Given
85%
while driving a
Lexus IS200
(215/45 R17 V) on
mostly country roads
for 15,000
spirited miles
I first bought half a set of WR A4s in late 2016 as the original Goodyear I got with the car were a bit worn and slidy. Being on my second RWD car I knew that good tires are a must if you don't want to slide into a ditch boot first at the first sight of adverse weather.
On my old Supra I had older Michelin Alpin tires for the winter, but having a few friends running their RWD coupes ont the old WR A3 I went for Nokian, even though I don't usually get much snow.
After a first test where I had to cross a mountain with the old Goodyears at the front and the new Nokians at the back in fresh snow at 1 in the morning, I decided that a full set was necessary.
I've been running a full set of WR A4s since 2017.
The result has been overwhelimingly positive.
As general information : the car is an old Lexus IS200 sedan, RWD manual, no LSD, about 1400kg. Summer tires are a set of Michelin PS4 in 225/18"
Dry grip isn't as good as with the summer tires, but when changing my wheels when the temperature drops, I can feel right away that I'm getting some grip and control back (in temps under 7°c).
Wet grip is good, and I'd say better than with classic symetric patterns. Lateral grip is great in the wet, which stops your rear tires slipping around when going up and down hills and mountains.
Snow grip is perfect. I've driven in snow deep enough that my bumpers scraped the top, and with just the help of snow mode and a light touch on the throttle, the car just chugged along up and down hills at 6 in the morning before the snowplow could get there. Never had to park the car at the bottom of the road like my neighbours.
Ice I haven't crossed yet.
Of course comfort is upgraded by switching from 18" in the summer to 17 in the winter.
They don't wear too fast, and the mileage on my car doesn't change much between them and the Pilot Sports.
The asymetric pattern makes them easy to rotate to even the wear, which means they will wear more slowly in western Europe where roundabouts are everywhere.
The asymetric pattern also makes them look pretty sexy compared to the run-of-the-mill symetric winter tire.
The price is also usually pretty low for a performance winter tire.
The main downside I have found with owning them over multiple years is that they don't like warmth at all, and require a pressure check even before you fit them back in autumn. Mine tend to deflate during the summer months while they're in storage. But once filled back up, they don't require more pressure checks than your average winter tire.
In conclusion, I can't talk to those tires on a FWD car, but if you own a RWD coupé or sports sedan, they are absolutely worth the (little) money you'll pay.