2011 Auto Express Winter Tire Test

9 Ultra High Performance Winter tires tested in 225/45 R17 | Published October 12th, 2011 by Jonathan Benson

Auto Express, the pillar of the UK automotive magazine scene, has just released its second ever winter tire test.

Looking suspiciously like its sister magazine EVOs winter tire test, and in a surprisingly large size, the tire test puts a rather odd selection of winter tires to test.

Odd selection or not, Auto Express do an excellent job in testing all their tires at Continentals test facility in Sweden and Hannover. On test are five and a half winter tires, three all season tires and a single summer tire for comparison in the wet and dry tests.

As always, to respect Auto Express we won't publish our full write up until the magazine is off sale next week. For now here's an overview of the results along with a few choice comments. Get this weeks Auto Express, on sale between 12th and 18th October for the full article!

The Results

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

1st: Continental WinterContact TS 830 P
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1074.8 Dry: 196.6 Wet: 387.4 Snow: 391.8 Rolling Resistance: 99 Great all round performance with no real weakness Read Reviews
2nd: Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1066.5 Dry: 195 Wet: 377.4 Snow: 398.1 Rolling Resistance: 96 Excellent on snow, just misses out on the top spot thanks to trailing the Conti in other areas Read Reviews
2nd: Dunlop SP WinterSport 4D
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1057.7 Dry: 196.6 Wet: 374 Snow: 387.6 Rolling Resistance: 99.5 Pre production version tested, but if the production version is anything like the tire tested this will be a very good all round option. Read Reviews
3rd: Pirelli Sottozero Serie II
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1066.8 Dry: 194.6 Wet: 395.3 Snow: 376.9 Rolling Resistance: 100 Good value winter tire with good rolling resistance. Well suited to cold wet winters Read Reviews
4th: Michelin Alpin A4
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1053.4 Dry: 194.4 Wet: 381.4 Snow: 382.8 Rolling Resistance: 94.8 Good in the snow and the wet, the dry performance lacks a little Read Reviews
5th: Hankook Optimo 4S
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1020.2 Dry: 197.5 Wet: 369.1 Snow: 368.3 Rolling Resistance: 85.3 The best all season tire in the test, relatively small compromises in winter and summer when compared to dedicated tires Read Reviews
6th: Vredestein Quatrac 3
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1014.7 Dry: 200 Wet: 359.8 Snow: 368.2 Rolling Resistance: 86.7 Another good year round choice, better in the dry than the Hankook but not as strong in the wet or snow Read Reviews
7th: Nankang SV2
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 976.5 Dry: 196 Wet: 342.8 Snow: 341.1 Rolling Resistance: 96.6 Cheap for a reason. While better than a summer tire in the snow, the gains do not out weigh the draw backs in the wet and dry Read Reviews
8th: Kumho Solus Vier KH21
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 944.1 Dry: 195.3 Wet: 362 Snow: 296.5 Rolling Resistance: 90.3 The all season tire that fails to shine in any conditions! Read Reviews