Following on from the 195/65 R15 winter tyre test, the excellent German publication Auto Bild have tested ten UHP winter tyres in 245/45 R18.
The biggest shock in the test is the winner - it's the brand new Vredestein WinTrac Pro. This new tyre from Vredestein proved to have Continental like qualities, displacing the Continental WinterContact TS850 P from it's usual top spot and performing well in the dry, wet and snow tests. The Continental WinterContact TS850 Pl, which has now been replaced by the Continental WinterContact TS860 S, proved that it's still a quality option and finished a very close second place.
The best of the rest was the Kleber Krisalp HP3. This Michelin owned brand have a good winter tyre reputation, and might explain why Michelin themselves weren't included in this test.
As always, details below, and be sure to check out the excellent Auto Bild website.
Dry
In the dry, all the winter tyres lagged behind the reference summer tyre. The Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 proved it was best of the test and won dry braking, with the new Vredestein Wintrac Pro a close second.
- Reference Summer
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Vredestein Wintrac Pro
- Falken Eurowinter HS01
- Kleber Krisalp HP3
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Nexen WinGuard Sport 2
- Sunny SN3830
- Dunlop Winter Sport 5
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
The Pirelli and Vredestein once again performed well during the dry handling tests, but this time the Nexen WinGuard Sport just beat them to the top spot.
- Reference Summer
- Nexen WinGuard Sport 2
- Vredestein Wintrac Pro
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Falken Eurowinter HS01
- Dunlop Winter Sport 5
- Sunny SN3830
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Kleber Krisalp HP3
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
Wet
The key wet braking test had a new winner, with the Continental WinterContact TS850 S the only tyre to get close to the summer tyre. Vredestein again proved to be strong, taking second place, and Goodyear placed third with the UltraGrip Performance Gen-1. The Pirelli which proved to be so strong in the dry could only manage eighth place overall. The budget Sunny Snowmaster SN3830 had dangerously long wet braking.
- Reference Summer
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Vredestein Wintrac Pro
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Falken Eurowinter HS01
- Kleber Krisalp HP3
- Dunlop Winter Sport 5
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Nexen WinGuard Sport 2
- Sunny SN3830
Wet handling was the first test the summer tyre did not win, with the Vredestein, Continental, and Goodyear proving once again they have excellent wet performance.
- Vredestein Wintrac Pro
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Dunlop Winter Sport 5
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Kleber Krisalp HP3
- Reference Summer
- Falken Eurowinter HS01
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Nexen WinGuard Sport 2
- Sunny SN3830
- Reference Summer
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Kleber Krisalp HP3
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Falken Eurowinter HS01
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Vredestein Wintrac Pro
- Dunlop Winter Sport 5
- Nexen WinGuard Sport 2
- Sunny SN3830
Snow
The Dunlop Winter Sport 5 proved to be the best tyre overall in the snow testing, winning the snow braking and placing third in snow handling. The Vredestein and Continental again displayed their excellent all-round qualities by continuing their run of excellent results.
- Dunlop Winter Sport 5
- Kleber Krisalp HP3
- Nexen WinGuard Sport 2
- Vredestein Wintrac Pro
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Falken Eurowinter HS01
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Sunny SN3830
- Reference Summer
- Kleber Krisalp HP3
- Vredestein Wintrac Pro
- Dunlop Winter Sport 5
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Nexen WinGuard Sport 2
- Falken Eurowinter HS01
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Sunny SN3830
- Reference Summer
Environment
While the Pirelli struggled in the wet, it aced the rolling resistance test, using the least fuel of the group.
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Sunny SN3830
- Dunlop Winter Sport 5
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Vredestein Wintrac Pro
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Kleber Krisalp HP3
- Reference Summer
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Falken Eurowinter HS01
- Nexen WinGuard Sport 2
The Nexen proved to be the quietest tyre on test.
- Nexen WinGuard Sport 2
- Kleber Krisalp HP3
- Vredestein Wintrac Pro
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Reference Summer
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Dunlop Winter Sport 5
- Sunny SN3830
- Falken Eurowinter HS01
And the budget Sunny was significantly cheaper than the other tyres, but still not recommended overall due to dangerous wet braking results.
- Sunny SN3830
- Nexen WinGuard Sport 2
- Falken Eurowinter HS01
- Kleber Krisalp HP3
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Vredestein Wintrac Pro
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Dunlop Winter Sport 5
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
Results
Excellent driving characteristics on wet and snow covered roads. Dynamic balanced handling, precise steering, short braking distances and pleasant quiet ride. Test winner.
High price.
Total: 72
Dry
11
Wet
12
Snow
13
Comfort
12
Rolling Resistance
11
Noise
13
Balanced winter tyre with excellent grip in the snow, and good handling in the wet and dry. Particularly dynamic steering and short braking distances in the wet.
High price.
Total: 71
Dry
11
Wet
12
Snow
12
Comfort
12
Rolling Resistance
11
Noise
13
Best performance on snow and ice, precise steering, good aquaplaning result, good comfort, low price.
Slightly weak wet handling.
Total: 68
Dry
10
Wet
11
Snow
14
Comfort
10
Rolling Resistance
10
Noise
13
Excellent in snow and ice, with a balanced performance in the wet and dry too. Good steering speed and feedback, very low fuel use.
Slightly long dry braking, average aquaplaning.
Total: 68
Dry
10
Wet
11
Snow
13
Comfort
10
Rolling Resistance
13
Noise
11
Premium tyres with excellent performance in the snow and wet.
Average dry grip and dry braking.
Total: 69
Dry
10
Wet
12
Snow
12
Comfort
11
Rolling Resistance
12
Noise
12
Good in the snow and wet, low noise.
Long dry braking, high rolling resistance.
Total: 65
Dry
10
Wet
11
Snow
12
Comfort
10
Rolling Resistance
9
Noise
13
Good snow traction and braking, good aquaplaning, good dry handling.
Average snow cornering, long wet braking.
Total: 70
Dry
11
Wet
10
Snow
11
Comfort
12
Rolling Resistance
13
Noise
13
Good snow and wet braking, good comfort, well priced.
Slightly noisy, high rolling resistance.
Total: 62
Dry
11
Wet
11
Snow
11
Comfort
12
Rolling Resistance
8
Noise
9
Balanced handling in the snow with short snow braking, low noise.
Average aquaplaning, long wet braking, high rolling resistance.
Total: 64
Dry
11
Wet
9
Snow
11
Comfort
11
Rolling Resistance
8
Noise
14
Good comfort, fuel efficient, low price.
Extremely poor wet grip and long wet braking distances.
Total: 56
Dry
10
Wet
3
Snow
8
Comfort
12
Rolling Resistance
13
Noise
10
