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 BrakingMinerva IcePlus S210: 42.4 MMaxxis Premitra Snow WP6: 44.5 M
Dry HandlingMichelin Pilot Alpin 5: 107.1 Km/HMaxxis Premitra Snow WP6: 105.1 Km/H
Wet BrakingBridgestone Blizzak LM005: 44.4 MMinerva IcePlus S210: 57.1 M
Wet HandlingVredestein Wintrac Pro: 86.9 Km/HMinerva IcePlus S210: 79.1 Km/H
Wet CircleVredestein Wintrac Pro: 15.45 sMinerva IcePlus S210: 16.84 s
Straight AquaFalken Eurowinter HS01: 84.9 Km/HMinerva IcePlus S210: 75.4 Km/H
Curved AquaplaningHankook Winter i cept evo3: 3.36 m/sec2Minerva IcePlus S210: 2.51 m/sec2
Snow BrakingMichelin Pilot Alpin 5: 24.4 MMinerva IcePlus S210: 32.4 M
Snow TractionMichelin Pilot Alpin 5: 2915 NMinerva IcePlus S210: 2118 N
Snow HandlingMichelin Pilot Alpin 5: 48.9 Km/HMinerva IcePlus S210: 42.2 Km/H
Snow SlalomMichelin Pilot Alpin 5: 4.23 m/sec2Minerva IcePlus S210: 3.21 m/sec2
NoiseCooper Discoverer Winter: 72.0 dBVredestein Wintrac Pro: 74.5 dB
PriceMinerva IcePlus S210: 400 Michelin Pilot Alpin 5: 1090
Rolling ResistanceContinental WinterContact TS 870 P: 7.31 kg / tFalken Eurowinter HS01: 9.33 kg / t

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

Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
  • 245/40 R19
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking7th+1.6 M96.36%
Dry Handling2nd-0.3 Km/H99.72%
Wet Braking1st100%
Wet Handling2nd-0.2 Km/H99.77%
Wet Circle2nd+0.15 s99.04%
Straight Aqua6th-4.6 Km/H94.58%
Curved Aquaplaning4th-0.24 m/sec292.86%
Snow Braking2nd+0.2 M99.19%
Snow Traction3rd-65 N97.77%
Snow Handling4th-1.4 Km/H97.14%
Snow Slalom4th-0.27 m/sec293.62%
Noise7th+2 dB97.3%
Price9th-125 88.37%
Rolling Resistance2nd+0.3 kg / t96.06%
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

Hankook Winter i cept evo3
  • 245/40 R19
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking5th+1.3 M97.03%
Dry Handling2nd-0.3 Km/H99.72%
Wet Braking3rd+0.8 M98.23%
Wet Handling3rd-0.4 Km/H99.54%
Wet Circle3rd+0.17 s98.91%
Straight Aqua3rd-3.1 Km/H96.35%
Curved Aquaplaning1st100%
Snow Braking3rd+0.3 M98.79%
Snow Traction7th-115 N96.05%
Snow Handling3rd-1.2 Km/H97.55%
Snow Slalom3rd-0.26 m/sec293.85%
Noise8th+2.2 dB97.04%
Price6th-255 76.28%
Rolling Resistance3rd+0.88 kg / t89.26%
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

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
  • 245/40 R19
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking5th+1.3 M97.03%
Dry Handling7th-1.7 Km/H98.41%
Wet Braking5th+2 M95.69%
Wet Handling5th-1.2 Km/H98.62%
Wet Circle4th+0.27 s98.28%
Straight Aqua7th-5.2 Km/H93.88%
Curved Aquaplaning2nd-0.02 m/sec299.4%
Snow Braking4th+0.5 M97.99%
Snow Traction2nd-58 N98.01%
Snow Handling2nd-0.9 Km/H98.16%
Snow Slalom2nd-0.14 m/sec296.69%
Noise6th+1.5 dB97.96%
Price1st100%
Rolling Resistance1st100%
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

