Looking suspiciously like its sister magazine EVOs winter tyre test, and in a surprisingly large size, the tyre test puts a rather odd selection of winter tyres to test.
Odd selection or not, Auto Express do an excellent job in testing all their tyres at Continentals test facility in Sweden and Hannover. On test are five and a half winter tyres, three all season tyres and a single summer tyre for comparison in the wet and dry tests.
As always, to respect Auto Express we won't publish our full write up until the magazine is off sale next week. For now here's an overview of the results along with a few choice comments. Get this weeks Auto Express, on sale between 12th and 18th October for the full article!
The Results
Continental WinterContact TS 830 P
225/45 R17
Great all round performance with no real weakness
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 196.6 |
| Wet | 387.4 |
| Snow | 391.8 |
| Rolling Resistance | 99 |
Total: 1074.8
Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2
225/45 R17
Excellent on snow, just misses out on the top spot thanks to trailing the Conti in other areas
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 195 |
| Wet | 377.4 |
| Snow | 398.1 |
| Rolling Resistance | 96 |
Total: 1066.5
Dunlop SP WinterSport 4D
225/45 R17
Pre production version tested, but if the production version is anything like the tyre tested this will be a very good all round option.
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 196.6 |
| Wet | 374 |
| Snow | 387.6 |
| Rolling Resistance | 99.5 |
Total: 1057.7
Pirelli Sottozero Serie II
225/45 R17
Good value winter tyre with good rolling resistance. Well suited to cold wet winters
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 194.6 |
| Wet | 395.3 |
| Snow | 376.9 |
| Rolling Resistance | 100 |
Total: 1066.8
Michelin Alpin A4
225/45 R17
Good in the snow and the wet, the dry performance lacks a little
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 194.4 |
| Wet | 381.4 |
| Snow | 382.8 |
| Rolling Resistance | 94.8 |
Total: 1053.4
Hankook Optimo 4S
225/45 R17
The best all season tyre in the test, relatively small compromises in winter and summer when compared to dedicated tyres
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 197.5 |
| Wet | 369.1 |
| Snow | 368.3 |
| Rolling Resistance | 85.3 |
Total: 1020.2
Vredestein Quatrac 3
225/45 R17
Another good year round choice, better in the dry than the Hankook but not as strong in the wet or snow
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 200 |
| Wet | 359.8 |
| Snow | 368.2 |
| Rolling Resistance | 86.7 |
Total: 1014.7
Nankang SV2
225/45 R17
Cheap for a reason. While better than a summer tyre in the snow, the gains do not out weigh the draw backs in the wet and dry
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 196 |
| Wet | 342.8 |
| Snow | 341.1 |
| Rolling Resistance | 96.6 |
Total: 976.5
Kumho Solus Vier KH21
225/45 R17
The all season tyre that fails to shine in any conditions!
All discipline results (4)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 195.3 |
| Wet | 362 |
| Snow | 296.5 |
| Rolling Resistance | 90.3 |
Total: 944.1
The best tyres is Kormoran