235/40 R18 - Best winter tyres 2026 - market overview, tests, reviews

The UltraGrip Performance 3 is one of the best tyres we have seen in the tests and on top of that it's top discipline is snow performance while maintaining great properties on wet, which makes it a great candidate for snowy climates.

Blizzak has always been a winter tire focused on wet conditions, but with its sixth model, Bridgestone has promised improved snow performance and reduced rolling resistance. Early tests suggest they have delivered on these promises—Blizzak 6 is unmatched in wet conditions and excels on snow, making it ideal not just for city climates.

A typical premium tyre - very well balanced, great on all surfaces with low rolling resistance. Proven by many tests.

Hankook sneaked in between the traditional premium tyres again with its Icept Evo3. It excels in aquaplaning resistance, which is crucial for european winters.

A great winter tyre with balanced handling characteristics. Great in the wet, but slightly less durable than newer models.

While being somehow dated as it was introduced back in 2015, it received some midlife updates and still holds up with the current models, at least in smaller dimensions. At the right price, it could be a great choice.

G-Force Winter 2 is our favorite budget winter tyre. It's great on snow and offers good safety on all surfaces, which is no surprise as BFGoodrich is a part of the Michelin group.

The Kumho WinterCraft WP52+ is a winter tyre from the established South Korean manufacturer, designed for use on passenger cars during cold weather conditions. Serving as an updated successor to the standard WinterCraft WP52, this model is engineered for winter driving. Its main focus is delivering traction on cold, snowy, and icy roads, though specific technical modifications over its predecessor are not detailed.

Old but gold, that is how we can pretty much describe the Krisalp HP3. It's a winter tyre that is great on snow for a good price, which is what the average driver is looking for. It's not a premium tyre, but you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Kristall Control HP2 is an affordable snow specialist with some compromises in the wet and dry handling and braking.

EuroWinter HS02 is very good and quite sporty on dry and wet, but lacks some performance on the snow which is the reason for the not so good test results. Weaknesses in aquaplaning and rolling resistance doesn't help either.

The Winterhawk 4 is a tyre with mixed ratings as there are tests where the tyre was not recommended. Common criticisms include longer braking distances and significant understeer

A cheap tyre from European manufacturer that is very snow-focused, while sacrificing performance on both dry and wet. It could be recommended as a cheap option for extreme climates with a lot of snow.