2015 Auto Bild SUV Winter Tire Test

Test Summary
Wet Braking	Apollo Alnac 4G Winter Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
Dry Braking	Dunlop Winter Sport 5
Wet Handling	Dunlop Winter Sport 5 Apollo Alnac 4G Winter Pirelli Scorpion Winter
Rolling Resistance	Dunlop Winter Sport 5 Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV Michelin Alpin 5
Noise	Apollo Alnac 4G Winter Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
Snow Handling	Bridgestone Blizzak LM80 EVO

Four wheel drive vehicles offer improved traction on difficult surfaces, such as snow. While this means you don't get stuck as often during bad weather, four wheel drive doesn't offer any advantage under braking, and little advantage during cornering, meaning winter tires are still the best option if you plan on using your car in all conditions.

To test which of the modern winter tires works best with the latest generation of SUV and four wheel drive vehicles, Auto Bild Allrad have tested eight winter tires in the popular 215/65 R16 on a VW Tiguan.

Results

Dunlop takes the win with the Winter Sport 5. The new tire was strong in all three key areas (snow, wet and dry), with only a slight weakness in dry braking and an expensive price tag as negative marks. The Indian brand Apollo scored a strong second place, with a good balanced performance and low price, and Continental have rounded out the top three with the Winter Contact TS850 P SUV, marked down largely due to price and aquaplaning performance, but showing its usual excellent shallow water wet performance.

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

1st: Dunlop Winter Sport 5
215/65 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 40 Dry: 5 Wet: 8 Snow: 8 Comfort: 6 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 6 Excellent snow traction, good wet performance, good in the dry Expensive, average dry braking Read Reviews Buy from £123.78
2nd: Apollo Alnac 4G Winter
215/65 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 38 Dry: 6 Wet: 6 Snow: 8 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 5 Noise: 6 Very good in the snow with excellent cornering, good grip in the wet and dry and good price Slightly higher rolling resistance, average wet braking Read Reviews
3rd: Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV
215/65 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 35 Dry: 6 Wet: 6 Snow: 5 Comfort: 6 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 5 Very short braking distance and good grip in the wet, low rolling resistance Expensive, slightly higher noise levels, average aquaplaning results Read Reviews
4th: Pirelli Scorpion Winter
215/65 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 33 Dry: 3 Wet: 5 Snow: 8 Comfort: 5 Rolling Resistance: 5 Noise: 7 Very good in the snow, good cornering on wet roads, low rolling resistance Average aquaplaning scores, average braking in the wet and on dry roads Read Reviews Buy from £127.99
5th: Michelin Alpin 5
215/65 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 34 Dry: 4 Wet: 5 Snow: 6 Comfort: 6 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 6 Good in the snow, very low rolling resistance, high resistance to aquaplaning Average dry and wet cornering, long dry braking, very high price Read Reviews
6th: Nokian WR SUV 3
215/65 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 31 Dry: 5 Wet: 5 Snow: 5 Comfort: 4 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 6 Very good in aquaplaning tests, short braking distances in the dry Average steering precision, average ride comfort, long wet braking, expensive Read Reviews
7th: Bridgestone Blizzak LM80 EVO
215/65 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 32 Dry: 3 Wet: 3 Snow: 7 Comfort: 5 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 8 Very good in the snow, quiet, good wet cornering Average aquaplaning resistance, long dry and wet braking Read Reviews
8th: Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
215/65 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 32 Dry: 6 Wet: 4 Snow: 4 Comfort: 7 Rolling Resistance: 4 Noise: 7 Good aquaplaning results, short dry braking, good comfort, low price, quiet Average snow performance, average wet grip, long wet braking, high rolling resistance Read Reviews