13 min read
Updated
Error: Article not found
Similar Tire Tests
Show All winter tire tests2025 High Performance Winter Tire Test
January 2026
275/35 R19
Michelin Pilot Alpin 5
7 tires
2025 TUV Test of Pirelli Cinturato Winter 3 vs Rivals
October 2025
Pirelli Cinturato Winter 3
5 tires
2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tire Test
October 2025
235/45 R18
Continental VikingContact 8
20 tires
2025 AZ Performance Winter Tire Test
October 2025
245/45 R19
Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3
10 tires
2025 Autobild Winter Tire Test
October 2025
225/40 R18
Michelin Pilot Alpin 5
22 tires
2025 Winter Tire Braking Test - 52 Sets!
October 2025
225/40 R18
Dunlop Winter Response 2
52 tires
Why do the same tires (e.g. Conti WinterContact TS 870 P) have different rolling resistance values in this test and the UHP-Winter-Tire-Test?? Also some other categories highly differ between the two tests.
Different sizes?
to me this suggests that good AllSeason-Tires are plain BETTER THAN WINTER-Tires if you rarely drive in snow. Am I correct?
The advantage in Dry and Wet performance of the AllSeason againt a winter tire seems much more significant than the downside on snow and ice. Isn't it a no-brainer to choose the allseason if there is only snow 3-4 days a year?
I wonder: Are the results for wet and dry still so much in favour for the AllSeason when tested in much cooler temperatures (around and sub zero?).
The data from your Winter-Tire-Tests suggest the same situation.
Idea for a future test: Pick a good AllSeason and Winter tire and define at which temperature the Winter-Tire pulls ahead.
Correct, I think an all season tire as a winter tire is a good option for mild winter climates.
Where is Nokian Tires???, the legendary tire brand.... Looks like this test setup was made only to favor certain brands...
I spoke with nokian and they didn't have a tire they wanted testing in this category.
At what temperature was the wet brake test carried out? I'm trying to decide whether to buy all-weather tires and only use them in winter, because the winters in Germany (in my region) don't get that cold anymore. The last few years max. -5 degrees C. And the effective temperature of winter tires is only up to about 7 degrees C.
I am between the Allseasoncontact 2 and the Blizzak LM005. The Blizzak performs better in the wet, which would be important for me. But I don't know whether, for example, the (wet) braking distance of these tires worsens when it gets warmer. Because the braking distance of the all- season tires would then remain pretty much the same. In addition, the winter tires would wear out more in the warmer temperatures.
I'd have to dig out my notes but I believe around 15c
I see you tested here the Mich Alpin 5 ;is this tire better than the Alpin 6 ??
I drive with a BMW G30 252 hp now with Hankook S1evo3 ,can i better choose for HK ?Would i feel a big difference with Michelin ? We don't have many snow over here...
In fact i want to try anything else but HK is very good in price here in Belgium ;about 67,- euro per tire cheaper
Thanks
Different category, the Pilot version is more performance orientated for larger wheel sizes.
Hello, in the tests you indicate how many kilometers the tire can last before it wears down and has to be replaced. But we don't know how high the sample is. It is different in every country. You can state it, in Germany it is 1.6 mm, elsewhere, for example, 4 mm. So everyone has a different approach to a given set of tires.
There was no wear in this test?
Hi, great review again this year thanks. I've moved on to a Tesla 3 and I'm looking forward to the Alps runs over the ski season. Given the Cross Climate 2 is so good in the snow, it really comes down to choosing the all season or dedicated winter tire. So the question, please, for NONE SNOW conditions, wet, damp and freezing UK road conditions during the winter only, does the Alpin 5 or LM005 outperform the CC2 outside of the snow?
Thanks
I think the LM005 would be better in the wet, the CC2 will be better in the dry
Hi Mike, I live in London and four years ago went for the LM005 as winter tire set for my Model 3. They are truly remarkable tires and deserving all the praise that they received for wet conditions, and I think a great choice for UK winter climate (more wet than icy/snowy).
