2019 Auto Bild Winter 17 inch Tyre Test

Dry BrakingPirelli Winter Sottozero 3: 44.3 MSava Eskimo HP2: 47.3 M
Dry HandlingContinental WinterContact TS 860: 82.9 Km/HKumho WinterCraft WP71: 80.1 Km/H
Wet BrakingBridgestone Blizzak LM005: 29.2 MDebica Frigo HP2: 34.2 M
Wet HandlingGoodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus: 74.7 Km/HDebica Frigo HP2: 69.5 Km/H
Straight AquaBFGoodrich gForce Winter 2: 78 Km/HYokohama BluEarth Winter V905: 62.8 Km/H
Snow BrakingKleber Krisalp HP3: 24 MPirelli Winter Sottozero 3: 26.4 M
Snow HandlingKleber Krisalp HP3: 78.4 Km/HPirelli Winter Sottozero 3: 75.3 Km/H
NoiseNexen WinGuard Sport 2: 68.7 dBSava Eskimo HP2: 76.1 dB
WearMichelin Alpin 6: 51250 KmKumho WinterCraft WP71: 35260 Km
ValueSava Eskimo HP2: 07.62 Price/1000Nokian WR Snowproof: 11.69 Price/1000
PriceSava Eskimo HP2: 300 Michelin Alpin 6: 520
Rolling ResistanceNokian WR Snowproof: 7.43 kg / tKumho WinterCraft WP71: 9.99 kg / t
It's winter testing time, and as always, Auto Bild are leading the way! Following on from the 53 winter tyre shoot-out, Auto Bild have taken the top twenty 225/45 R17 tyres through to the full test, along with a summer tyre as reference. Each set of tyres has been tested in the dry, wet and snow using a RWD BMW 1 Series, and Auto Bild are one of the few publications which test for wear. It's an exciting test! (if you're into tyres...)

The Top Three

After finishing just fifth in the braking shootout, you'd be forgiven for thinking Continental have some serious opposition for the TS860 dominance, but now all aspects of the tyres performance has been tested, they're back on top with another win for the TS860. As with previous tests, the Continental excelled with an all round performance, while having the second lowest wear on test! An impressive feat, and another sign that the high wear Continental tyres have experienced in the past are firmly behind them.

The new Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ finished in second place, again with a very well balanced performance and low wear, with the new Michelin Alpin 6 close behind it. As usual, the French tyre displayed the best wear on test, combined with an excellent all round performance, but as with all three tyres, it came at a price, with the top three tyres having some of the highest purchase prices on test. 

The Rest

This time, the "best of the rest" award goes to Apollo, with the Aspire XP winter proving to have an excellent blend of winter qualities, and a very low purchase price, leaving it as the fourth best value tyre on test (a metric dividing purchase price with tread wear!)

Bridgestone couldn't hold onto the win from the braking test, struggling a little in the snow testing, but it is still an excellent result for the LM005, and a tyre that looks to be well suited to the British style winters thanks to a very strong dry and wet performance.

Vredestein once again put on an impressive performance finishing sixth place overall, with the Wintrac Pro noted as a sporty feeling winter tyre. Like the Bridgestone, it coped better in the dry and wet than it did the snow, so a good candidate for the UK market.

The final notable performances are Dunlop finishing in sixteenth, and Pirelli finishing eighteenth place. Buying premium doesn't always guarantee you a premium performance, with the Pirelli having both poor grip, and very high wear.

Read on for all the data below.

Dry

As is the case with siped tyres, and the main reason you shouldn't run winter tyres year round, all the winter tyres lagged behind the summer reference during dry testing, with the best on test (Pirelli) a full 6 meters behind the summer.

There was a smaller, but still significant gap during dry handling testing.

Wet

The Bridgestone LM005 was the only winter tyre which beat the summer tyre during wet braking, while the Michelin could only match the summer tyre.

The Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ was the best winter tyre during the wet handling lap.

There was over 15 Km/H difference in straight aquaplaning testing.

Snow

The snow testing was separated by 2.4 meters, with all tyres having an acceptable performance for most of the UK.

