2014 AZ Winter Tire Test

Test Summary
Wet Braking	Continental WinterContact TS 850
Dry Braking	Goodyear UltraGrip 9
Wet Handling	Continental WinterContact TS 850
Rolling Resistance	Toyo Snowprox S943
Noise	Continental WinterContact TS 850 Bridgestone Blizzak LM32 Vredestein Snowtrac 5 Pirelli Winter Snow Control Series 3 Michelin Alpin A4 Goodyear UltraGrip 9
Snow Handling	Kumho IZen KW23 Pirelli Winter Snow Control Series 3

In 2014 Auto Zeitung have tested eleven 205/55 R16 premium winter tires.

Full details below.

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 850
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 441 Dry: 125 Wet: 138 Snow: 141 Comfort: 8 Rolling Resistance: 22 Noise: 7 Dry:Good grip and low fuel use in the dry Wet:Strong braking, good water drainage, the Conti is excellent in the wet Snow:Very good balance in handling, high safety reserves: The TS 850 is the Snow King The Continental WinterContact TS850 wins this test. Best in snow, excellent in the wet and dry, the TS850 is a very safe winter tire Read Reviews
2nd: Goodyear UltraGrip 9
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 427 Dry: 111 Wet: 141 Snow: 140 Comfort: 8 Rolling Resistance: 20 Noise: 7 Dry:Good braking but a little understeer in the dry. Good rolling resistance and comfort Wet:Very strong braking and aquaplaning results Snow:Short stopping distances and good traction with the new Ultra Grip 9 Very good debut, on the podium for the new Ultra Grip 9 Goodyear Read Reviews Buy from £89.45
3rd: Nokian WR D3
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 399 Dry: 115 Wet: 130 Snow: 125 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 15 Noise: 7 Dry:Extremely short dry stopping distances with the WR D3, one of the fastest in handling. Balanced, good traction Wet:Very good aquaplaning, strong braking Snow:Good traction with the WR D3, braking performance and steering precision are only average The strengths of the Nokian WR D3 show up on wet and dry surfaces Read Reviews
4th: Michelin Alpin A4
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 393 Dry: 106 Wet: 131 Snow: 128 Comfort: 8 Rolling Resistance: 13 Noise: 7 Dry:The Alpin A4 is average in the dry, low rolling resistance but the steering is a little slow Wet:Good wet braking and excellent wet cornering Snow:Very good traction and balanced handling, the Alpin A4 is strong in the snow A good showing from the Michelin with excellent wet and snow qualities Read Reviews
5th: Dunlop SP WinterSport 4D
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 407 Dry: 116 Wet: 131 Snow: 128 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 18 Noise: 7 Dry:Good braking, precise handling, low rolling resistance. But the 4D is sluggish in slalom Wet:In the aquaplaning tests the Dunlop is average. Very good on the brakes, stopping quickly and safely Snow:During high speed changes in the snow the Dunlop was a little unstable. Average traction Dunlop Winter Sport 4D performed well, apart from in snow braking Read Reviews Buy from £109.48
6th: Pirelli Winter Snow Control Series 3
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 388 Dry: 108 Wet: 127 Snow: 124 Comfort: 8 Rolling Resistance: 13 Noise: 8 Dry:The Snow Control Series 3 brakes in the dry well, but has a high rolling resistance Wet:One of the best wet braking, excellent stability but a hint of understeer Snow:Good handling and snow braking. It lacks a little in traction Good wet performance for the Pirelli Snow Control Series 3, and safe in the snow Read Reviews
7th: Vredestein Snowtrac 5
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 378 Dry: 105 Wet: 118 Snow: 127 Comfort: 8 Rolling Resistance: 13 Noise: 7 Dry:Good dry handling but average dry braking Wet:Average scores in the wet due to a lack of balance and steering precision Snow:Slight oversteer in the snow, but excellent snow traction The Vredestein has a consistently solid performance Read Reviews
8th: Toyo Snowprox S943
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 372 Dry: 111 Wet: 94 Snow: 128 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 25 Noise: 7 Dry:Best rolling resistance with the Snowprox. Direct steering, but then lazy understeer Wet:Very poor aquaplaning, the longest wet braking distances, low grip . The Toyo doesn't work in the wet Snow:A much better snow performance than wet, with only a little oversteer Best rolling resistance with the Toyo Snowprox S943, agile in the snow, weak in the wet Read Reviews
9th: Hankook Winter i cept RS
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 351 Dry: 99 Wet: 117 Snow: 110 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 11 Noise: 7 Dry:Quite a slow dry laptime for the Hankook.In addition, the rolling resistance of the i * cept RS is high Wet:The Hankook has good aquaplaning resistance, but it lacks traction. It needs large steering angle due to understeer Snow:long braking distances and load change reactions with the i * cept RS. Best on slush Top on slush, but overall the Hankook i * cept RS is not a balanced tire Read Reviews
10th: Bridgestone Blizzak LM32
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 329 Dry: 102 Wet: 113 Snow: 95 Comfort: 8 Rolling Resistance: 4 Noise: 7 Dry:Short dry braking distances, fast in slalom. The rolling resistance of the Blizzak LM-32 is too high Wet:Reasonable wet handling, but the bridgestone aquaplanes early Snow:Longest snow braking, average traction, average handling Low on snow, only average in the wet. In dry conditions the Bridgestone drives safely and brakes well, but has a very high rolling resistance Read Reviews
11th: Kumho IZen KW23
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 329 Dry: 87 Wet: 108 Snow: 115 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 4 Noise: 8 Dry:The Kumho KW23 I'ZEN has a lack of traction and bad dry cornering. Very high rolling resistance Wet:Early understeer and therefore slow lap wet times. Ok wet braking Snow:Average snow traction, quick to oversteer in snow handling Under wet conditions, on snow or dry, the Kumho shows no strengths Read Reviews