Data Explorer / Tire Reviews
The Best Snow Tires for 2025/26
- Tested size
- 205/55 R16
- Tires tested
- 5
- Disciplines
- 21
- Test vehicle
- VW Golf
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Move a slider. The other categories rebalance automatically to keep the total at 100%.
Starts with the saved weights for this test.
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Results
Movement is compared with the default calculation, not the published finishing order. Scores use unrounded totals for ranking.
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| ft ↓ | s ↓ | Points ↑ | ft ↓ | s ↓ | Points ↑ | s ↓ | mph ↑ | ft/s² ↑ | ft ↓ | s ↓ | s ↓ | Points ↑ | ft/s² ↑ | ft ↓ | s ↓ | s ↓ | Points ↑ | Points ↑ | dB ↓ | kg/t ↓ | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 97.99 | 150 | 58.5 | 10.00 | 99.4 | 139 | 93.12 | 9.50 | 13.44 | 35.2 | 5.0 | 92.2 | 55 | 3.00 | 80.20 | 10.0 | 11.1 | 99.2 | 24 | 6.48 | 54.99 | 10.0 | 98.4 | 9.75 | 69.1 | 98.8 | 7.29 | 100.0 | |
StrengthsExcellent in the dry, good grip in the wet, best overall in snow, best overall on ice, good comfort with lowest external noise, lowest rolling resistance. ConsiderationsLow curved aquaplaning resistance. Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry99.4 × 10% = 9.94 Wet92.22 × 15% = 13.83 Snow99.23 × 35% = 34.73 Ice98.42 × 25% = 24.61 Comfort98.75 × 10% = 9.88 Rolling Resistance100 × 5% = 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 2 | 97.62 | 159 | 58.4 | 10.00 | 96.5 | 143 | 93.51 | 9.75 | 13.64 | 37.5 | 6.6 | 93.1 | 54 | 3.08 | 79.64 | 10.0 | 10.9 | 99.0 | 24 | 6.50 | 54.53 | 9.5 | 98.2 | 10.00 | 69.3 | 99.9 | 7.59 | 96.1 | |
StrengthsGood in the dry, very good in wet handling with best aquaplaning resistance, excellent in the snow, excellent on ice, best comfort levels, low rolling resistance. ConsiderationsExtended wet braking distance. Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry96.5 × 10% = 9.65 Wet93.11 × 15% = 13.97 Snow99.02 × 35% = 34.66 Ice98.25 × 25% = 24.56 Comfort99.86 × 10% = 9.99 Rolling Resistance96.05 × 5% = 4.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 96.71 | 149 | 58.1 | 10.00 | 100.0 | 124 | 90.64 | 10.00 | 13.02 | 36.4 | 5.3 | 98.7 | 55 | 3.13 | 80.64 | 10.0 | 10.7 | 97.7 | 28 | 7.54 | 54.76 | 10.0 | 92.0 | 10.00 | 71.5 | 98.3 | 7.48 | 97.5 | |
StrengthsBest in the dry, by far the best in the wet, good snow braking and snow handling, good rough ice handling, best comfort levels and low rolling resistance. ConsiderationsSignificantly reduced grip on smooth ice, weak curved aquaplaning resistance. Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry100 × 10% = 10 Wet98.72 × 15% = 14.81 Snow97.73 × 35% = 34.21 Ice91.97 × 25% = 22.99 Comfort98.32 × 10% = 9.83 Rolling Resistance97.46 × 5% = 4.87 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 4 | 95.39 | 159 | 59.0 | 9.25 | 95.2 | 152 | 98.01 | 9.00 | 14.32 | 35.6 | 5.5 | 87.6 | 55 | 3.12 | 81.06 | 9.5 | 10.7 | 97.2 | 23 | 6.46 | 56.59 | 9.0 | 97.5 | 9.75 | 69.6 | 98.4 | 8.14 | 89.6 | |
StrengthsVery good snow braking, best ice braking and ice traction. ConsiderationsWeakest dry and wet performance with significantly extended wet braking distances, average rolling resistance. Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry95.24 × 10% = 9.52 Wet87.6 × 15% = 13.14 Snow97.21 × 35% = 34.02 Ice97.54 × 25% = 24.39 Comfort98.39 × 10% = 9.84 Rolling Resistance89.56 × 5% = 4.48 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 5 | 90.83 | 156 | 59.0 | 9.50 | 96.4 | 146 | 97.20 | 9.00 | 14.08 | 34.9 | 5.9 | 89.3 | 56 | 3.18 | 82.94 | 8.5 | 10.4 | 94.0 | 28 | 8.20 | 57.31 | 8.5 | 86.5 | 9.25 | 71.8 | 94.4 | 9.55 | 76.3 | |
StrengthsReasonable dry and snow performance. ConsiderationsWeak in the wet with extended wet braking distances, difficult subjective handling in all conditions, very weak on ice, high rolling resistance. Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry96.37 × 10% = 9.64 Wet89.3 × 15% = 13.39 Snow94.03 × 35% = 32.91 Ice86.54 × 25% = 21.64 Comfort94.37 × 10% = 9.44 Rolling Resistance76.34 × 5% = 3.82 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ref |
Continental WinterContact TS 870
