The 2018 Auto Bild SUV / 4x4 winter tire test has used an Audi Q5 to test ten 235/60 R18 winter tires, with the Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen-1 SUV proving to be the best tire on test thanks to a balanced all-round performance.

Surprisingly Pirelli edged out Continental to second place, with a brilliant result for the Pirelli Scorpion Winter. This tire has been on the market a number of years now, and historically hasn't tested as well as Goodyear or Continental, so there must have been and update for the 2018 winter season. The Continental Winter Contact TS850P SUV rounded out the top three, with its only real weakness appearing during the dry braking tests.

The other notable result was the new Achilles W101X. Budget tires like this Achilles historically perform excellently in snow testing, but end up with dangerously long wet and dry braking distances, but in this test the Achilles held its own, finishing second during dry braking and beating the established names of Toyo and Firestone during wet braking. Impressive when you consider a set is nearly half the price of the most expensive tire on test...

Dry

The Pirelli winter tire proved to be the master of dry testing, but still lagged significantly behind the reference summer tire again highlighting the dry penalty siped winter tires bring.

Dry Braking
Position / Tire	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	116 ft	-18 ft
1Pirelli Scorpion Winter	134 ft	Best
2Achilles Winter 101 X	137 ft	+3 ft
3Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1	140 ft	+6 ft
4Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV	140 ft	+6 ft
4Fulda Kristall Control SUV	140 ft	+6 ft
6Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV	141 ft	+7 ft
7Nokian WR SUV 4	142 ft	+8 ft
8Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV	142 ft	+8 ft
9Michelin Latitude Alpin 2	148 ft	+14 ft
10Firestone Destination Winter SUV	149 ft	+15 ft

The difference between best and worst was 28.2% (33 ft ≈ 2.2 Car Lengths).

Dry Handling
Position / Tire	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	61.4 mph	+1.5 mph
1Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1	59.9 mph	Best
2Pirelli Scorpion Winter	59.7 mph	-0.2 mph
3Fulda Kristall Control SUV	59.7 mph	-0.2 mph
4Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV	59.6 mph	-0.3 mph
5Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV	59.5 mph	-0.4 mph
6Nokian WR SUV 4	59.5 mph	-0.4 mph
7Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV	59.3 mph	-0.6 mph
8Achilles Winter 101 X	59.2 mph	-0.7 mph
9Michelin Latitude Alpin 2	58.8 mph	-1.1 mph
10Firestone Destination Winter SUV	58.6 mph	-1.3 mph

The difference between best and worst was 4.6% (2.8 mph).

Wet

The summer tires advantage continued in the wet, albeit the gap was smaller. The top three tires overall were all stars of the wet testing, showing how important wet performance is to winter tire testing.

Wet Braking
Position / Tire	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	151 ft	-5 ft
1Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV	156 ft	Best
2Pirelli Scorpion Winter	157 ft	+1 ft
2Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1	157 ft	+1 ft
2Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV	157 ft	+1 ft
5Fulda Kristall Control SUV	159 ft	+3 ft
6Michelin Latitude Alpin 2	160 ft	+4 ft
7Nokian WR SUV 4	164 ft	+8 ft
8Achilles Winter 101 X	164 ft	+8 ft
9Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV	165 ft	+9 ft
10Firestone Destination Winter SUV	171 ft	+15 ft

The difference between best and worst was 13.7% (20 ft ≈ 1.4 Car Lengths).

Wet Handling
Position / Tire	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	54.9 mph	+0.8 mph
1Pirelli Scorpion Winter	54.1 mph	Best
2Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV	53.7 mph	-0.4 mph
2Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1	53.7 mph	-0.4 mph
4Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV	53.6 mph	-0.5 mph
5Fulda Kristall Control SUV	53.4 mph	-0.7 mph
6Michelin Latitude Alpin 2	52.9 mph	-1.2 mph
7Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV	52.4 mph	-1.7 mph
8Nokian WR SUV 4	52.4 mph	-1.7 mph
9Achilles Winter 101 X	52.1 mph	-2.0 mph
10Firestone Destination Winter SUV	51.8 mph	-2.3 mph

The difference between best and worst was 5.7% (3.1 mph).

Straight Aqua
Position / Tire	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	49.9 mph	+1.1 mph
1Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV	48.8 mph	Best
2Fulda Kristall Control SUV	48.7 mph	-0.1 mph
3Michelin Latitude Alpin 2	46.8 mph	-2.0 mph
4Nokian WR SUV 4	46.7 mph	-2.1 mph
5Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV	46.4 mph	-2.4 mph
6Firestone Destination Winter SUV	46.2 mph	-2.6 mph
7Pirelli Scorpion Winter	46.0 mph	-2.8 mph
7Achilles Winter 101 X	46.0 mph	-2.8 mph
9Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1	45.9 mph	-2.9 mph
10Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV	43.1 mph	-5.7 mph

The difference between best and worst was 13.7% (6.8 mph).

Snow

Unsurprisingly the summer tire was at a huge disadvantage in the snow testing. Continental proved to have the best snow braking, where Nokian was the fastest around the snow handling lap.

Snow Braking
Position / Tire	Result	Gap to best
1Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV	88 ft	Best
2Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1	91 ft	+3 ft
2Nokian WR SUV 4	91 ft	+3 ft
4Michelin Latitude Alpin 2	92 ft	+4 ft
5Fulda Kristall Control SUV	94 ft	+6 ft
6Firestone Destination Winter SUV	95 ft	+7 ft
6Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV	95 ft	+7 ft
8Achilles Winter 101 X	96 ft	+8 ft
9Pirelli Scorpion Winter	97 ft	+9 ft
10Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV	102 ft	+14 ft
RefReference Summer	268 ft	+180 ft

The difference between best and worst was 206% (180 ft ≈ 12.2 Car Lengths).

