out, but the summer tire still dominated. Again, the Pirelli was closest in wet braking, but this time there was over 4 meters separating the winter tires when braking from 80 km/h.

This time the Pirelli matched its wet braking peformance and finished the best winter tire during wet handling too.

The summer tire could only manage fourth place overall in the deep water aquaplaning tests, with the Michelin owned BF Goodrich and Kleber taking the top two places.

Snow

BF Goodrich and Kleber continued their success during the aquaplaning tests to stop the quickest when braking from 50 km/h on snow.

Barum took a surprise win during snow handling, with BF Goodrich a close second place. The reference summer tire couldn't even manage a lap of the snow handling course.

Cost

Difference between value and wear is an important distinction. Wear simply shows the projected mileage of the tire, based on Auto Bild's testing. Value looks at the projected mileage divided by the price Auto Bild paid for the set, giving you a "euro per 1,000 km" figure. While Michelin offered the best value of the premium tires on test, Nexen scored best in value thanks to excellent wear and a low purchase price.

While none of the winter tires could beat the summer tire during the rolling resistance testing, a number of tires were close. Ironically, the best value tire on test had the worst rolling resistance, which will offset some of the savings made over the tires tread life.

Results

The full results are below, and have Auto Bild's usual confusing weighting attached to each of the criteria. For more information, be sure to check out the Auto Bild website (German).

1^st

Continental WinterContact TS 860

225/50 R17

Test winner. Excellent performance in all weather conditions, direct steering response and strong handling in the snow and on dry roads.

Average mileage.

Exemplary.

Total: 48

Dry 7

Wet 7

Snow 7

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 6

Wear 5

Cost 4

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2^nd

Michelin Alpin 5

225/50 R17

Winter specialist with very good wet grip and low wear. Balance handling in the snow and dry, good aquaplaning resistance.

Slightly high rolling resistance.

Exemplary.

Total: 51

Dry 6

Wet 7

Snow 6

Comfort 7

Rolling Resistance 4

Noise 7

Wear 8

Cost 6

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3^rd

Dunlop Winter Sport 5

225/50 R17

Premium winter tire with balanced performance, good handling in the snow and wet, short wet braking distances.

Average mileage.

Exemplary.

Total: 47

Dry 6

Wet 7

Snow 6

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 6

Wear 5

Cost 5

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4^th

Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1

225/50 R17

Premium tires with excellent performance in all weather conditions. Precise steering and good feedback, short braking distances.

High price, high wear.

Good.

Total: 46

Dry 6

Wet 7

Snow 7

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 7

Wear 4

Cost 3

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5^th

Semperit Speed Grip 3

225/50 R17

Convincing all rounder with good winter characteristics and good handling in the dry. Good comfort.

Average mileage.

Good.

Total: 48

Dry 6

Wet 6

Snow 7

Comfort 7

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 7

Wear 4

Cost 5

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6^th

BFGoodrich gForce Winter 2

225/50 R17

The winter kings, winning the snow tests, excellent aquaplaning results, good ride comfort.

Slow steering, understeer in the dry.

Good.

Total: 53

Dry 5

Wet 6

Snow 9

Comfort 7

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 8

Wear 6

Cost 6

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7^th

Fulda Kristall Control HP2

225/50 R17

Low price, very good in the winter, excellent aquaplaning result, good ride comfort.

Slow steering, understeer in the wet.

Good.

Total: 53

Dry 6

Wet 6

Snow 7

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 5

Wear 9

Cost 8

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8^th

Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO

225/50 R17

A well balanced tire with excellent handling in the wet, low noise.

Average snow handling, long dry braking.

Good.

Total: 51

Dry 5

Wet 8

Snow 6

Comfort 4

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 9

Wear 7

Cost 6

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9^th

Kleber Krisalp HP3

225/50 R17

Excellent in the snow, good price / performance ratio, good aquaplaning resistance, low noise.

Poor dry grip and handling.

Good.

Total: 51

Dry 5

Wet 6

Snow 8

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 5

Noise 8

Wear 6

Cost 7

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10^th

Nexen WinGuard Sport 2

225/50 R17

A good value winter tire with balanced handling in the snow and on dry roads. Short wet braking distances.

Limited aquaplaning resistance, high rolling resistance.

Good.

Total: 51

Dry 6

Wet 5

Snow 6

Comfort 5

Rolling Resistance 3

Noise 8

Wear 9

Cost 9

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11^th

Gislaved EuroFrost 5

225/50 R17

Stable handling on snow and dry roads, good aquaplaning resistance.

Limited grip in the wet with understeer.

Average.

Total: 47

Dry 6

Wet 5

Snow 6

Comfort 5

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 5

Wear 6

Cost 8

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12^th

Kumho WinterCraft WP71

225/50 R17

Good snow traction, short wet and dry braking distances, good value.

Average handling with delayed turn-in, low comfort.

Average.

Total: 48

Dry 5

Wet 5

Snow 6

Comfort 4

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 7

Wear 7

Cost 8

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13^th

Uniroyal MS+ 77

225/50 R17

Good traction and braking in the snow, good aquaplaning resistance.

Slow steering response and poor cornering in the wet and dry.

Average.

Total: 49

Dry 5

Wet 5

Snow 6

Comfort 6

Rolling Resistance 8

Noise 6

Wear 6

Cost 7

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14^th

Nokian WR D4

225/50 R17

Good performance in the wet and snow.

Understeer in the dry, high wear.

Average.

Total: 42

Dry 5

Wet 6

Snow 6

Comfort 5

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 7

Wear 3

Cost 4

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15^th

Yokohama W drive V905

225/50 R17

Good traction and short braking in the snow, stable wet handling.

Poor snow handling, low aquaplaning resistance, poor comfort, high rolling resistance.

Average.

Total: 40

Dry 5

Wet 5

Snow 6

Comfort 4

Rolling Resistance 4

Noise 6

Wear 4

Cost 6

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16^th

Barum Polaris 3

225/50 R17

Low price, stable snow performance.

Poor wet braking and handling, average aquaplaning reserves.

Average.

Total: 50

Dry 6

Wet 4

Snow 8

Comfort 5

Rolling Resistance 7

Noise 6

Wear 6

Cost 8

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17^th

Sava Eskimo HP2

225/50 R17

Best price / wear ratio, good in the snow.

Poor wet handling, long wet and dry braking distances. Low comfort.

Average.

Total: 47

Dry 5

Wet 4

Snow 6

Comfort 3

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 6

Wear 8

Cost 9

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18^th

Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3

225/50 R17

Short wet and dry braking distances, dynamic wet handling.

Average winter performance, low snow traction, long snow braking, high wear.

Average.

Total: 39

Dry 6

Wet 8

Snow 4

Comfort 4

Rolling Resistance 5

Noise 6

Wear 3

Cost 3

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19^th

Firestone Winterhawk 3

225/50 R17

Good snow traction, low noise.

Poor snow and wet handling, long wet braking, high rolling resistance.

Average.

Total: 43

Dry 6

Wet 4

Snow 6

Comfort 5

Rolling Resistance 4

Noise 7

Wear 5

Cost 6

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20^th

Hankook Winter i cept evo2

225/50 R17

Good dry handling, low rolling resistance.

Poor handling in the snow and wet. Average comfort.

Average.

Total: 41

Dry 6

Wet 5

Snow 4

Comfort 3

Rolling Resistance 6

Noise 6

Wear 5

Cost 6

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21^st

Reference Summer

225/50 R17

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