Michelin Pilot Alpin 5
  • 245/40 R19
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking2nd+0.2 M99.53%
Dry Handling1st100%
Wet Braking6th+3.9 M91.93%
Wet Handling4th-1.1 Km/H98.73%
Wet Circle6th+0.55 s96.56%
Straight Aqua4th-4.2 Km/H95.05%
Curved Aquaplaning5th-0.34 m/sec289.88%
Snow Braking1st100%
Snow Traction1st100%
Snow Handling1st100%
Snow Slalom1st100%
Noise2nd+0.2 dB99.72%
Price2nd+15 98.62%
Rolling Resistance4th+0.92 kg / t88.82%
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

Falken Eurowinter HS01
  • 245/40 R19
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking3rd+0.5 M98.83%
Dry Handling6th-1.3 Km/H98.79%
Wet Braking2nd+0.4 M99.11%
Wet Handling6th-1.9 Km/H97.81%
Wet Circle8th+0.65 s95.96%
Straight Aqua1st100%
Curved Aquaplaning8th-0.5 m/sec285.12%
Snow Braking6th+1.1 M95.69%
Snow Traction8th-205 N92.97%
Snow Handling5th-1.9 Km/H96.11%
Snow Slalom7th-0.34 m/sec291.96%
Noise4th+0.6 dB99.17%
Price5th-260 75.81%
Rolling Resistance9th+2.02 kg / t78.35%
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

Vredestein Wintrac Pro
  • 245/40 R19
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking4th+1.1 M97.47%
Dry Handling5th-1 Km/H99.07%
Wet Braking4th+1.5 M96.73%
Wet Handling1st100%
Wet Circle1st100%
Straight Aqua8th-5.4 Km/H93.64%
Curved Aquaplaning7th-0.47 m/sec286.01%
Snow Braking7th+1.2 M95.31%
Snow Traction5th-77 N97.36%
Snow Handling7th-2.3 Km/H95.3%
Snow Slalom8th-0.46 m/sec289.13%
Noise9th+2.5 dB96.64%
Price7th-210 80.47%
Rolling Resistance8th+1.9 kg / t79.37%
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

Cooper Discoverer Winter
  • 245/40 R19
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking8th+2 M95.5%
Dry Handling8th-1.8 Km/H98.32%
Wet Braking8th+4.5 M90.8%
Wet Handling7th-2.1 Km/H97.58%
Wet Circle5th+0.36 s97.72%
Straight Aqua5th-4.4 Km/H94.82%
Curved Aquaplaning3rd-0.21 m/sec293.75%
Snow Braking5th+0.7 M97.21%
Snow Traction4th-70 N97.6%
Snow Handling6th-2.1 Km/H95.71%
Snow Slalom5th-0.29 m/sec293.14%
Noise1st100%
Price8th-145 86.51%
Rolling Resistance6th+1.59 kg / t82.13%
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

Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
  • 245/40 R19
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking9th+2.1 M95.28%
Dry Handling9th-2 Km/H98.13%
Wet Braking7th+4.1 M91.55%
Wet Handling8th-2.3 Km/H97.35%
Wet Circle7th+0.57 s96.44%
Straight Aqua2nd-0.1 Km/H99.88%
Curved Aquaplaning6th-0.42 m/sec287.5%
Snow Braking7th+1.2 M95.31%
Snow Traction6th-104 N96.43%
Snow Handling8th-2.4 Km/H95.09%
Snow Slalom6th-0.32 m/sec292.43%
Noise5th+0.7 dB99.04%
Price4th-455 57.67%
Rolling Resistance7th+1.82 kg / t80.07%
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

Minerva IcePlus S210
  • 245/40 R19
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking1st100%
Dry Handling4th-0.8 Km/H99.25%
Wet Braking9th+12.7 M77.76%
Wet Handling9th-7.8 Km/H91.02%
Wet Circle9th+1.39 s91.75%
Straight Aqua9th-9.5 Km/H88.81%
Curved Aquaplaning9th-0.85 m/sec274.7%
Snow Braking9th+8 M75.31%
Snow Traction9th-797 N72.66%
Snow Handling9th-6.7 Km/H86.3%
Snow Slalom9th-1.02 m/sec275.89%
Noise3rd+0.3 dB99.59%
Price3rd-675 37.21%
Rolling Resistance5th+1.49 kg / t83.07%
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

Similar Tire Tests




Discussion:

comments powered by Disqus