2018 Auto Express Winter Tire Test

10 Premium Touring Winter tires tested in 205/55 R16 | Published October 8th, 2018 by Jonathan Benson

The weekly UK publication Auto Express has just published their 2018 winter tire test! This year Auto Express have tested eight winter tire patterns in 205/55 R16 using a VW Golf.

As Auto Express have previously asked us to keep our coverage of their tests to a minimum, below is a summary of what went on. As always, head over to the Auto Express website for the full glorious details of this excellent winter test!

The standout point from the test has to be the Michelin CrossClimate+ being one of the best tires during the snow testing. The "summer bias" all season Michelin generally proves to be very strong in the dry, but slightly behind winter and regular all season tires in the snow. The fact it was third overall in snow testing and was the best on test during snow braking is a real surprise.

Everything else in the test was as you'd expect. Continental win, Hankook continue to post strong results taking second place of the winter tires, and the Goodyear UltraGrip range continues to be impressive in 2018 with a third place for the UltraGrip Performance Gen-1.

Results

The reference summer tire was the excellent Continental Premium Contact 5

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

1st: Continental WinterContact TS 860
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 1257.3 Dry: 198 Wet: 479 Snow: 388 Rolling Resistance: 92.3 Noise: 100 A great all round performance, particularly strong in the wet but also excellent handling in the snow. Low rolling resistance. None mentioned. Read Reviews
2nd: Michelin CrossClimate+
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 1236 Dry: 210.4 Wet: 444.7 Snow: 390 Rolling Resistance: 91.2 Noise: 99.7 Better than all the winter tires in the dry, strong in the wet and best snow braking result on test. None mentioned. Read Reviews Buy from £99.99
3rd: Hankook Winter i cept RS2
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 1256.3 Dry: 195.6 Wet: 480 Snow: 400 Rolling Resistance: 83 Noise: 97.7 Best winter tire in the snow, excellent aquaplaning resistance, well priced. High rolling resistance. Read Reviews
4th: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 1240.4 Dry: 193.4 Wet: 482 Snow: 377 Rolling Resistance: 89.6 Noise: 98.4 Well balanced performance, excellent aquaplaning result. Slightly weak dry handling, high rolling resistance. Read Reviews
5th: Pirelli Cinturato Winter
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 1230.6 Dry: 191.9 Wet: 474 Snow: 385.4 Rolling Resistance: 81.9 Noise: 97.4 Strong in snow, excellent aquaplaning resistance, second place during wet handling. Average in the dry. Read Reviews
6th: Dunlop Winter Sport 5
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 1233.7 Dry: 193.2 Wet: 471.7 Snow: 379.5 Rolling Resistance: 91.3 Noise: 98 Strong wet performance, low noise. Average in the dry. Read Reviews Buy from £89.40
7th: Nokian WR D4
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 1243.6 Dry: 194.9 Wet: 460.6 Snow: 391 Rolling Resistance: 100 Noise: 97.1 Lowest rolling resistance, excellent dry handling, good snow braking. Poor wet grip. Read Reviews
8th: Falken Eurowinter HS01
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 1212.7 Dry: 193.8 Wet: 464 Snow: 382 Rolling Resistance: 76.8 Noise: 96.1 Good snow performance. Weak in the wet, highest rolling resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £97.96
9th: Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
205/55 R16 3PMSF: no	Total: 1201.6 Dry: 199.7 Wet: 444.7 Snow: 361.4 Rolling Resistance: 98.4 Noise: 97.4 Good in the dry. Last in the snow and aquaplaning, poor wet braking. Read Reviews