A serious Nordic friction winter tire that majors on snow and ice confidence. The Hakkapeliitta R3 is quiet and efficient for its class, but can feel soft on dry roads and isn't consistently a wet-road standout.
The quick answer
Owners say79%from 15 owner reviews92% would buy againRead the reviews
Strengths & weaknessesValue, DryWet, ComfortRelative to its rivals across every test we hold
Built from every independent test result and vetted owner review we hold for this tire - the evidence is all further down the page. Data updated October 2026.
How good is the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 in the wet?
Across the 5 wet-braking tests it has featured in, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 stops 0.8% longer than premium rivals, 3.5% longer than mid-range rivals and 5.8% longer than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews wet score of 51/100, and owners rate it 7.4/10 in the wet from 15 reviews.
How good is the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 in the dry?
Across the 5 dry-braking tests it has featured in, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 stops 0.8% shorter than premium rivals, 1.2% shorter than mid-range rivals and 0.1% shorter than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews dry score of 65/100, and owners rate it 7.2/10 in the dry from 15 reviews.
How good is the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 in the snow?
Across the 5 snow-braking tests it has featured in, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 stops 0.8% shorter than premium rivals, 7.3% shorter than mid-range rivals and 2.5% shorter than budget rivals. Across the 3 snow-traction tests, it is 1.1% better than premium rivals, 2.1% better than mid-range rivals and 3.7% better than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews snow score of 63/100, and owners rate it 9.7/10 in the snow from 15 reviews.
How good is the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 on ice?
Across the 5 ice-braking tests it has featured in, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 stops 13% longer than premium rivals, 3.4% longer than mid-range rivals and 2.2% longer than budget rivals. Across the 3 ice-traction tests, it is 21.7% worse than premium rivals, 10.5% worse than mid-range rivals and 7% worse than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews ice score of 61/100, and owners rate it 9/10 on ice from 15 reviews.
How fuel efficient is the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3?
Across the 2 tests measuring rolling resistance, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3's rolling resistance is 3.1% lower than premium rivals, 3.1% lower than mid-range rivals and 3% lower than budget rivals.
More questions about the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3(9)
What do owners say about the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3?
Across 15 owner ratings the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 averages 79%. Owners rate Snow Grip highest at 9.7 out of 10 and Wear lowest at 6.5. 5 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 86% of owners score it 70% or better.
What is the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3's EU tire label rating?
Across its range, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 most commonly carries EU label ratings of B for fuel efficiency, E for wet grip and 72 dB for noise.
How comfortable and quiet are the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3?
Owners rate the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 8.7 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 15 reviews.
How well do the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 6.5 out of 10 for wear across 15 reviews. 5 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 7,000 miles.
Would owners buy the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 again?
92% of owners say they would buy the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 again, based on the 13 owner reviews that answered the question. 46% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
What do owners say about the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3's snow traction?
Of the 15 owner reviews analyzed for the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3, 11 mention snow traction: 10 praise it (strong snow traction) and 1 criticise it (weak snow traction). One owner wrote: "Fantastic winter tire for harsh canadian winters". Read those reviews
What does the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 replace?
The Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 is the successor to the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 in Nokian's range.
Questions and Answers for the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3
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Most drivers report the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 delivers excellent traction, braking, and predictability in snow, slush, and typical winter conditions, with very low noise and good comfort. A minority note softer, spongy feel and reduced feedback on dry/warm tarmac, and somewhat weaker wet/dry performance versus snow/ice. Wear and longevity are generally acceptable to good, with a few concerns about faster tread wear. Overall sentiment is strongly positive for winter performance.
What owners mention most counted across 15 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 15 ratings
Owner score79%
Snow Grip97%
Ice Grip90%
Comfort87%
Wet Grip74%
Dry Grip72%
Road Feedback70%
Handling69%
Wear65%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 84%
“Fantastic winter tire for harsh canadian winters. Highly recommended. Before the Hakkapeliitta R3 I ran R2. It too was a great tire, but the R3 is an improvement over the R2. This is the best none studded winter tire on...”
“I've been using these tires for 2 years now, in the dry and in the wet they are worse than a normal winter tire, but they really shine when driving on slush and snow, giving you a huge advantage when going up a snowy...”
“Don't believe the review on this website. I've used my Hakkapeliitta R3 tires on my 2019 BWM X3 M40i now for 3 winter seasons and they are by far one of the best winter tires out there. The second best I would have to...”
Fantastic winter tire for harsh canadian winters. Highly recommended. Before the Hakkapeliitta R3 I ran R2. It too was a great tire, but the R3 is an improvement over the R2. This is the best none studded winter tire on the market. Good tire life also if you run them from November to April.
Which tires do you drive?
Researching the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3? Rate the tires you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
R3 SUV purchased Oct/21. We are mandated winter tires October 1 to April 30. I don’t care how they drive in rain, what they look like or how noisy they are all I care about is severe winter performance.
These tires have poor lateral grip and braking and acceleration on hard compact snow is terrible. I don’t know if these tires were not cured properly or just a poor compound.
They remind me of bias belt tires from the sixties. I cannot recommend these tires.
I have been licensed for 60 years and have driven public transportation and motor coaches for 30 years, several smaller vehicles and motor cycles.
TL;DR
I am extremely satisfied with the Nokian R3's in snow and ice conditions.
Last winter I was driving over a mountain-ridge, in single-digit freezing(celsius) and heavy snow, the road was completely covered and some cars were driving, so the snow was very compact.
