2019 Auto Express Winter Tire Test

Test Summary
Wet Braking	Continental Premium Contact 6
Dry Braking	Continental Premium Contact 6
Wet Handling	Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus
Wear	Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus
Rolling Resistance	Nokian WR Snowproof
Snow Handling	Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus

The 2019 Auto Express winter tire test has tested ten 225/45 R17 winter tires, and included a summer and all season product as a benchmark.

The newest winter tire from Goodyear is shaping up to be an excellent winter product. Thanks to a near perfect all round performance, it wins another tire test, narrowly beating the established king of winter motoring, the Continental WinterContact TS860.

Michelin will be happy with a third place overall, as they're the only manufacturer publicly designing their tires to work as they wear, with tread blocks that open up as the miles go on. This means the Michelin Alpin 6 might be the best tire at 50% tread wear, it's something we will try and test in the future.

Vredestein again look to be a good option for a southern UK climate, with the Wintrac Pro performing well the dry and wet, but a little weaker in the snow, while the winter specialists at Nokian might be a little disappointed with seventh overall, seemingly trading the best fuel use on test for lower wet grip.

As for the summer and all season benchmark tires, there's no huge surprises. The summer tire had a huge dry and wet braking advantage, stopping the car seven meters shorter than the best winter tire and ten meters shorter than the worst tire in the dry, with a similar gap in the wet. The all season tire placed third overall in this winter test, with its bias slightly more towards dry and wet running, but it still had acceptable snow performance when compared to the summer tire.

We've said it before, and we'll say it again. A good all season tire is a better option for the most of the UK than a full winter tire.

Results

Sadly Auto Express don't provide any raw data, instead scoring the best in each test one hundred percent, and working down from there. You can check out the full test on the Auto Express website here.

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

1st: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1372.7 Dry: 194.5 Wet: 489.2 Snow: 400 Rolling Resistance: 89 Noise: 100 Overall: 100 The new benchmark for a winter tire. Best in snow testing, excellent in the wet, sport handling in all conditions. Quietest tire on test. Only seventh in the dry, however the margins are very close. Read Reviews Buy from £119.92
2nd: Continental WinterContact TS 860
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1357.4 Dry: 195 Wet: 488.9 Snow: 390 Rolling Resistance: 91 Noise: 93 Overall: 99.5 Best in dry handling, excellent in the wet, best wet braking, good in snow, low fuel use. Average dry braking. Read Reviews
3rd: Michelin Alpin 6
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1335.4 Dry: 196.1 Wet: 483.2 Snow: 384.1 Rolling Resistance: 86 Noise: 87.6 Overall: 98.4 Strong in the wet and dry. Average snow performance, high noise. Read Reviews
3rd: Continental AllSeasonContact
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1340 Dry: 198.3 Wet: 482.2 Snow: 372.7 Rolling Resistance: 94 Noise: 94.3 Overall: 98.5 Very strong in the wet and dry. Weaker than the full winter tires in snow. Read Reviews Buy from £105.79
4th: Dunlop Winter Sport 5
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1353.1 Dry: 192.9 Wet: 479.8 Snow: 393.9 Rolling Resistance: 92 Noise: 96.2 Overall: 98.3 Good snow performance, well balanced during snow handling. Low rolling resistance and very quiet. Average in the wet and a poor dry grip. Read Reviews Buy from £114.58
5th: Vredestein Wintrac Pro
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1319.9 Dry: 197.9 Wet: 478.3 Snow: 377.6 Rolling Resistance: 76 Noise: 92.4 Overall: 97.7 Strong in the dry and wet. Poor snow performance, high rolling resistance, high noise. Read Reviews
5th: Falken Eurowinter HS01
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1311.6 Dry: 193.4 Wet: 487.5 Snow: 373.8 Rolling Resistance: 63 Noise: 96.2 Overall: 97.7 Best aquaplaning resistance on test, good wet braking result, low noise. Poor snow performance, low wet grip during the handling test, high rolling resistance. Read Reviews Buy from £101.45
7th: Nokian WR Snowproof
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1346.6 Dry: 199.3 Wet: 467.3 Snow: 387.2 Rolling Resistance: 100 Noise: 95.2 Overall: 97.6 Huge lead in rolling resistance, excellent dry braking result. Poor wet grip. Read Reviews
8th: Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1323.6 Dry: 196.4 Wet: 473.4 Snow: 375.2 Rolling Resistance: 88 Noise: 93.3 Overall: 97.3 Sporty feeling. Poor snow grip, average wet performance. Read Reviews
9th: Hankook Winter i cept RS2
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1304.4 Dry: 195.3 Wet: 458.4 Snow: 386.2 Rolling Resistance: 80 Noise: 88.6 Overall: 95.9 Good in snow handling. Poor in the dry and particularly the wet. Last in both aquaplaning tests and wet braking. High noise. Read Reviews
10th: Toyo Snowprox S954
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1285 Dry: 199.5 Wet: 461.4 Snow: 355.5 Rolling Resistance: 80 Noise: 93.3 Overall: 95.3 Second in dry braking and dry handling testing. Very weak in the snow and in wet conditions. Read Reviews
10th: Continental Premium Contact 6
225/45 R17 3PMSF: no	Total: 1206.6 Dry: 221.3 Wet: 500.1 Snow: 205.8 Rolling Resistance: 93 Noise: 92.4 Overall: 94 The summer tire had a huge advantage in the dry and wet braking tests. Extremely poor snow performance. Read Reviews Buy from £89.17