Snow handling showed the well priced Kleber to have the best all round balance of snow performances.

Environment

The Nokian SnowProof had an incredibly low rolling resistance, with nearly all the winter tyres having lower fuel use than the summer reference.

The Nexen and Continental were the quietest tyres on test during the external noise testing.

Cost / Wear

Michelin is always strong in wear testing, and it continued its dominance by having a big advantage. Continental and Apollo also proved to have really strong wear characteristics, while Uniroyal, Kleber, Pirelli and Kumho wore out nearly 15,000 km sooner than the Michelin.

The "Value" score is simply the price of the wear in Euros, per 1000 km. In this test, the lower priced tyres proved to be the best value, with even the excellent wear of the Michelin unable to offset its higher purchase price.

Results

View Results as a single table and adjust the score weighting

1st: Continental WinterContact TS 860

Continental WinterContact TS 860
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking2nd+0.1 M99.77%
Dry Handling1st100%
Wet Braking7th+2.3 M92.7%
Wet Handling4th-1 Km/H98.66%
Straight Aqua2nd-1.3 Km/H98.33%
Snow Braking9th+0.5 M97.96%
Snow Handling7th-1.1 Km/H98.6%
Noise2nd+0.2 dB99.71%
Wear2nd-5330 Km89.6%
Value16th+3.27 Price/100069.97%
Price19th+200 60%
Rolling Resistance9th+0.68 kg / t91.62%
Best driving characteristics in all conditions. Direct steering, stable cornering, low fuel use and excellent tread wear
None mentioend
Test Winner

Read Reviews    Buy from £125.69

2nd: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+

Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking6th+0.4 M99.11%
Dry Handling10th-1.2 Km/H98.55%
Wet Braking3rd+1.4 M95.42%
Wet Handling1st100%
Straight Aqua4th-3.4 Km/H95.64%
Snow Braking5th+0.3 M98.77%
Snow Handling7th-1.1 Km/H98.6%
Noise8th+1.6 dB97.72%
Wear4th-8380 Km83.65%
Value14th+3.09 Price/100071.15%
Price17th+170 63.83%
Rolling Resistance12th+1.01 kg / t88.03%
Excellent driving properties on wet and snowy surfaces, precise steering behavior with dynamic wet and snow handling, and short braking distances. Low wear.
None mentioned
Exemplary

Read Reviews    Buy from £101.99

3rd: Michelin Alpin 6

Michelin Alpin 6
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking4th+0.2 M99.55%
Dry Handling10th-1.2 Km/H98.55%
Wet Braking2nd+1.2 M96.05%
Wet Handling5th-1.6 Km/H97.86%
Straight Aqua9th-6.3 Km/H91.92%
Snow Braking13th+0.7 M97.17%
Snow Handling13th-1.5 Km/H98.09%
Noise12th+2.5 dB96.49%
Wear1st100%
Value11th+2.53 Price/100075.07%
Price20th+220 57.69%
Rolling Resistance14th+1.14 kg / t86.7%
A model winter tyre with excellent snow and wet performance, good aquaplaning resistance, short wet braking, good ride comfort and lowest wear
None mentioned
Exemplary

Read Reviews    Buy from £121.79

4th: Apollo Aspire XP Winter

Apollo Aspire XP Winter
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking6th+0.4 M99.11%
Dry Handling4th-0.6 Km/H99.28%
Wet Braking5th+2 M93.59%
Wet Handling6th-1.9 Km/H97.46%
Straight Aqua6th-4.6 Km/H94.1%
Snow Braking17th+1.1 M95.62%
Snow Handling14th-1.8 Km/H97.7%
Noise10th+2.3 dB96.76%
Wear3rd-6150 Km88%
Value4th+0.69 Price/100091.7%
Price7th+75 80%
Rolling Resistance16th+1.37 kg / t84.43%
Well priced winter tyres with a balanced performance, stable wet and dry handling, short snow and wet braking, good aquaplaning resistance, best price / performance ratio
None mentioned
Exemplary

