2019 AMS Winter SUV Tyre Test

The biggest plus of this test is the sheer amount of data they've produced, as they've rated the tyres both objectively and subjectively in a lot of categories.

It's also good news for Goodyear, as the new Goodyear UltraGrip Performance + wins on its first outing, proving to have an excellent balance of wet and snow performance, along with short dry braking distances.

Stepping up on the promise of 2018, the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 once again proves itself as a strong contender, and maybe the tyre of choice for the snowier climates.

The Vredestein Wintrac Pro rounds out the top three places. This tyre might be the best choice for the drier, warmer climates, as it excelled in the dry and wet handling tests, but was a little weaker than the best on test during snow testing.

The other result worth mentioning was the new Nokian SnowProof. It's not very often we see Nokian performing badly in a winter test, let alone finishing last. In this test, the Nokian performed extremely well in the dry, with the best dry braking result and had a good result in the snow, but really struggled in the wet. As this is the first test of the SnowProof we've seen, we'll await more test data to see whether the new Nokian really is this bad in the wet, or it was something related to this test.

The overall results were incredibly close, with all the tyres down to eighth place being recommended, but if you want the best for your SUV in 215/55 R17, pick from the top five.

Dry

Interestingly, the top two spots during dry braking were taken by the bottom two tyres overall, with the Nokian and Giti proving to be the best at stopping the VW T-Roc.

Dry handling was extremely close between the eleven tyres, with a difference of just 2 km/h between the best and worst tyres.

The sporty Vredestein was the only tyre to receive ten points during subjective dry handling scoring.

Wet

The Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 had a significant advantage during wet braking.

The top three tyres overall dominated wet handling, both in average speed and subjectively.

The Falken had an advantage during the aquaplaning testing, with the rest of the tyres closely matched.

Snow

Bridgestone once again stopped the VW T-Roc in the shortest distance, this time during snow braking.

As in the wet testing, the new Goodyear proved to be excellent during snow handling.

Environment

All the tyres were relatively close in both external noise and subjective internal noise, but the Falken proved to have the best balance of the two.

The Continental WinterContact TS850P had the lowest rolling resistance, but was one of the most expensive to buy.

Results

1^st

Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+

215/55 R17

Great in the wet and on snow, show braking in the dry, worked well with the vehicles ESP systems

Average dry grip when cornering

Test winner

Dry

92.5%

Test	#	%
Dry Braking	3rd	99.1%
Dry Handling	11th	98.28%
Subj. Dry Handling	6th	80%

Wet

97%

Test	#	%
Wet Braking	3rd	96%
Wet Handling	1st	100%
Subj. Wet Handling	1st	100%
Straight Aqua	2nd	92.06%

Snow

99.5%

Test	#	%
Snow Braking	2nd	98.46%
Snow Handling	1st	100%
Subj. Snow Handling	1st	100%

Comfort

94.4%

Test	#	%
Subj. Comfort	2nd	90%
Noise	6th	98.72%

Value

71.4%

Test	#	%
Price	9th	50.34%
Rolling Resistance	4th	92.5%

Read Reviews Test Results

2^nd

Bridgestone Blizzak LM005

215/55 R17

Very good handling in the snow and the wet, stable behavior during emergency maneuvers

Relatively long braking and poor lateral stability in the dry

Excellent

Dry

96%

Test	#	%
Dry Braking	4th	98.88%
Dry Handling	7th	98.97%
Subj. Dry Handling	2nd	90%

Wet

97.6%

Test	#	%
Wet Braking	1st	100%
Wet Handling	3rd	99.45%
Subj. Wet Handling	1st	100%
Straight Aqua	6th	90.85%

Snow

95.7%

Test	#	%
Snow Braking	1st	100%
Snow Handling	7th	97.17%
Subj. Snow Handling	2nd	90%

Comfort

94.4%

Test	#	%
Subj. Comfort	2nd	90%
Noise	6th	98.72%

Value

77.2%

Test	#	%
Price	7th	57.03%
Rolling Resistance	2nd	97.37%

Read Reviews Test Results

3^rd

Vredestein Wintrac Pro

215/55 R17

Precise steering response and high traction in the dry and wet

Relatively long snow braking, high rolling resistance

Excellent

Dry

99.4%

Test	#	%
Dry Braking	4th	98.88%
Dry Handling	4th	99.4%
Subj. Dry Handling	1st	100%