Given the relatively mild winter climate at these latitudes, I often wondered whether the CC2 might have been a wiser choice, replacing the hassle of swapping tires twice every year. What is putting me off is higher rolling resistance (LM005 are really efficient for a winter tire!) and arguably less sporty performances both in winter and summer. I have no direct experience with CC2s, it would be nice to hear from someone who made this choice on this same car.
As an aside, given the healthy pace of EV adoption, it would be cool to hear from @TireReviews:disqus whether EV driving dynamics are such that they warrant separate tire tests, or if the findings in these articles can generalize past ICE vehicles. Thank you!
I think the information about size of rim protection for Pilot Alpin 5 in this test is incorrect. Size is stated to be Large - but it is certainly smaller than rim protection on TS870P.
I bought Pilot Alpin 5 based on this test and the fact that rim protection was stated to be large!
However when my tires arrived the rim protection was very small and when I checked your video it’s obvious that protection is small! What a pity.
LM005 has the largest, then TS870P has medium Pilot Alpin 5 is the smallest from these three.
I've just double checked the static photos and while there isn't a great angle, the 3/4 shot shows quite a sizable rim protection.
Rim protection varies based on tire size, and of course rim width fitted. Looking at my more recent test of the same tires in 255/40 R19 the Michelin also has a larger rim protector than the Conti.
Sorry you didn't get as much protection as you thought you'd get.
Hello, thanks for the excellent tests. I would like to ask you if it would be possible to put winter and year-round tests together in the table. It will be wonderful to see how they are doing in exact numbers. All-season tires in many cases here in Europe (little or no snow) are worth using as winter tires and for summer to have really summer ones. And this combination, year-round in winter and summer in summer, works out better than the winter + summer combination.
The year-round ones are also better suited in the summer and you don't have to throw away the 4 mm sample. Keep in mind that in each country, there are different sample rules.
So, the indicated runs need to be specified to which number on the tire sample it is. E.g. Germany summer and winter 1.6 mm. All the best.
this only works out when the tests was done on the same day, sadly that hasn't been the case up until now, but next year I will be doing this.
Greetings from Croatia.
I use summer tires Goodyear 215/55 R18 99V on my almost new Mokka 100KW.
I need some advice about winter tires.
1. May I mount a different tire size (except 215/55 R18) on the 7Jx18 ET 35 rims. I would like
smaller.
2. Recommend me, please,
brand of winter tires. I would like a comfortable, quiet tire. Very good in the rain, good in the dry and snow.
(Bridgestone Continental, Goodyear, Dunlop.).
3. If I stay at the size 215/55 R, could I put instead load/speed index 99V
level down 97(96)and H ?
Thank you very much
Juric
Great comparative review. But why not including any EV specific tires? Or a specific EV tires test. I have only EVs and not a single Hankook ION i*cept professional review on internet.
I'm not sure there's enough non-oe EV winter tires to test yet, but a lot of these tires are noted as EV-Ready which means the brands don't plan to make an EV specific model in this category.
Interesting to see the Hankook Prime 4 have a massive win in the aquaplaning test when it always struggles quite behind the best in summer tire tests, and doesn´t even have a great tread depth compared to the winter and all season tires in this test. I've always thought winter and all season tires had a lot more aquaplaning resistance. Another good reason to change tires when the winter season is over.
Asymmetric ribs are very good for aquaplaning :)
I'm not too surprised about the results. All tires and results are somehow expected. Very interesting data since you tested all-season and summer tires too to compare results. I'm surprised how much better the summer tire is in performance in dry conditions. What was the air temperature during the test?
If I recall around 10c. Summer will be better in the dry whatever the temp
Yeah, big Thanks for this review :)
No big surprises so far, the LM005 and Pilot Alpin 5 seems to be simply the best.
It´s annoying that the Pilot are not available in my size, so I decided last year to get the LM005.
At least it won my vote because of the large Rim Protection, my other choices, the Hankook icept RS3 and Pirelli Winter Cinturato 2 don´t offer this kind of protection.
