Snow

Testing in Northern Finland for snow performance, the Pirelli won the snow tests with a precise steering response, quick lap time and solid traction and braking results. Other tires stopped slightly quicker, but they lacked the Pirellis speed and balance during the other tests. Continental was the second best in test, winning braking and placing well in all the other tests, and the Michelin had an equally strong showing to third. The budget tires from Star Performer and Nankang found themselves outclassed by the premium brands in the snow, finishing at, or near the bottom in all four tests.

Wet

For wet and dry testing, Sport Auto moved to Germany. Wet braking was dominated by Michelin, but with the budget Star Performer a surprise second place narrowly beating Continental, which rounded out the top three.

Wet cornering was similarly surprising, with Continental moving up to the top spot, star performer staying second and Vredestein taking third place. While the raw numbers showed the Star Performer to be up there with the Continental, the subjective balance was far more difficult to manage than the premium winner, with the car switching to sudden oversteer with the budget tire, where the Continental offered safe, gradual understeer.

Dry

The dry performance was again dominated by Continental, winning three of the four tests. Star Performer have proven you can make a winter tire work in two of the three categories, but it's very rare to find one tire at the front of all the dry, wet and snow testing. Somehow, Continental have managed this with the TS850P.

Endurance testing

One test we've not seen before was a high speed rig test. VW tire standards require tires endure 10 minutes of running at 174 mph, so Sport Auto setup a rig with -3 negative camber (higher than the specification) and started running the tires at 168 mph for 10 minutes. All tires managed this, but when increased to the required 174 mph the Nankang and Star Performer tires failed almost immediately. The Continental, Michelin, Nokian and Pirelli were fine up until 199 mph, and the Vredestein survived for 10 minutes at 205 mph!

Results

1st: Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
235/35 R19 3PMSF: no	Total: 53.7 Dry: 9.7 Wet: 9.2 Snow: 8.6 Rolling Resistance: 10 Noise: 7 Overall: 9.2 Short braking distances on snow and dry roads, good handling and a high level of safety in the wet, precise steering response, low rolling resistance Relatively low lateral stability on snow Particularly recommended Read Reviews
2nd: Michelin Pilot Alpin 4
235/35 R19 3PMSF: no	Total: 50.6 Dry: 8.6 Wet: 9 Snow: 9 Rolling Resistance: 8 Noise: 7 Overall: 9 Short braking distances and very good handling on snow, short braking distances on wet surfaces, good handling on dry surfaces Relatively long braking distance on dry roads, weak resistance to aquaplaning Particularly recommended Read Reviews
3rd: Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
235/35 R19 3PMSF: no	Total: 49.9 Dry: 8.7 Wet: 8.3 Snow: 9.3 Rolling Resistance: 8 Noise: 7 Overall: 8.6 Excellent lateral stability and excellent handling on snow, good handling on dry roads Weak resistance to aquaplaning Recommended Read Reviews    Buy from £240.99
4th: Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S
235/35 R19 3PMSF: no	Total: 50.5 Dry: 9 Wet: 7.8 Snow: 8.4 Rolling Resistance: 7 Noise: 10 Overall: 8.3 Short braking distance and good traction on snow, acceptable handling and precise steering response on dry and wet surfaces, very low noise level Average lateral stability and long braking distances on wet surfaces, poor resistance to aquaplaning Recommended Read Reviews
5th: Nokian WR D4
235/35 R19 3PMSF: no	Total: 50.2 Dry: 7.4 Wet: 7.9 Snow: 8.8 Rolling Resistance: 8 Noise: 10 Overall: 8.1 Good balance of features, short braking distances on snow , good resistance to aquaplaning, low noise level Long braking distances on dry and wet surfaces, tendency to oversteer during an emergency maneuver in the dry, average handling on dry roads Recommended Read Reviews
6th: Star Performer SPTS AS
235/35 R19 3PMSF: no	Total: 45.6 Dry: 9.1 Wet: 8.7 Snow: 6 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 8 Overall: 7.8 Short braking distances on dry and wet roads, good steering feel and control on wet tarmac Very low grip and a strong tendency to understeer in the snow, high rolling resistance, high noise level Conditionally recommended Read Reviews
7th: Nankang Activa SV 55
235/35 R19 3PMSF: no	Total: 44.5 Dry: 8 Wet: 6.5 Snow: 6.9 Rolling Resistance: 6 Noise: 10 Overall: 7.1 Acceptable level of safety in the dry Low lateral stability and overall weak grip on snow, long braking distances on dry and wet surfaces, poor resistance to aquaplaning, high noise level, high rolling resistance Not recommended Read Reviews