Wet

96.7%

Test	#	%
Wet Braking	4th	95.71%
Wet Handling	2nd	99.86%
Subj. Wet Handling	1st	100%
Straight Aqua	5th	91.22%

Snow

90.6%

Test	#	%
Snow Braking	8th	93.77%
Snow Handling	4th	97.98%
Subj. Snow Handling	8th	80%

Comfort

89.5%

Test	#	%
Subj. Comfort	8th	80%
Noise	4th	99%

Value

73.5%

Test	#	%
Price	5th	61.86%
Rolling Resistance	8th	85.06%

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4^th

Continental WinterContact TS 850 P

215/55 R17

Although tires were launched five years ago, they still perform well due to their balanced performance, stable behavior and good lateral stability in the snow, good wet handling

Relatively long braking distance on snow and dry surfaces

Excellent

Dry

95.4%

Test	#	%
Dry Braking	8th	96.5%
Dry Handling	3rd	99.57%
Subj. Dry Handling	2nd	90%

Wet

94.2%

Test	#	%
Wet Braking	2nd	96.59%
Wet Handling	5th	98.91%
Subj. Wet Handling	5th	90%
Straight Aqua	4th	91.46%

Snow

94%

Test	#	%
Snow Braking	6th	94.12%
Snow Handling	6th	97.77%
Subj. Snow Handling	2nd	90%

Comfort

94%

Test	#	%
Subj. Comfort	2nd	90%
Noise	9th	98.02%

Value

74.8%

Test	#	%
Price	10th	49.66%
Rolling Resistance	1st	100%

Read Reviews Test Results

5^th

Michelin Alpin 6

215/55 R17

Good handling in the snow and on dry roads, good lateral grip in the wet

Relatively long braking distances in the snow and wet

Good

Dry

96%

Test	#	%
Dry Braking	4th	98.88%
Dry Handling	7th	98.97%
Subj. Dry Handling	2nd	90%

Wet

95.7%

Test	#	%
Wet Braking	5th	93.13%
Wet Handling	4th	99.05%
Subj. Wet Handling	1st	100%
Straight Aqua	7th	90.73%

Snow

93.6%

Test	#	%
Snow Braking	6th	94.12%
Snow Handling	10th	96.56%
Subj. Snow Handling	2nd	90%

Comfort

94.2%

Test	#	%
Subj. Comfort	2nd	90%
Noise	8th	98.3%

Value

69.1%

Test	#	%
Price	11th	45.63%
Rolling Resistance	4th	92.5%

Read Reviews Test Results

6^th

Hankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV

215/55 R17

Good traction and handling in the snow, good dry handling, very quiet

Long dry braking, unbalanced in the wet, high rolling resistance

Good

Dry

91.4%

Test	#	%
Dry Braking	11th	94.23%
Dry Handling	2nd	99.83%
Subj. Dry Handling	6th	80%

Wet

84.1%

Test	#	%
Wet Braking	5th	93.13%
Wet Handling	7th	96.45%
Subj. Wet Handling	8th	60%
Straight Aqua	9th	87%

Snow

95.4%

Test	#	%
Snow Braking	4th	96.6%
Snow Handling	2nd	99.6%
Subj. Snow Handling	2nd	90%

Comfort

95%

Test	#	%
Subj. Comfort	2nd	90%
Noise	1st	100%

Value

72.9%

Test	#	%
Price	4th	63.48%
Rolling Resistance	10th	82.22%

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7^th

Falken Eurowinter HS01 SUV

215/55 R17

Good snow performance, very good aquaplaning resistance

Relatively weak wet grip, average dry performance

Good

Dry

88.2%

Test	#	%
Dry Braking	10th	96.08%
Dry Handling	9th	98.54%
Subj. Dry Handling	10th	70%