Read Reviews    Buy from £117.39

5th: Bridgestone Blizzak LM005

Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking4th+0.2 M99.55%
Dry Handling2nd-0.3 Km/H99.64%
Wet Braking1st100%
Wet Handling2nd-0.4 Km/H99.46%
Straight Aqua5th-3.8 Km/H95.13%
Snow Braking10th+0.6 M97.56%
Snow Handling16th-2 Km/H97.45%
Noise6th+1.3 dB98.14%
Wear5th-9020 Km82.4%
Value17th+3.63 Price/100067.73%
Price18th+175 63.16%
Rolling Resistance7th+0.52 kg / t93.46%
Good wet and dry grip, with dynamic handling and good steering precision
Average lateral stability on snow
Exemplary

Read Reviews

6th: Vredestein Wintrac Pro

Vredestein Wintrac Pro
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking2nd+0.1 M99.77%
Dry Handling3rd-0.4 Km/H99.52%
Wet Braking4th+1.6 M94.81%
Wet Handling3rd-0.6 Km/H99.2%
Straight Aqua13th-8.7 Km/H88.85%
Snow Braking18th+1.2 M95.24%
Snow Handling15th-1.9 Km/H97.58%
Noise14th+3 dB95.82%
Wear7th-9840 Km80.8%
Value15th+3.25 Price/100070.1%
Price14th+150 66.67%
Rolling Resistance17th+1.54 kg / t82.83%
A new winter tyre with excellent wet and dry handling
Average lateral stability on snow
Exemplary

Read Reviews    Buy from £102.49

7th: BFGoodrich gForce Winter 2

BFGoodrich gForce Winter 2
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking10th+0.9 M98.01%
Dry Handling17th-1.7 Km/H97.95%
Wet Braking10th+2.8 M91.25%
Wet Handling10th-2.3 Km/H96.92%
Straight Aqua1st100%
Snow Braking4th+0.2 M99.17%
Snow Handling5th-0.8 Km/H98.98%
Noise4th+0.9 dB98.71%
Wear7th-9840 Km80.8%
Value8th+2.04 Price/100078.88%
Price11th+100 75%
Rolling Resistance15th+1.34 kg / t84.72%
Good value tyres, high aquaplaning resistance, low noise, low wear
Average dry grip
Good

Read Reviews    Buy from £91.99

8th: Semperit Speed Grip 3

Semperit Speed Grip 3
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking17th+2.2 M95.27%
Dry Handling13th-1.3 Km/H98.43%
Wet Braking9th+2.4 M92.41%
Wet Handling7th-2.1 Km/H97.19%
Straight Aqua17th-11.2 Km/H85.64%
Snow Braking5th+0.3 M98.77%
Snow Handling3rd-0.1 Km/H99.87%
Noise7th+1.5 dB97.86%
Wear7th-9840 Km80.8%
Value8th+2.04 Price/100078.88%
Price11th+100 75%
Rolling Resistance5th+0.38 kg / t95.13%
A strong all round tyre with good winter characteristics, stable wet handling, low noise and low rolling resistance
Average aquaplaning, average dry braking
Good

Read Reviews    Buy from £109.49

9th: Hankook Winter i cept RS2

Hankook Winter i cept RS2
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking9th+0.8 M98.23%
Dry Handling7th-1.1 Km/H98.67%
Wet Braking10th+2.8 M91.25%
Wet Handling14th-3 Km/H95.98%
Straight Aqua12th-7.9 Km/H89.87%
Snow Braking16th+0.9 M96.39%
Snow Handling1st100%
Noise18th+5.4 dB92.71%
Wear6th-9430 Km81.6%
Value6th+1.71 Price/100081.67%
Price8th+90 76.92%
Rolling Resistance18th+1.86 kg / t79.98%
The winter king with the best performance on snow, good dry handling, well priced
Average wet performance
Good

Read Reviews    Buy from £88.29

10th: Uniroyal MS+ 77

Uniroyal MS Plus 77
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking13th+1.7 M96.3%
Dry Handling10th-1.2 Km/H98.55%
Wet Braking15th+3.6 M89.02%
Wet Handling11th-2.4 Km/H96.79%
Straight Aqua11th-7.7 Km/H90.13%
Snow Braking10th+0.6 M97.56%
Snow Handling10th-1.4 Km/H98.21%
Noise11th+2.4 dB96.62%
Wear17th-12890 Km74.85%
Value12th+2.63 Price/100074.34%
Price9th+95 75.95%
Rolling Resistance11th+0.85 kg / t89.73%
A good winter performance with stable characteristics in all conditions, low rolling resistance, low price
Average dry braking
Good

