2022 Sports Car UHP Winter Tire Test

The 2022 Auto Bild Sports Car UHP Winter Tire Test has tested nine popular performance winter tires in the large 245/40 R19 size using a Cupra Formenta.

Dry

As usual, the reference summer tire was the best in the dry, however it seems that in these larger tire sizes the summer tire has a bigger than usual lead, stopping the car nearly 5 meters shorter than the best winter tire, which was budget Minerva IcePlus S210. There was a 2.1 meter spread between the best and the worst winter tire.

The summer tire kept the advantage during the dry handling test, with the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 being the best of the winter tires.

Wet

The summer tires advantage remained during the wet braking test, leading the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 by 3.1 meters.

Wet handing was led by the Vredestein Wintrac Pro, which is a tire which usually does well during the wet handling tests.

Aquaplaning was again led by the summer tire.

Snow

Naturally the summer tire had no ability in any of the snow tests. The Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 led the way in snow braking, closely followed by the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005.

The snow traction testing was also led by Michelin.

Rounding out the "best in snow" performance, the Pilot Alpin 5 was also the fastest around snow handling.

Environment

The Cooper Discoverer Winter had the lowest external noise on test.

The Continental WinterContact TS870P had the lowest rolling resistance.

As we've come to expect, the Michelin and Continental were the most expensive tires on test.