|
— | — | 142 | 56.8 | 12.00 | 105.1 | 110 | 86.30 | 12.00 | 12.34 | 53.4 | 11.0 | 116.5 | 56 | 3.23 | 81.91 | 7.0 | 10.4 | 92.4 | 38 | 10.52 | 59.24 | 9.0 | 76.2 | — | 70.5 | — | 8.29 | 87.9 |
Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry105.11 × 10% = 10.51 Wet116.49 × 15% = 17.47 Snow92.37 × 35% = 32.33 Ice76.21 × 25% = 19.05 Comfort— Rolling Resistance87.94 × 5% = 4.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ref |
Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 54 | 2.79 | 81.44 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 102.3 | 20 | 4.49 | 58.77 | 10.0 | 111.7 | — | — | — | — | — |
Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry— Wet— Snow102.34 × 35% = 35.82 Ice111.65 × 25% = 27.91 Comfort— Rolling Resistance— | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Raw results do not change when you move the sliders. Scroll horizontally to see every discipline.
Leading with these priorities
Continental VikingContact 8
These are calculated scenarios, not new test awards. The published verdict may reflect judgement, close results and factors outside this calculation.
Not ranked: a measurement needed for these weights is missing. Missing results are not treated as zero or redistributed.
Reference tires provide context only. They do not set the benchmark and cannot win the personalised ranking.
Weighting vs real impact
What decides this ranking
The weighting is how much each category counts. The real impact is how much of the difference between the tires it creates: a discipline in which every tire performed about the same barely changes the order, however much it counts.
- Dry Weighting 10% Real impact 9%
- Wet Weighting 15% Real impact 15%
- Snow Weighting 35% Real impact 13%
- Ice Weighting 25% Real impact 49%
- Comfort Weighting 10% Real impact 6%
- Rolling Resistance Weighting 5% Real impact 9%
- Ice Traction counts for 6.3% of the score but creates 19% of the difference between the tires, because their results in it were far apart.
- Snow Braking counts for 9.7% of the score but creates only 2% of the difference, because most tires performed about the same in it.
Every discipline 21
| Discipline | Weighting | Real impact |
|---|---|---|
| Dry Braking | 5% | 7% |
| Dry Handling | 4% | 1% |
| Subj. Dry Handling | 1% | 1% |
| Wet Braking | 6% | 5% |
| Wet Handling | 4.5% | 4% |
| Subj. Wet Handling | 1.5% | 2% |
| Wet Circle | 0.8% | 1% |
| Straight Aqua | 1.5% | 1% |
| Curved Aquaplaning | 0.8% | 1% |
| Snow Braking | 9.7% | 2% |
| Snow Traction | 9.7% | 3% |
| Snow Handling | 7.8% | 2% |
| Subj. Snow Handling | 3.9% | 4% |
| Snow Slalom | 3.9% | 2% |
| Ice Braking | 6.3% | 17% |
| Ice Traction | 6.3% | 19% |
| Ice Handling | 10% | 7% |
| Subj. Ice Handling | 2.5% | 5% |
| Subj. Comfort | 5% | 3% |
| Noise | 5% | 3% |
| Rolling Resistance | 5% | 9% |
How it is worked out: each discipline’s weighting is multiplied by the spread of its results (the gap across the middle half of the tires, as a percentage of the best result), then shared out so that all the disciplines add up to 100%. It estimates what separates the tires; it is not a second set of weights, and it follows the weights you set.
How your ranking is calculated
Each discipline is scored against the best non-reference tire in the full test field: best ÷ result × 100 when lower is better, or result ÷ best × 100 when higher is better. Discipline scores are rounded to two decimal places, then combined using your weights.
Within-category weights divide that category’s share of the overall score. A 50% wet category and 40% wet-braking share give wet braking 20% of the total. A weight is a scoring priority, not a measure of its actual effect on the ranking: the performance gaps matter too. What decides this ranking ↑
Published joint positions are preserved separately. Calculated positions tie only when their underlying scores match; two displayed scores can look equal after rounding.
A zero weight excludes that category or discipline. At least one active discipline is required, and the disciplines in every active category must have a positive total.
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