I had to stop multiple times, due to opposing traffic and I was able to continue without any problems, passing other cars and busses, that had no chance of continuing from a stop on the mountainside (8-10degree cliam)
I've driven these tires for two winters now and encountered various road conditions. The main focus is deep winter conditions - great performance on snow and ice, but comparatively worse performance in dry and rain. The road feel isn't very sharp on dry asphalt, feels a bit like a boat, but on snow you can read them really well. The behavior of the tires is very predictable, you can tell when they're about to slip and how much they're slipping very easily. Slides have been very easy to control or avoid.
They are quiet, and make a slight wind howling sound. Speed bumps and potholes are very squishy and only slightly annoying, smaller road bumps are completely absorbed. After 20000km, I still have 6-7mm of thread left. The rubber is very soft though, so with fast accelerations and speeds they might wear a lot quicker. The tires feel confident at cold degrees, but warmer than 7 degrees Celsius they feel very spongy.
Performance on various winter road conditions:
1) dry: good grip, but "swimming around" like a boat, the feel isn't very sharp. Above 100 km/h the tires feel twitchy.
2) fresh powder snow: controllable, decent grip and good braking distance, but sometimes can understeer.
3) deeply packed snow: great grip and sharp steering, good braking distance. The tires seem to easily grab onto the snow.
4) rain: longer brake distance than many other tires, still decent grip but not what you might be used to.
5) snow slush, salted roads: better than in rain, digs deep into the slush and grabs fairly well. Some controllable slipping, but decent braking distance.
6) regular ice: the tires grip ice quite well. moderate braking distance and grip, although longer than on snow. Slides in hard icy corners.
7) black ice: strictly dangerous, since the ice is glass-smooth and the tires have nothing to grab onto. ABS kicked in even braking from 5 km/h and braking distance was several meters. Steering is hard. Only nail-tires would help here.
In conclusion, these tires shine in deep winter conditions, but aren't meant for rainy winters. Grip on various snow surfaces is great and good even on ice. They are very predictable, which makes it easy to correct slides. The tires are comfortable and quiet, and the wear is good.
I've found Hakka to be the best winter tire. Always the best grip in deep snow. I’ve mostly used Hakkas on 2 vehicles for the past 2 decades. I tried a few other popular winter tires but always found the Hakkas a bit better. HOWEVER my last two sets of Hakkas (R2 and R3 SUV) got severe dry rot cracking in the tread grooves and all over the sidewall(R2) and severe dry rot cracking in the tread groove only (R3 SUV). When noticed, the R2 cracking was so severe at 24,000 of winter only kilometers and the R3 SUV was cracked fairly severely at only 7,000 winter kilometers on a new SUV. Always stored cleaned and dry in a sealed plastic bag four of the elements and with proper inflation checked bi-monthly. I do not know if this is a coincidence but these sets of poorly manufactured tires were Made in Russia. All my previous Nokians were Made in Finland and were amazing. I’ve tried to contact Nokian (America) on more than one occasion since May 2022 and submitted photos and receipts to them and now is Sept 2022 and I have never received a response. Never had this issue with any tire in the past 41 years of driving. I guess I will now be switching brands since it does not appear they honor warranty
Don't believe the review on this website. I've used my Hakkapeliitta R3 tires on my 2019 BWM X3 M40i now for 3 winter seasons and they are by far one of the best winter tires out there. The second best I would have to compare them to are the Michelin X-Ice 2 and 3 tires. Unfortunately, you can't get the X-Ice 3 tires for SUVs...yet. I have the X-Ice 2 tires on my wife's minivan, hence why I know how good they are in winter driving conditions. Another option for SUV owners might be the Goodyear Blizzaks. Regardless, the R3 tires are an excellent overall tire with very good braking and handling on snow and ice. There is almost no road noise form the tires, which is an amazing feat. The only drawbacks are faster tread wear compared to some of the competitors and it's low speed rating of only 106mph. So, when you are on drive pavement and have the opportunity to put the pedal to the metal, just be careful as that 100mph mark comes up fast! My SUV provides a warning tone when that speed is reached and let's me know to let off the gas. Overall, I would recommend the R3 to any SUV owner looking for a great snow tire with both performance and reliability.
UPDATE: Nokian has just recently released the new Hakkapeliitta R5 tire which is supposed to improve upon the weaknesses of the R3. The R3 has been out now for several years, so the improvements were expected - and welcome - especially for drive pavement performance! I haven't been able to find any official reviews on the R5 since it was just released, but it's something to keep on eye out for if you are looking to upgrade your R3s.
I purchased my Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 tires for my AWD Altima SR. I wanted a tire that was good on snow and ice but also good on dry and wet too. I purchased them before a trip over an usually snow covered mountain pass. There was snow and ice of several inches and required chains for non-AWD vehicles. These tires were fantastic on the snow and ice. They performed beyond what I expected and when I came back from my trip there was a snowstorm in Seattle. I was extremely impressed by the performance on steep snowy hills. I would buy again.
I've been using these tires for 2 years now, in the dry and in the wet they are worse than a normal winter tire, but they really shine when driving on slush and snow, giving you a huge advantage when going up a snowy road in the alps.
Excellent tire very good in snow and ice
I also have Nokia’s Hakka 9 SUV studded on my Tesla X can’t beat it in our cold Canadian winter where I live 5 months of snow unbelievable traction on ice
