2011 Auto Bild 4x4 Winter Tire Test

8 Ultra High Performance Winter tires tested in 255/55 R18 | Published December 29th, 2011 by Jonathan Benson

As proven in many a video, buying a 4x4 doesn't necessarily mean good winter performance. A good all wheel drive system can offer better traction than a 2wd car, however once moving if the 4x4 is on standard summer tires it will only be able to steer and brake as well as any other vehicle on the road. image from auto bild issue 39 SUV and 4x4 winter tire test The truth is with modern 4x4 vehicles often weighing in excess of 2.2 tons, fitted with powerful engines and fashionable wide sports tires, winter tires can be even more of a requirement if you want to stay mobile in the snow and ice.

The tests

To work out which winter tires work best on big 4x4 and SUV vehicles Auto Bild have tested 8 sets of 255/55 R18 on a Mercedes ML, including one budget tire from the far east.

The Summer Tire

Also included in the test was a benchmark summer tire, however as it couldn't finish all the tests it couldn't even be included in the final results! As an example of just how poor the standard tires performed, during the braking test from 50kph the best winter tire stopped the car in 30.4 metres, while the summer tire slid on to a massive 50.6 metres!

The Results

Click here to view Results as a single table and adjust the score weighting based on your own driving needs!

1st: Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D
255/55 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 24 Dry: 7 Wet: 7 Snow: 10 Easily the best in the snow, great in the wet and dry. Quiet. High price, moderate rolling resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £214.38
2nd: Goodyear UltraGrip SUV
255/55 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 24 Dry: 8 Wet: 8 Snow: 8 Strong in the snow, best marks in the wet with excellent aquaplaning properties, best in the dry. High price, moderate rolling resistance. Read Reviews
3rd: Continental ContiCrossContact Winter
255/55 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 20 Dry: 7 Wet: 6 Snow: 7 Short braking in the wet, balanced overall performance. High price, average cornering on snow. Read Reviews
4th: Pirelli Scorpion ICE plus SNOW
255/55 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 19 Dry: 7 Wet: 6 Snow: 6 Precise handling, great steering feel espeically in the wet, well balanced tire. Slightly poor aquaplaning results, average braking distances on snow. Read Reviews
5th: Nokian W RG2 SUV
255/55 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 18 Dry: 7 Wet: 5 Snow: 6 Very low rolling resistance, good comfort, short braking on snow. Average braking distances in the wet. Read Reviews
6th: Bridgestone Blizzak LM80
255/55 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 17 Dry: 6 Wet: 4 Snow: 7 Very low rolling resistance, good snow performance, good dry cornering. Poor wet performance, poor aquaplaning, long dry braking. Read Reviews
7th: Vredestein Wintrac 4 Extreme
255/55 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 15 Dry: 6 Wet: 4 Snow: 5 Very low rolling resistance, short braking on snow, good aquaplaning. Long stopping distances on wet roads, poor wet cornering, high noise. Read Reviews
8th: Nankang SV1 Winter+
255/55 R18 3PMSF: no	Total: 11 Dry: 6 Wet: 1 Snow: 4 Low rolling resistance, acceptable braking on snow, low noise, cheap. Extremely poor braking in the wet, little steering control in the wet and on snow, poor comfort. Read Reviews