Snow Handling
Position / Tire	Result	Gap to best
1Nokian WR SUV 4	32.7 mph	Best
2Michelin Latitude Alpin 2	31.9 mph	-0.8 mph
3Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV	31.7 mph	-1.0 mph
4Pirelli Scorpion Winter	31.6 mph	-1.1 mph
5Firestone Destination Winter SUV	31.5 mph	-1.2 mph
5Achilles Winter 101 X	31.5 mph	-1.2 mph
7Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1	31.1 mph	-1.6 mph
7Fulda Kristall Control SUV	31.1 mph	-1.6 mph
9Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV	30.6 mph	-2.1 mph
10Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV	30.2 mph	-2.5 mph
RefReference Summer	17.9 mph	-14.8 mph

The difference between best and worst was 45.2% (14.8 mph).

Environment

The Pirelli bended an excellent dry and wet performance with the lowest rolling resistance on test, an impressive feat!

Rolling Resistance
Position / Tire	Result	Gap to best	Extra fuel / year
1Pirelli Scorpion Winter	7.66 kg/t	Best	$0
2Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV	7.69 kg/t	+0.03 kg/t	$1
RefReference Summer	7.79 kg/t	+0.13 kg/t	$5
3Nokian WR SUV 4	7.82 kg/t	+0.16 kg/t	$6
4Fulda Kristall Control SUV	8 kg/t	+0.34 kg/t	$13
5Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV	8.34 kg/t	+0.68 kg/t	$26
6Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1	8.38 kg/t	+0.72 kg/t	$28
7Firestone Destination Winter SUV	8.42 kg/t	+0.76 kg/t	$29
8Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV	8.47 kg/t	+0.81 kg/t	$31
9Michelin Latitude Alpin 2	8.85 kg/t	+1.19 kg/t	$46
10Achilles Winter 101 X	8.86 kg/t	+1.20 kg/t	$46

The difference between best and worst was 15.7% (1.2 kg / t). Over 12,000 miles a year at $3.60/gal, the Achilles Winter 101 X uses about 13 gal ($46) more fuel than the Pirelli Scorpion Winter.

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Calculated estimates, not additional measurements. Use the controls to explore the assumptions.

Gas/Diesel Electric

Annual Mileage

12,000 mi

km (L)

miles (US gal)

Fuel Price

$3.60/gal

GBP (£)

EUR (€)

USD ($)

Set my vehicle consumption

Estimates based on typical driving conditions. Rolling resistance accounts for approximately 20% of IC vehicle fuel consumption and 25% of EV energy consumption. Actual savings vary based on driving style, vehicle weight, road conditions, and tire age. For comparative purposes only. Lifetime savings based on a 40,000km / 25,000 mile tread life.

Unusually the summer tire was the quietest on test.

Noise
Position / Tire	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	69.8 dB	-0.70 dB
1Michelin Latitude Alpin 2	70.5 dB	Best
2Achilles Winter 101 X	70.8 dB	+0.30 dB
3Firestone Destination Winter SUV	70.9 dB	+0.40 dB
4Pirelli Scorpion Winter	71.4 dB	+0.90 dB
4Nokian WR SUV 4	71.4 dB	+0.90 dB
6Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV	72.4 dB	+1.90 dB
7Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1	72.7 dB	+2.20 dB
8Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV	72.8 dB	+2.30 dB
8Fulda Kristall Control SUV	72.8 dB	+2.30 dB
10Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV	73.6 dB	+3.10 dB

The difference between best and worst was 5.4% (3.8 dB).

The budget Achilles was by far the cheapest set of tires on test, with the Michelin the most expensive. Sadly Auto Bild didn't include any wear testing, so we can't judge which tire is best value overall.

Results

Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	11
Wet	13
Snow	12
Comfort	12
Rolling Resistance	10
Noise	10

Total: 68

Price: 595.00

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	12
Wet	13
Snow	11
Comfort	10
Rolling Resistance	14
Noise	11

Total: 71

Price: 635.00

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	10
Wet	12
Snow	13
Comfort	10
Rolling Resistance	14
Noise	10

Total: 69

Price: 630.00

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	11
Wet	12
Snow	12
Comfort	9
Rolling Resistance	12
Noise	10

Total: 66

Price: 485.00

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	11
Wet	13
Snow	11
Comfort	11
Rolling Resistance	10
Noise	10

Total: 66

Price: 665.00

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	10
Wet	10
Snow	14
Comfort	9
Rolling Resistance	13
Noise	11

Total: 67

Price: 635.00

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	8
Wet	11
Snow	14
Comfort	12
Rolling Resistance	8
Noise	12

Total: 65

Price: 675.00

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	8
Wet	9
Snow	13
Comfort	8
Rolling Resistance	10
Noise	12

Total: 60

Price: 485.00

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	11
Wet	10
Snow	11
Comfort	9
Rolling Resistance	8
Noise	12

Total: 61

Price: 350.00

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	10
Wet	10
Snow	9
Comfort	11
Rolling Resistance	10
Noise	9

Total: 59

Price: 480.00

Tire	Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1	Pirelli Scorpion Winter	Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV	Fulda Kristall Control SUV	Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV	Nokian WR SUV 4	Michelin Latitude Alpin 2	Achilles Winter 101 X	Firestone Destination Winter SUV	Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV
Position	1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	5^th	6^th	7^th	Joint 8^th	Joint 8^th	10^th
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The evidence behind the verdict

Dry

Wet

Snow

Environment

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