Test Summary | |
Dry Braking | ▲Michelin Pilot Alpin 5: 41.9 M ▼Fulda Kristall Control HP2: 46.5 M |
Dry Handling | ▲Apollo Aspire XP Winter: 110.6 Km/H ▼Cooper Weather Master SA2 Plus: 106.3 Km/H |
Wet Braking | ▲Bridgestone Blizzak LM005: 47.3 M ▼Fulda Kristall Control HP2: 56.7 M |
Wet Handling | ▲Michelin Pilot Alpin 5: 74.4 Km/H ▼Fulda Kristall Control HP2: 69.6 Km/H |
Straight Aqua | ▲Fulda Kristall Control HP2: 91.3 Km/H ▼General Altimax Winter 3: 81.9 Km/H |
Snow Braking | ▲Michelin Pilot Alpin 5: 24.3 M ▼Cooper Weather Master SA2 Plus: 26.1 M |
Snow Traction | ▲Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus: 3098 N ▼Kleber Krisalp HP3: 2294 N |
Snow Handling | ▲Dunlop Winter Sport 5: 61.5 Km/H ▼Cooper Weather Master SA2 Plus: 57.4 Km/H |
Noise | ▲BFGoodrich gForce Winter 2: 69.7 dB ▼Dunlop Winter Sport 5: 74.8 dB |
Wear | ▲Michelin Pilot Alpin 5: 47970 Km ▼Cooper Weather Master SA2 Plus: 29930 Km |
Value | ▲Laufenn I Fit Plus: 10.41 Price/1000 ▼Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3: 16.22 Price/1000 |
Rolling Resistance | ▲Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3: 6.95 kg / t ▼Vredestein Wintrac Pro: 8.85 kg / t |
As usual there's a summer tire for reference, so scroll down to see all the details of this mega test, and don't forget to check out the Auto Bild website for the full details of this epic winter tire.
As always the case, the summer tire had a significant advantage in dry braking, as the siped winter tires can't provide enough block stiffness to match the summer tire during an emergency stop.
The best of the winter tires was the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5, nearly two meters ahead of the second placed Vredestein Wintrac Pro.
The summer tire held the advantage in the dry handling testing, with the Apollo Aspire XP Winter moving up to the best of the winter tires on test.
As winter tire technology progresses, we are starting to see winter tires outperform summer tires in wet conditions, even when warm.
In this test, the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 had an impressive advantage in the wet braking test, with the worst tires taking nearly 10 meters longer to stop the car.
The Michelin, Continental and Semperit were all ahead of the summer tire in the wet handling test.
Interestingly the summer tire had a big advantage in straight aquaplaning, which is unusual for modern top tier summer tires. This could indicate the chosen summer tire was a second tier brand.
Unsurprisingly the summer tire had no grip in the snow tests, and there was a near 2 meter spread between the best and worst winter tire during snow braking.
The snow traction test was even worse for the summer tire, with around 1/6 the traction performance of the best winter tire.
The sister brands of Dunlop and Goodyear lead the snow handling tests.
As usual, Michelin had the best projected wear from the tire, with the worst winter tire having almost 50% of the projected mileage.
When you compare price against projected mileage, the well priced, low wear Laufenn tire proved to have the best value.
Even though the Michelin had the best wear on test, it also had the most expensive purchase price making it one of the worst value tires.
Pirelli and Bridgestone had the lowest impact on fuel use on test.
Auto Bild test external drive by noise, not internal cabin noise. In this test, the three Michelin brands proved to be the quietest tires.
1st: Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Test winner with high levels of grip in the snow, dynamic wet and dry handling, short braking distances, very low wear, low rolling resistance. High price. Read Reviews Buy from £155.10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd: Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Convincing all round performance, excellent winter properties, good wet and dry handling, low rolling resistance. Average wear. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Excellent in the snow and on dry roads, safe characteristics on wet roads, good aquaplaning resistance. Average comfort. Read Reviews Buy from £122.10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th: BFGoodrich gForce Winter 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Convincing winter tire with good economy, good in the snow, good aquaplaning resistance and low wear. Increased rolling resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £156.80 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th: Kleber Krisalp HP3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Well priced with good performance level and safe handling in all weather, low wear. High rolling resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £142.90 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6th: Hankook Winter i cept evo3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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New winter profile with sporty performance on wet and dry roads, good in the snow, short snow and wet braking distances. High rolling resistance. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th: Continental WinterContact TS 850 P | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wet specialist with sporty dynamic handling in all weather conditions, precise steering, very low wear. Long dry braking distances, high price. Read Reviews Buy from £141.20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8th: Dunlop Winter Sport 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balanced winter tires with excellent grip in the snow, high aquaplaning resistance, good comfort. Extended wet braking, high price. Read Reviews Buy from £124.90 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9th: Apollo Aspire XP Winter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good traction and short braking distances, good aquaplaning resistance, dynamic dry handling. Extended wet braking. Read Reviews Buy from £155.70 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9th: Semperit Speed Grip 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Short braking distances and dynamic behavior in the wet, high mileage, good value. Low aquaplaning resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £110.20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11th: Fulda Kristall Control HP2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good snow grip, good aquaplaning resistance, good levels of comfort, low wear. Understeer in the wet and dry, extended wet braking. Read Reviews Buy from £103.60 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12th: Vredestein Wintrac Pro | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balanced in all weather conditions, short snow braking distances, dynamic wet handling. Average value, increased rolling resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £119.50 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13th: Giti GitiWinterW1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Short braking distances and good traction on snow, dynamic wet handling, low wear, low price. Average aquaplaning resistance, long wet braking. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14th: Uniroyal MS+ 77 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good in the snow, high aquaplaning resistance, good levels of comfort. Average wet grip, high wear. Read Reviews Buy from £112.10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15th: Barum Polaris 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good in the snow and on dry roads, good aquaplaning reserves. Long wet braking, average wear, high rolling resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £99.60 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16th: Nokian WR A4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good snow qualities, good value. Low levels of grip in the wet. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16th: Laufenn I Fit+ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balance performance in the dry, low noise, low rolling resistance. Understeer in the snow, average aquaplaning resistance. Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18th: General Altimax Winter 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Well priced with good snow performance, low noise. Understeer in the wet and dry, average aquaplaning resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £139.00 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19th: Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good in the snow and dry, low fuel use. Average wet grip, high price, high wear. Read Reviews Buy from £128.00 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20th: Cooper Weather Master SA2+ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good aquaplaning resistance, low noise, low price. Average grip in the snow, understeer in the dry, high wear. Read Reviews Buy from £119.80 |