So also a big Thanks for mention this :)
I´m not absoluty satisfied with my LM005, it´s a very good tire for wet grip, but the quality doesn´t confied me. After one winter the front tire(s) looks like the tread is cracked in the middle. And on some surfaces it start to have micro-vibrations.
Hope there will a alternative in my size in the next years, maybe an Alpin 7?
I saw the Auto Express Winter tire test is out since 20. Sept.
https://www.autoexpress.co....
But strange thing I don´t know in which issue the test is.
Did you compare TS860S vs VikingContact7 (ice braking)?? I can not find any tests for different types of tires..
I did vc7 against TS870 yes, find the VC7 page and the test is linked there.
Thank you very much!
Hi guys, I need help... I am trying to buy the best tires for my mother, its 205/60 R16 for hatchback... she drives around 3000 km a year, usually regional roads and city. We live in the are we there is no much snow during the year, but sometimes you cannot predict... I dont care about the price, just want to get her best tire for winter, summer ... somebody would say that all season might be best, but the braking performance in wet (for winter tires) and dry (for summer) are quite better in comparison to all season... i compare just the best 3 tires... economy of the tire does not play the role.... what would be your suggestion? https://uploads.disquscdn.c...
thanks!
It depends if you want 2 sets. If you do the PC7 and LM005 combo is hard to beat but also the all seasons are a great compromise assuming she's not racing around and you don't have to worry about changing them.
thanks, she is very comfort driver. Only thing where I fear is the braking distance, for summer ones will be better, in winter to winter ones will be better. Do I understand correctly, that the braking distances are not important when driving in comfort?
I'm not sure I understand. Braking distances are always important to me as that's when you need a tire the most (emergency braking!)
You mention that some tires may have got an update, in this case the Vredestein. Is there a way to see if an tire did have an update within the same model? Something like "Mark I", "Mark II", printed on the sidewall etc?
I was surprised that the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 was the winner in the test again. I have had these tires on my Opel Ampera-e (215/50/r17) for three seasons and it has only 3mm of tread depth left. The tire indeed has great grip (couldn't try it in the snow, because we didn't have any), but the comfort, and especially the sound, is lacking. Rarely had such a noisy tire. But that will undoubtedly also have to do with the fact that it is an EV, so you will hear more tire noise. But maybe this tire also got an update? So I'm still in doubt as to which tire I'm going to get for my winter rims. Possibly a All Season tire, given the good performance of the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 or perhaps the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3. Which would you prefer for use in an area with mild winters?
Usually midlife updates are not published anywhere, I have no info for them sadly.
The Bridgestone does seem to wear very quickly but as we don't test that for this test I can't include it in the results.
I think there are a number of goood allseason-as-winter-tire options for the UK like climates, check out the two most recent all season tests for full info
Very interesting results..especially for WINTRAC PRO, a tire that until recently was the "queen in the wet"
Are you thinking about the Wintrac being queen in wet? (newer different product)
Why no Nokian tires?
I've used them for many years and found their performance quite good.
The SnowProof range was made in Russia so availability was difficult at time of purchasing tires.
Nokian fights often with very different quality and weakness in minimal one of the 3 test categories.
Personally I avoid Nokian since the WR D3. Not because Nokian give the testers money to get better results, the WR D3 Made in Russia looks after 3 years very cracked and was very bad in the wet. Our oldest tires in the last decades, 9 year old Toyo Snowprox S940 and 8 year old Dunlop SP01 AS looks so much better. And in contrast to the Nokian the Toyo and Dunlop were fit on a car which was never in a garage.
Again, great test. Nice work!
It is amazing to see how well the all season Hankook Kinergy 4S2 performs in the test. This actually makes it the ultimate mild climate tire.
Also I’m happy to see that you have added the degree of rim protection. Nice!
Thanks :) Glad it was useful
Hope in the next summer tire test you will also add the Rim Protection degree :)
It's already in this test, noted in the results section
You mean the last summer tires test, I guess :)
Have seen it now, Thanks :)