Winter tyre test 225/45 R18 - AutoMotorSport 2017

Winter

2017

Year

10

Tyres

Winner

Continental ContiWinterContact TS 850P

Best Value

Semperit Speed-Grip 3

Test Vehicle

BMW 4

Tested tyres

10

Price vs Quality

See how tyre price relates to test performance at a glance

Results

Agenda:

Best value in test

Better than average value

Worse than average value

Worst value in test

1

Continental ContiWinterContact TS 850P

Rating: Test winner - highly recommended

£175

95 H

mytyres.co.uk

+1 More sizes →

95V

Wet9,6

Dry9,1

Snow8,7

Enviromental impact8,0

Strengths

Good and balanced performance on snow, very good on wet, convincing and sporty on dry asphalt.

Weaknesses

Negligible shortcomings in aquaplaning

Summary

2

Dunlop Winter Sport 5

Rating: Recommended

£195

95 V

mytyres.co.uk

+3 More sizes →

95V · £195 95V 95V

Wet8,9

Dry8,5

Snow8,9

Enviromental impact7,3

Strengths

Very safe braking on snow, on water balance properties

Weaknesses

#VALUE!

Summary

3

Semperit Speed-Grip 3

Rating: Recommended

Wet7,2

Dry7,6

Snow9,9

Enviromental impact8,6

Strengths

Úctihodné best traction and braking performance on snow, wet and safe, acceptable performance on dry road

Weaknesses

Does not exactly sporting characteristics

Summary

4

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4

Rating: Recommended

£176

95 V

mytyres.co.uk

+2 More sizes →

95V · £176 95V

Wet7,7

Dry8,1

Snow8,4

Enviromental impact7,2

Strengths

Quick response to control the snow, precise and balanced in the wet, surprisingly good dry

Weaknesses

#VALUE!

Summary

5

Fulda Kristall Control HP2

Rating: Recommended

£108

95 V

mytyres.co.uk

Wet6,8

Dry7,3

Snow9,5

Enviromental impact7,9

Strengths

Excellent traction and good braking on snow, very good aquaplaning

Weaknesses

Wet and dry rather mediocre, lacks dynamism

Summary

6

Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3

Rating: Still recommended

Wet7,9

Dry8,2

Snow7,8

Enviromental impact6,6

Strengths

Good steering response and reserves on all surfaces

Weaknesses

Wet and dry rather mediocre, lacks dynamism

Summary

7

Nokian WR A4

Rating: Still recommended

Wet6,3

Dry9,2

Snow7,1

Enviromental impact10

Strengths

Excellent traction on dry, extremely low rolling resistance

Weaknesses

Weak lateral guidance and control of the snow, a grip, small size and long stopping distance on wet

Summary

8

Hankook Winter i*cept evo2 W320

Rating: Still recommended

£111

91 H

mytyres.co.uk

+5 More sizes →

95H 95H · £132 95V +2

Wet6,8

Dry8,3

Snow8,1

Enviromental impact7,3

Strengths

Decent braking performance on snow, very stable and precise on dry.

Weaknesses

Weaknesses in the driving snow and braking on wet

Summary

9

Kumho WinterCraft WP71

Rating: Still recommended

Wet7,1

Dry7,8

Snow7,8

Enviromental impact6,5

Strengths

Short braking distance on snow and dry. Acceptable braking distance and harmonious balance on wet

Weaknesses

Slightly unstable rear axle during lane change and handling on dry, slightly noisier.

Summary

10

Cooper WeatherMaster SA2

Rating: Conditionally recommended

Wet6,8

Dry7,1

Snow6,9

Enviromental impact5,9

Strengths

Acceptable braking distance on dry, good traction on snow

Weaknesses

Dry dull handling, small comfort, small reserves in the wet, high rolling resistance

Summary

Same size tyres not featured in the test

Tests usually don't cover the whole market - here is our selection what not to miss when shopping for tyres in this size.

#	Name	Our rating	Segment	Price
1	Upper-middle Hankook Winter i*cept evo3 W330 96%	96%	Upper-middle	£131 95 V +1 More
2	Premium Michelin PILOT ALPIN 5 94%	94%	Premium	£153 95 H +3 More
3	Premium GoodYear UltraGrip Performance+ 90%	90%	Premium
4	Premium Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005 90%	90%	Premium	£143 95 H +3 More
5	Premium Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2 89%	89%	Premium	£177 95 V
6	Upper-middle Kleber KRISALP HP3 89%	89%	Upper-middle	£125 95 V
7	Premium Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen-1 89%	89%	Premium	£140 95 H +2 More
8	Upper-middle BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2 87%	87%	Upper-middle	£132 95 V

9	Premium Pirelli WINTER SOTTOZERO Serie III 86%	86%	Premium	£144 91 H +10 More
10	Upper-middle Nokian WR D4 86%	86%	Upper-middle
11	Premium Bridgestone Blizzak LM-001 84%	84%	Premium	£96 91 H +4 More
12	Upper-middle Firestone Winterhawk 4 84%	84%	Upper-middle	£101 95 V
13	Budget Semperit Speed-Grip 5 81%	81%	Budget	£106 95 V
14	Upper-middle Falken EuroWinter HS01 80%	80%	Upper-middle	£213 95 T +3 More
15	Upper-middle Nokian WR Snowproof 79%	79%	Upper-middle
16	Upper-middle Nokian WR Snowproof P 79%	79%	Upper-middle	£117 95 V +1 More

17	Upper-middle Toyo Observe S944 79%	79%	Upper-middle	£118 0 V +1 More
18	Upper-middle Toyo Snowprox S954 78%	78%	Upper-middle
19	Premium Continental WinterContact TS 860S 76%	76%	Premium	£158 95 H +4 More
20	Budget Giti GitiWinter W1 74%	74%	Budget
21	Budget Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 WU7 69%	69%	Budget	£85 95 V +1 More
22	Budget Debica Frigo HP2 66%	66%	Budget	£100 95 V
23	Premium Bridgestone Blizzak LM-32 66%	66%	Premium	£151 95 H
24	Budget Nexen WinGuard Sport 66%	66%	Budget

25	Upper-middle Uniroyal WinterExpert 65%	65%	Upper-middle	£106 95 V
26	Budget Barum Polaris 5 64%	64%	Budget
27	Upper-middle Yokohama BluEarth winter V905 62%	62%	Upper-middle	£204 91 Q +3 More
28	Upper-middle Firestone Winterhawk 3 61%	61%	Upper-middle
29	Budget Giti Gitiwinter W2 59%	59%	Budget
30	Budget Matador MP93 Nordicca 56%	56%	Budget
31	Budget Linglong Sport Master Winter 48%	48%	Budget
32	Budget Kormoran SNOW 40%	40%	Budget

33	Budget Fortune Fsr901 40%	40%	Budget
34	Budget Platin RP70 Winter 34%	34%	Budget
35	Budget Imperial SnowDragon 3 1%	1%	Budget	£85 95 V
36	Budget Kormoran SNOWPRO B2 1%	1%	Budget
37	Budget Duraturn Mozzo Winter 1%	1%	Budget