Results

View Results as a single table and adjust the score weighting

1st: Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
245/40 R19	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 7th +1.6 M 96.36% Dry Handling 2nd -0.3 Km/H 99.72% Wet Braking 1st 100% Wet Handling 2nd -0.2 Km/H 99.77% Wet Circle 2nd +0.15 s 99.04% Straight Aqua 6th -4.6 Km/H 94.58% Curved Aquaplaning 4th -0.24 m/sec2 92.86% Snow Braking 2nd +0.2 M 99.19% Snow Traction 3rd -65 N 97.77% Snow Handling 4th -1.4 Km/H 97.14% Snow Slalom 4th -0.27 m/sec2 93.62% Noise 7th +2 dB 97.3% Price 9th -125 88.37% Rolling Resistance 2nd +0.3 kg / t 96.06% Exemplary premium tires with very good snow qualities, high steering precision, dynamic wet and dry handling, short snow and wet braking distances, good levels of comfort, fuel-saving rolling resistance. Expensive. Exemplary / Test Winner. Read Reviews
1st: Hankook Winter i cept evo3
245/40 R19	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 5th +1.3 M 97.03% Dry Handling 2nd -0.3 Km/H 99.72% Wet Braking 3rd +0.8 M 98.23% Wet Handling 3rd -0.4 Km/H 99.54% Wet Circle 3rd +0.17 s 98.91% Straight Aqua 3rd -3.1 Km/H 96.35% Curved Aquaplaning 1st 100% Snow Braking 3rd +0.3 M 98.79% Snow Traction 7th -115 N 96.05% Snow Handling 3rd -1.2 Km/H 97.55% Snow Slalom 3rd -0.26 m/sec2 93.85% Noise 8th +2.2 dB 97.04% Price 6th -255 76.28% Rolling Resistance 3rd +0.88 kg / t 89.26% Convincing all-round talent with balanced performance potential, precise steering behavior, short snow and wet braking distances, dynamic handling properties in all weather conditions, fair price. Average comfort. Exemplary / Test Winner. Read Reviews
3rd: Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
245/40 R19	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 5th +1.3 M 97.03% Dry Handling 7th -1.7 Km/H 98.41% Wet Braking 5th +2 M 95.69% Wet Handling 5th -1.2 Km/H 98.62% Wet Circle 4th +0.27 s 98.28% Straight Aqua 7th -5.2 Km/H 93.88% Curved Aquaplaning 2nd -0.02 m/sec2 99.4% Snow Braking 4th +0.5 M 97.99% Snow Traction 2nd -58 N 98.01% Snow Handling 2nd -0.9 Km/H 98.16% Snow Slalom 2nd -0.14 m/sec2 96.69% Noise 6th +1.5 dB 97.96% Price 1st 100% Rolling Resistance 1st 100% Premium tires with stable driving quality in all weather conditions, very good winter properties with short braking distances and sporty, dynamic handling, quiet road noise, fuel-saving rolling resistance. Expensive. Exemplary. Read Reviews    Buy from £249.89
4th: Michelin Pilot Alpin 5
245/40 R19	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 2nd +0.2 M 99.53% Dry Handling 1st 100% Wet Braking 6th +3.9 M 91.93% Wet Handling 4th -1.1 Km/H 98.73% Wet Circle 6th +0.55 s 96.56% Straight Aqua 4th -4.2 Km/H 95.05% Curved Aquaplaning 5th -0.34 m/sec2 89.88% Snow Braking 1st 100% Snow Traction 1st 100% Snow Handling 1st 100% Snow Slalom 1st 100% Noise 2nd +0.2 dB 99.72% Price 2nd +15 98.62% Rolling Resistance 4th +0.92 kg / t 88.82% The snow king with the best driving performance on ice and snow, precise steering behavior and dynamic driving characteristics on dry slopes, low noise. Expensive, slightly longer wet braking distance. Good. Read Reviews    Buy from £213.89
5th: Falken Eurowinter HS01
245/40 R19	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 3rd +0.5 M 98.83% Dry Handling 6th -1.3 Km/H 98.79% Wet Braking 2nd +0.4 M 99.11% Wet Handling 6th -1.9 Km/H 97.81% Wet Circle 8th +0.65 s 95.96% Straight Aqua 1st 100% Curved Aquaplaning 8th -0.5 m/sec2 85.12% Snow Braking 6th +1.1 M 95.69% Snow Traction 8th -205 N 92.97% Snow Handling 5th -1.9 Km/H 96.11% Snow Slalom 7th -0.34 m/sec2 91.96% Noise 4th +0.6 dB 99.17% Price 5th -260 75.81% Rolling Resistance 9th +2.02 kg / t 78.35% Convincingly good winter qualities, short braking distances in any weather, safe aquaplaning properties, stable dry handling, low noise, low price. Slight understeer on wet roads, very high rolling resistance. Good. Read Reviews    Buy from £164.89
6th: Vredestein Wintrac Pro
245/40 R19	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 4th +1.1 M 97.47% Dry Handling 5th -1 Km/H 99.07% Wet Braking 4th +1.5 M 96.73% Wet Handling 1st 100% Wet Circle 1st 100% Straight Aqua 8th -5.4 Km/H 93.64% Curved Aquaplaning 7th -0.47 m/sec2 86.01% Snow Braking 7th +1.2 M 95.31% Snow Traction 5th -77 N 97.36% Snow Handling 7th -2.3 Km/H 95.3% Snow Slalom 8th -0.46 m/sec2 89.13% Noise 9th +2.5 dB 96.64% Price 7th -210 80.47% Rolling Resistance 8th +1.9 kg / t 79.37% High traction and short braking distances on ice and snow, sporty, dynamic handling and precise steering behavior on wet roads, safe dry handling, fair price. Understeering handling on snow, high rolling resistance. Fair. Read Reviews    Buy from £271.99
7th: Cooper Discoverer Winter
245/40 R19	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 8th +2 M 95.5% Dry Handling 8th -1.8 Km/H 98.32% Wet Braking 8th +4.5 M 90.8% Wet Handling 7th -2.1 Km/H 97.58% Wet Circle 5th +0.36 s 97.72% Straight Aqua 5th -4.4 Km/H 94.82% Curved Aquaplaning 3rd -0.21 m/sec2 93.75% Snow Braking 5th +0.7 M 97.21% Snow Traction 4th -70 N 97.6% Snow Handling 6th -2.1 Km/H 95.71% Snow Slalom 5th -0.29 m/sec2 93.14% Noise 1st 100% Price 8th -145 86.51% Rolling Resistance 6th +1.59 kg / t 82.13% Winter tire with good driving characteristics on firm snow cover, low pass-by noise, good comfort. Longer wet and dry braking distances, moderate grip and understeering handling on dry roads, increased rolling resistance. Fair. Read Reviews    Buy from £196.79
8th: Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
245/40 R19	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 9th +2.1 M 95.28% Dry Handling 9th -2 Km/H 98.13% Wet Braking 7th +4.1 M 91.55% Wet Handling 8th -2.3 Km/H 97.35% Wet Circle 7th +0.57 s 96.44% Straight Aqua 2nd -0.1 Km/H 99.88% Curved Aquaplaning 6th -0.42 m/sec2 87.5% Snow Braking 7th +1.2 M 95.31% Snow Traction 6th -104 N 96.43% Snow Handling 8th -2.4 Km/H 95.09% Snow Slalom 6th -0.32 m/sec2 92.43% Noise 5th +0.7 dB 99.04% Price 4th -455 57.67% Rolling Resistance 7th +1.82 kg / t 80.07% Short snow braking distances, good aquaplaning properties, low price. Only satisfactory handling qualities on snowy and dry roads, slightly longer wet and dry braking distances, high rolling resistance. Fair. Read Reviews    Buy from £143.49
9th: Minerva IcePlus S210
245/40 R19	Test # Difference % Dry Braking 1st 100% Dry Handling 4th -0.8 Km/H 99.25% Wet Braking 9th +12.7 M 77.76% Wet Handling 9th -7.8 Km/H 91.02% Wet Circle 9th +1.39 s 91.75% Straight Aqua 9th -9.5 Km/H 88.81% Curved Aquaplaning 9th -0.85 m/sec2 74.7% Snow Braking 9th +8 M 75.31% Snow Traction 9th -797 N 72.66% Snow Handling 9th -6.7 Km/H 86.3% Snow Slalom 9th -1.02 m/sec2 75.89% Noise 3rd +0.3 dB 99.59% Price 3rd -675 37.21% Rolling Resistance 5th +1.49 kg / t 83.07% Cheap tire with stable handling on dry roads and low noise. Significantly limited driving characteristics on snow and wet slopes, dangerously extended snow and wet braking distances, poor steering response, low aquaplaning reserves. Not Recommended. Read Reviews