While the four wheel drive systems and extra weight of large SUVs can give you a traction advantage in snow and ice over "normal" cars, you have roughly the same braking and turning ability as any other car on the road, which makes winter tires a sensible option for anyone with an SUV requiring safe, year round motoring.
This year, Auto Bild have tested eight winter tire patterns in 255/55 R18 using a BMW X5 in Northern Finland, across the usual array of dry, wet and snow tests, all while looking at the tires comfort, rolling resistance and noise levels.
Results
Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1
255/55 R18All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 9 |
| Snow | 6 |
| Comfort | 8 |
| Rolling Resistance | 8 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 43
Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV
255/55 R18All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 7 |
| Snow | 7 |
| Comfort | 8 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 41
Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV
255/55 R18All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 7 |
| Snow | 7 |
| Comfort | 7 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 40
Pirelli Scorpion Winter
255/55 R18All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 6 |
| Snow | 7 |
| Comfort | 7 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 7 |
Total: 40
Michelin Latitude Alpin 2
255/55 R18All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 5 |
| Wet | 6 |
| Snow | 7 |
| Comfort | 6 |
| Rolling Resistance | 4 |
| Noise | 8 |
Total: 36
Hankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV
255/55 R18All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 6 |
| Snow | 6 |
| Comfort | 5 |
| Rolling Resistance | 4 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 33
Nokian WR SUV 3
255/55 R18All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 5 |
| Wet | 6 |
| Snow | 4 |
| Comfort | 7 |
| Rolling Resistance | 8 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 36
Gripmax Stature MS
255/55 R18All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 5 |
| Wet | 1 |
| Snow | 5 |
| Comfort | 4 |
| Rolling Resistance | 6 |
| Noise | 5 |
Total: 26


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