Sadly there's very little data available for this 235/55 R17 SUV tyre test conducted by the European motoring bodies ACE / ARBO / GTU, nor are Michelin featured, but it's still worth a read if you drive a crossover vehicle such as the Ford Kuga or Volkswagen Tiguan which uses this tyre size.
With Continental yet to update their SUV pattern to the most recent TS860, Dunlop takes an excellent test win. The Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV proved to be the best on test in the snow, on wet roads, and a joint winner in the dry.
The second and third placed Goodyear and Continental tyres both came highly recommended thanks to a balanced performance of qualities, and Pirelli have improved their wet performance to take fourth overall.
Nokian narrowly beat Kumho to fifth place, and is the first of the "cheaper" sets of tyres. While the Nokian couldn't quite manage the best in wet running, it did prove to be the best in the dry, so perhaps a winter tyre more suited to year round running.
Seventh placed Hankook was strong in the snow, but like the Nokian struggled a little bit in the dry, and last placed Cooper was the only tyre to be "conditionally recommended" due to a weak dry performance.
Full results below.
Results
Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV
235/55 R17
All discipline results (5)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 44 |
| Wet | 65 |
| Snow | 69 |
| Noise | 5 |
| Cost | 20 |
Total: 203
Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1
235/55 R17
All discipline results (5)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 42 |
| Wet | 63 |
| Snow | 66 |
| Noise | 8 |
| Cost | 20 |
Total: 199
Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV
235/55 R17
All discipline results (5)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 38 |
| Wet | 58 |
| Snow | 68 |
| Noise | 5 |
| Cost | 21 |
Total: 190
Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
235/55 R17
All discipline results (5)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 42 |
| Wet | 56 |
| Snow | 63 |
| Noise | 7 |
| Cost | 22 |
Total: 190
Nokian WR A4
235/55 R17
All discipline results (5)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 44 |
| Wet | 45 |
| Snow | 64 |
| Noise | 8 |
| Cost | 26 |
Total: 187
Kumho WinterCraft WP71
235/55 R17
All discipline results (5)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 42 |
| Wet | 54 |
| Snow | 59 |
| Noise | 7 |
| Cost | 24 |
Total: 186
Hankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV
235/55 R17
All discipline results (5)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 42 |
| Wet | 49 |
| Snow | 62 |
| Noise | 6 |
| Cost | 22 |
Total: 181
Cooper Weather Master SA2+
235/55 R17
All discipline results (5)
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Dry | 37 |
| Wet | 51 |
| Snow | 61 |
| Noise | 6 |
| Cost | 24 |
Total: 179
Is the nokian WRA4 really a tire for suv ?