Wet

86.7%

Test	#	%
Wet Braking	8th	91.76%
Wet Handling	10th	95.23%
Subj. Wet Handling	8th	60%
Straight Aqua	1st	100%

Snow

95.6%

Test	#	%
Snow Braking	3rd	98.08%
Snow Handling	3rd	98.58%
Subj. Snow Handling	2nd	90%

Comfort

99.6%

Test	#	%
Subj. Comfort	1st	100%
Noise	3rd	99.28%

Value

74.2%

Test	#	%
Price	2nd	68.87%
Rolling Resistance	11th	79.57%

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8^th

Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV

215/55 R17

Strong in the dry

Long braking distances in the dry, wet and snow. Poor snow handling, poor wet handling

Good

Dry

95.5%

Test	#	%
Dry Braking	8th	96.5%
Dry Handling	1st	100%
Subj. Dry Handling	2nd	90%

Wet

83.8%

Test	#	%
Wet Braking	10th	89.66%
Wet Handling	8th	96.18%
Subj. Wet Handling	8th	60%
Straight Aqua	8th	89.17%

Snow

86%

Test	#	%
Snow Braking	11th	91.1%
Snow Handling	8th	96.96%
Subj. Snow Handling	10th	70%

Comfort

88.8%

Test	#	%
Subj. Comfort	8th	80%
Noise	10th	97.61%

Value

79.7%

Test	#	%
Price	3rd	65.77%
Rolling Resistance	3rd	93.67%

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9^th

Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3

215/55 R17

Balanced dry performance

Long braking distances in the snow and wet, weak aquaplaning resistance

Average

Dry

92.3%

Test	#	%
Dry Braking	7th	98.44%
Dry Handling	10th	98.36%
Subj. Dry Handling	6th	80%

Wet

85.7%

Test	#	%
Wet Braking	9th	90.7%
Wet Handling	9th	95.91%
Subj. Wet Handling	6th	70%
Straight Aqua	10th	86.28%

Snow

89.6%

Test	#	%
Snow Braking	10th	91.76%
Snow Handling	8th	96.96%
Subj. Snow Handling	8th	80%

Comfort

93.7%

Test	#	%
Subj. Comfort	2nd	90%
Noise	11th	97.47%

Value

70.3%

Test	#	%
Price	8th	54.48%
Rolling Resistance	7th	86.05%

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10^th

Giti GitiWinterW1

215/55 R17

Very low price, short braking distances in the dry

Long braking distances and poor grip in the snow, poor wet handling, understeer in the dry

Average

Dry

89.6%

Test	#	%
Dry Braking	2nd	99.55%
Dry Handling	5th	99.22%
Subj. Dry Handling	10th	70%

Wet

87.9%

Test	#	%
Wet Braking	5th	93.13%
Wet Handling	6th	96.59%
Subj. Wet Handling	6th	70%
Straight Aqua	2nd	92.06%

Snow

85.2%

Test	#	%
Snow Braking	9th	92.42%
Snow Handling	11th	93.12%
Subj. Snow Handling	10th	70%

Comfort

84.4%

Test	#	%
Subj. Comfort	11th	70%
Noise	5th	98.86%

Value

92%

Test	#	%
Price	1st	100%
Rolling Resistance	9th	84.09%

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11^th

Nokian WR Snowproof

215/55 R17

Good handling in the snow, short braking distances in the snow and dry, acceptable safety on dry roads

Long braking distances and poor lateral stability in the wet

Average

Dry

93.1%

Test	#	%
Dry Braking	1st	100%
Dry Handling	5th	99.22%
Subj. Dry Handling	6th	80%

Wet

81.3%

Test	#	%
Wet Braking	11th	86.43%
Wet Handling	11th	94%
Subj. Wet Handling	8th	60%
Straight Aqua	11th	84.6%

Snow

94.7%

Test	#	%
Snow Braking	5th	96.24%
Snow Handling	4th	97.98%
Subj. Snow Handling	2nd	90%

Comfort

89.7%

Test	#	%
Subj. Comfort	8th	80%
Noise	2nd	99.43%

Value

73.3%

Test	#	%
Price	6th	58.4%
Rolling Resistance	6th	88.1%

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