Four wheel drive vehicles offer improved traction on difficult surfaces, such as snow. While this means you don't get stuck as often during bad weather, four wheel drive doesn't offer any advantage under braking, and little advantage during cornering, meaning winter tyres are still the best option if you plan on using your car in all conditions.
To test which of the modern winter tyres works best with the latest generation of SUV and four wheel drive vehicles, Auto Bild Allrad have tested eight winter tyres in the popular 215/65 R16 on a VW Tiguan.
Results
Dunlop takes the win with the Winter Sport 5. The new tyre was strong in all three key areas (snow, wet and dry), with only a slight weakness in dry braking and an expensive price tag as negative marks. The Indian brand Apollo scored a strong second place, with a good balanced performance and low price, and Continental have rounded out the top three with the Winter Contact TS850 P SUV, marked down largely due to price and aquaplaning performance, but showing its usual excellent shallow water wet performance.
Dunlop Winter Sport 5
215/65 R16
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 5 |
| Wet | 8 |
| Snow | 8 |
| Comfort | 6 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 40
Apollo Alnac 4G Winter
215/65 R16
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 6 |
| Snow | 8 |
| Comfort | 7 |
| Rolling Resistance | 5 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 38
Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV
215/65 R16
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 6 |
| Snow | 5 |
| Comfort | 6 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 5 |
Total: 35
Pirelli Scorpion Winter
215/65 R16
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 3 |
| Wet | 5 |
| Snow | 8 |
| Comfort | 5 |
| Rolling Resistance | 5 |
| Noise | 7 |
Total: 33
Michelin Alpin 5
215/65 R16
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 4 |
| Wet | 5 |
| Snow | 6 |
| Comfort | 6 |
| Rolling Resistance | 7 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 34
Nokian WR SUV 3
215/65 R16
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 5 |
| Wet | 5 |
| Snow | 5 |
| Comfort | 4 |
| Rolling Resistance | 6 |
| Noise | 6 |
Total: 31
Bridgestone Blizzak LM80 EVO
215/65 R16
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 3 |
| Wet | 3 |
| Snow | 7 |
| Comfort | 5 |
| Rolling Resistance | 6 |
| Noise | 8 |
Total: 32
Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
215/65 R16
All discipline results (6)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 6 |
| Wet | 4 |
| Snow | 4 |
| Comfort | 7 |
| Rolling Resistance | 4 |
| Noise | 7 |
Total: 32
Discussion