Read Reviews    Buy from £80.39

11th: Nexen WinGuard Sport 2

Nexen WinGuard Sport 2
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking18th+2.4 M94.86%
Dry Handling5th-1 Km/H98.79%
Wet Braking17th+3.8 M88.48%
Wet Handling8th-2.2 Km/H97.05%
Straight Aqua14th-9.6 Km/H87.69%
Snow Braking13th+0.7 M97.17%
Snow Handling10th-1.4 Km/H98.21%
Noise1st100%
Wear10th-10660 Km79.2%
Value3rd+0.26 Price/100096.7%
Price3rd+20 93.75%
Rolling Resistance19th+2.16 kg / t77.48%
A balanced winter tyre with stable driving characteristics in all conditions, short snow braking, low noise, low price
Long dry braking, high rolling resistance
Good

Read Reviews    Buy from £77.29

12th: Fulda Kristall Control HP2

Fulda Kristall Control HP2
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking16th+2.1 M95.47%
Dry Handling7th-1.1 Km/H98.67%
Wet Braking18th+4.3 M87.16%
Wet Handling18th-4.5 Km/H93.98%
Straight Aqua9th-6.3 Km/H91.92%
Snow Braking5th+0.3 M98.77%
Snow Handling19th-3.1 Km/H96.05%
Noise16th+4.6 dB93.72%
Wear16th-12300 Km76%
Value7th+1.88 Price/100080.21%
Price6th+70 81.08%
Rolling Resistance4th+0.37 kg / t95.26%
Good ride comfort, good aquaplaning resistance, low price, low rolling resistance
Average corning in the wet and snow
Good

Read Reviews    Buy from £94.39

13th: Nokian WR Snowproof

Nokian WR Snowproof
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking6th+0.4 M99.11%
Dry Handling15th-1.4 Km/H98.31%
Wet Braking12th+3 M90.68%
Wet Handling17th-3.6 Km/H95.18%
Straight Aqua19th-12.5 Km/H83.97%
Snow Braking10th+0.6 M97.56%
Snow Handling7th-1.1 Km/H98.6%
Noise9th+1.9 dB97.31%
Wear12th-11280 Km77.99%
Value20th+4.07 Price/100065.18%
Price15th+165 64.52%
Rolling Resistance1st100%
Excellent snow handling, with sporty dynamic steering, low noise, very low fuel use
Average wet grip, average aquaplaning resistance
Good

Read Reviews    Buy from £102.79

14th: Yokohama BluEarth Winter V905

Yokohama BluEarth Winter V905
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking12th+1.4 M96.94%
Dry Handling5th-1 Km/H98.79%
Wet Braking14th+3.3 M89.85%
Wet Handling14th-3 Km/H95.98%
Straight Aqua20th-15.2 Km/H80.51%
Snow Braking19th+2 M92.31%
Snow Handling18th-2.8 Km/H96.43%
Noise15th+3.7 dB94.89%
Wear12th-11280 Km77.99%
Value10th+2.31 Price/100076.74%
Price9th+95 75.95%
Rolling Resistance9th+0.68 kg / t91.62%
Good traction on snow, short wet braking distances, good dry handling
Understeer in the wet, poor aquaplaning resistance
Good

Read Reviews    Buy from £82.89

15th: Kleber Krisalp HP3

Kleber Krisalp HP3
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking13th+1.7 M96.3%
Dry Handling19th-2.5 Km/H96.98%
Wet Braking12th+3 M90.68%
Wet Handling12th-2.6 Km/H96.52%
Straight Aqua3rd-2.2 Km/H97.18%
Snow Braking1st100%
Snow Handling1st100%
Noise3rd+0.6 dB99.13%
Wear18th-13940 Km72.8%
Value5th+1.63 Price/100082.38%
Price4th+45 86.96%
Rolling Resistance13th+1.13 kg / t86.8%
Very good in the snow, dynamic handling and short braking distances, high aquaplaning resistance
Understeer and long braking distances in the dry, average wear
Ok

