2019 Premium VS Budget Winter Tire Test - Tire Reviews And Ratings

Test Publication:

205/55 R16 2 tires 3 categories

Test Publication:

Test Size: 205/55 R16

Tires Tested: 2 tires

Test Categories:
3 categories (6 tests)

Are cheap winter tires safe? To find out, we travelled to Finland, twice, to do snow, ice, wet and dry testing.

All tests were done using two cars, a VW Golf wearing 205/55 R16 tires, and a heavier, larger Volvo S90 fitted with 245/45 R18 tires.

To see how the testing went, watch the video below!

Dry

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Dry Braking	2^nd	28.87 M	28.74 M	+0.13 M	99.55%
Dry Handling	1^st	51.27 s			100%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Wet Braking	1^st	31.76 M			100%
Wet Handling	1^st	37.6 s			100%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Snow Braking	1^st	36 M			100%
Snow Handling	1^st	97.2 s			100%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Dry Braking	1^st	28.74 M			100%
Dry Handling	2^nd	51.57 s	51.27 s	+0.3 s	99.42%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Wet Braking	2^nd	35.27 M	31.76 M	+3.51 M	90.05%
Wet Handling	2^nd	38.2 s	37.6 s	+0.6 s	98.43%

Test	#	Result	Best	Diff	%
Snow Braking	2^nd	43.9 M	36 M	+7.9 M	82%
Snow Handling	2^nd	104.5 s	97.2 s	+7.3 s	93.01%