5 categories (14 tests)
Test Category | Best Performer | Worst Performer | Difference |
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Dry (3 tests) | |||
Dry Braking | ▲ Nokian WR Snowproof: 44.1 M | ▼ Hankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV: 46.8 M | 2.7 M (5.8%) |
Dry Handling | ▲ Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV: 116.1 Km/H | ▼ Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus: 114.1 Km/H | 2.0 Km/H (1.8%) |
Subj. Dry Handling | ▲ Vredestein Wintrac Pro: 10 Points | ▼ Giti GitiWinterW1: 7 Points | 3.0 Points (42.9%) |
Wet (4 tests) | |||
Wet Braking | ▲ Bridgestone Blizzak LM005: 31.2 M | ▼ Nokian WR Snowproof: 36.1 M | 4.9 M (13.6%) |
Wet Handling | ▲ Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus: 73.3 Km/H | ▼ Nokian WR Snowproof: 68.9 Km/H | 4.4 Km/H (6.4%) |
Subj. Wet Handling | ▲ Vredestein Wintrac Pro: 10 Points | ▼ Falken Eurowinter HS01 SUV: 6 Points | 4.0 Points (66.7%) |
Straight Aqua | ▲ Falken Eurowinter HS01 SUV: 83.1 Km/H | ▼ Nokian WR Snowproof: 70.3 Km/H | 12.8 Km/H (18.2%) |
Snow (3 tests) | |||
Snow Braking | ▲ Bridgestone Blizzak LM005: 25.6 M | ▼ Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV: 28.1 M | 2.5 M (8.9%) |
Snow Handling | ▲ Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus: 49.4 Km/H | ▼ Giti GitiWinterW1: 46 Km/H | 3.4 Km/H (7.4%) |
Subj. Snow Handling | ▲ Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus: 10 Points | ▼ Giti GitiWinterW1: 7 Points | 3.0 Points (42.9%) |
Comfort (2 tests) | |||
Subj. Comfort | ▲ Falken Eurowinter HS01 SUV: 10 Points | ▼ Giti GitiWinterW1: 7 Points | 3.0 Points (42.9%) |
Noise | ▲ Hankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV: 69.3 dB | ▼ Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3: 71.1 dB | 1.8 dB (2.5%) |
Value (2 tests) | |||
Price | ▲ Giti GitiWinterW1: 73 | ▼ Michelin Alpin 6: 160 | 87.0 (54.4%) |
Rolling Resistance | ▲ Continental WinterContact TS 850 P: 7.4 kg / t | ▼ Falken Eurowinter HS01 SUV: 9.3 kg / t | 1.9 kg / t (20.4%) |
The biggest plus of this test is the sheer amount of data they've produced, as they've rated the tires both objectively and subjectively in a lot of categories.
It's also good news for Goodyear, as the new Goodyear UltraGrip Performance + wins on its first outing, proving to have an excellent balance of wet and snow performance, along with short dry braking distances.
Stepping up on the promise of 2018, the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 once again proves itself as a strong contender, and maybe the tire of choice for the snowier climates.
The Vredestein Wintrac Pro rounds out the top three places. This tire might be the best choice for the drier, warmer climates, as it excelled in the dry and wet handling tests, but was a little weaker than the best on test during snow testing.
The other result worth mentioning was the new Nokian SnowProof. It's not very often we see Nokian performing badly in a winter test, let alone finishing last. In this test, the Nokian performed extremely well in the dry, with the best dry braking result and had a good result in the snow, but really struggled in the wet. As this is the first test of the SnowProof we've seen, we'll await more test data to see whether the new Nokian really is this bad in the wet, or it was something related to this test.
The overall results were incredibly close, with all the tires down to eighth place being recommended, but if you want the best for your SUV in 215/55 R17, pick from the top five.
Dry
Interestingly, the top two spots during dry braking were taken by the bottom two tires overall, with the Nokian and Giti proving to be the best at stopping the VW T-Roc.
Dry handling was extremely close between the eleven tires, with a difference of just 2 km/h between the best and worst tires.
The sporty Vredestein was the only tire to receive ten points during subjective dry handling scoring.
Wet
The Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 had a significant advantage during wet braking.
The top three tires overall dominated wet handling, both in average speed and subjectively.
The Falken had an advantage during the aquaplaning testing, with the rest of the tires closely matched.
Snow
Bridgestone once again stopped the VW T-Roc in the shortest distance, this time during snow braking.
As in the wet testing, the new Goodyear proved to be excellent during snow handling.
Environment
All the tires were relatively close in both external noise and subjective internal noise, but the Falken proved to have the best balance of the two.
The Continental WinterContact TS850P had the lowest rolling resistance, but was one of the most expensive to buy.
Results
1st: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Great in the wet and on snow, show braking in the dry, worked well with the vehicles ESP systems Average dry grip when cornering Test winner Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2nd: Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Very good handling in the snow and the wet, stable behavior during emergency maneuvers Relatively long braking and poor lateral stability in the dry Excellent Read Reviews Buy from £156.42 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd: Vredestein Wintrac Pro | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Precise steering response and high traction in the dry and wet Relatively long snow braking, high rolling resistance Excellent Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4th: Continental WinterContact TS 850 P | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Although tires were launched five years ago, they still perform well due to their balanced performance, stable behavior and good lateral stability in the snow, good wet handling Relatively long braking distance on snow and dry surfaces Excellent Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5th: Michelin Alpin 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good handling in the snow and on dry roads, good lateral grip in the wet Relatively long braking distances in the snow and wet Good Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6th: Hankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good traction and handling in the snow, good dry handling, very quiet Long dry braking, unbalanced in the wet, high rolling resistance Good Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th: Falken Eurowinter HS01 SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good snow performance, very good aquaplaning resistance Relatively weak wet grip, average dry performance Good Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8th: Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Strong in the dry Long braking distances in the dry, wet and snow. Poor snow handling, poor wet handling Good Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9th: Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Balanced dry performance Long braking distances in the snow and wet, weak aquaplaning resistance Average Read Reviews Buy from £172.01 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10th: Giti GitiWinterW1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Very low price, short braking distances in the dry Long braking distances and poor grip in the snow, poor wet handling, understeer in the dry Average Read Reviews | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11th: Nokian WR Snowproof | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Good handling in the snow, short braking distances in the snow and dry, acceptable safety on dry roads Long braking distances and poor lateral stability in the wet Average Read Reviews |