2018 Autobild UHP Winter Tire Test

The biggest shock in the test is the winner - it's the brand new Vredestein WinTrac Pro. This new tire from Vredestein proved to have Continental like qualities, displacing the Continental WinterContact TS850 P from it's usual top spot and performing well in the dry, wet and snow tests. The Continental WinterContact TS850 Pl, which has now been replaced by the Continental WinterContact TS860 S, proved that it's still a quality option and finished a very close second place.

The best of the rest was the Kleber Krisalp HP3. This Michelin owned brand have a good winter tire reputation, and might explain why Michelin themselves weren't included in this test.

As always, details below, and be sure to check out the excellent Auto Bild website.

Dry

In the dry, all the winter tires lagged behind the reference summer tire. The Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 proved it was best of the test and won dry braking, with the new Vredestein Wintrac Pro a close second.

The Pirelli and Vredestein once again performed well during the dry handling tests, but this time the Nexen WinGuard Sport just beat them to the top spot.

Wet

The key wet braking test had a new winner, with the Continental WinterContact TS850 S the only tire to get close to the summer tire. Vredestein again proved to be strong, taking second place, and Goodyear placed third with the UltraGrip Performance Gen-1. The Pirelli which proved to be so strong in the dry could only manage eighth place overall. The budget Sunny Snowmaster SN3830 had dangerously long wet braking.

Wet handling was the first test the summer tire did not win, with the Vredestein, Continental, and Goodyear proving once again they have excellent wet performance.

Snow

The Dunlop Winter Sport 5 proved to be the best tire overall in the snow testing, winning the snow braking and placing third in snow handling. The Vredestein and Continental again displayed their excellent all-round qualities by continuing their run of excellent results.

Environment

While the Pirelli struggled in the wet, it aced the rolling resistance test, using the least fuel of the group.

The Nexen proved to be the quietest tire on test.

And the budget Sunny was significantly cheaper than the other tires, but still not recommended overall due to dangerous wet braking results.

Results

1^st

Vredestein Wintrac Pro

245/45 R18

• 3PMSF: no

Excellent driving characteristics on wet and snow covered roads. Dynamic balanced handling, precise steering, short braking distances and pleasant quiet ride. Test winner.

High price.

Total: 72

Dry 11

Wet 12

Snow 13

Comfort 12

Rolling Resistance 11

Noise 13

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2^nd

Continental WinterContact TS 850 P

245/45 R18

• 3PMSF: no

Balanced winter tire with excellent grip in the snow, and good handling in the wet and dry. Particularly dynamic steering and short braking distances in the wet.

High price.

Total: 71

Dry 11

Wet 12

Snow 12

Comfort 12

Rolling Resistance 11

Noise 13

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3^rd

Kleber Krisalp HP3

245/45 R18

• 3PMSF: no

Best performance on snow and ice, precise steering, good aquaplaning result, good comfort, low price.

Slightly weak wet handling.

Total: 68

Dry 10

Wet 11

Snow 14

Comfort 10

Rolling Resistance 10

Noise 13

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4^th

Dunlop Winter Sport 5

245/45 R18

• 3PMSF: no

Excellent in snow and ice, with a balanced performance in the wet and dry too. Good steering speed and feedback, very low fuel use.

Slightly long dry braking, average aquaplaning.

Total: 68

Dry 10

Wet 11

Snow 13

Comfort 10

Rolling Resistance 13

Noise 11

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5^th

Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1

245/45 R18

• 3PMSF: no

Premium tires with excellent performance in the snow and wet.

Average dry grip and dry braking.

Total: 69

Dry 10

Wet 12

Snow 12

Comfort 11

Rolling Resistance 12

Noise 12

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6^th

Bridgestone Blizzak LM001

245/45 R18

• 3PMSF: no

Good in the snow and wet, low noise.

Long dry braking, high rolling resistance.

Total: 65

Dry 10

Wet 11

Snow 12

Comfort 10

Rolling Resistance 9

Noise 13

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7^th

Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3

245/45 R18

• 3PMSF: no

Good snow traction and braking, good aquaplaning, good dry handling.

Average snow cornering, long wet braking.

Total: 70

Dry 11

Wet 10

Snow 11

Comfort 12

Rolling Resistance 13

Noise 13

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8^th

Falken Eurowinter HS01

245/45 R18

• 3PMSF: no

Good snow and wet braking, good comfort, well priced.

Slightly noisy, high rolling resistance.

Total: 62

Dry 11

Wet 11

Snow 11

Comfort 12

Rolling Resistance 8

Noise 9

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9^th

Nexen WinGuard Sport 2

245/45 R18

• 3PMSF: no

Balanced handling in the snow with short snow braking, low noise.

Average aquaplaning, long wet braking, high rolling resistance.

Total: 64

Dry 11

Wet 9

Snow 11

Comfort 11

Rolling Resistance 8

Noise 14

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10^th

Sunny SN3830

245/45 R18

• 3PMSF: no

Good comfort, fuel efficient, low price.

Extremely poor wet grip and long wet braking distances.

Total: 56

Dry 10

Wet 3

Snow 8

Comfort 12

Rolling Resistance 13

Noise 10

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11^th

Reference Summer

245/45 R18

• 3PMSF: no

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