Read Reviews    Buy from £106.19

16th: Dunlop Winter Sport 5

Dunlop Winter Sport 5
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking15th+2 M95.68%
Dry Handling13th-1.3 Km/H98.43%
Wet Braking16th+3.7 M88.75%
Wet Handling16th-3.4 Km/H95.45%
Straight Aqua7th-4.7 Km/H93.97%
Snow Braking5th+0.3 M98.77%
Snow Handling10th-1.4 Km/H98.21%
Noise17th+5.2 dB92.96%
Wear11th-11070 Km78.4%
Value18th+3.95 Price/100065.86%
Price15th+165 64.52%
Rolling Resistance2nd+0.34 kg / t95.62%
Snow specialist with good traction and short braking distances, good aquaplaning resistance
Understeer in the dry and wet, long dry braking distances
Ok

Read Reviews    Buy from £109.99

17th: Sava Eskimo HP2

Sava Eskimo HP2
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking20th+3 M93.66%
Dry Handling16th-1.6 Km/H98.07%
Wet Braking19th+4.4 M86.9%
Wet Handling19th-5.1 Km/H93.17%
Straight Aqua18th-11.4 Km/H85.38%
Snow Braking2nd+0.1 M99.59%
Snow Handling6th-1 Km/H98.72%
Noise20th+7.4 dB90.28%
Wear15th-11890 Km76.8%
Value1st100%
Price1st100%
Rolling Resistance3rd+0.35 kg / t95.5%
Dynamic handling and short braking distances in the snow, low rolling resistance, low price
Average wet and dry performance, high wear
Ok

Read Reviews    Buy from £81.99

18th: Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3

Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking1st100%
Dry Handling7th-1.1 Km/H98.67%
Wet Braking6th+2.1 M93.29%
Wet Handling13th-2.7 Km/H96.39%
Straight Aqua16th-9.9 Km/H87.31%
Snow Braking20th+2.4 M90.91%
Snow Handling19th-3.1 Km/H96.05%
Noise13th+2.9 dB95.95%
Wear19th-15170 Km70.4%
Value19th+4.02 Price/100065.46%
Price13th+120 71.43%
Rolling Resistance8th+0.61 kg / t92.41%
Stable handling and short braking in the wet, low fuel use
Average snow performance, average comfort, high wear
Ok

Read Reviews    Buy from £112.39

19th: Debica Frigo HP2

Debica Frigo HP2
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking18th+2.4 M94.86%
Dry Handling18th-2.2 Km/H97.35%
Wet Braking20th+5 M85.38%
Wet Handling20th-5.2 Km/H93.04%
Straight Aqua14th-9.6 Km/H87.69%
Snow Braking2nd+0.1 M99.59%
Snow Handling4th-0.6 Km/H99.23%
Noise19th+5.8 dB92.21%
Wear14th-11480 Km77.6%
Value2nd+0.05 Price/100099.35%
Price2nd+5 98.36%
Rolling Resistance6th+0.42 kg / t94.65%
Excellent in the snow, low fuel use
Poor wet and dry grip, high noise
Conditionally recommended

Read Reviews    Buy from £77.49

20th: Kumho WinterCraft WP71

Kumho WinterCraft WP71
  • 225/45 R17
Test#Difference%
Dry Braking11th+1.2 M97.36%
Dry Handling20th-2.8 Km/H96.62%
Wet Braking7th+2.3 M92.7%
Wet Handling8th-2.2 Km/H97.05%
Straight Aqua8th-5.8 Km/H92.56%
Snow Braking15th+0.8 M96.77%
Snow Handling17th-2.1 Km/H97.32%
Noise5th+1.1 dB98.42%
Wear20th-15990 Km68.8%
Value13th+2.73 Price/100073.62%
Price5th+65 82.19%
Rolling Resistance20th+2.56 kg / t74.37%
Short wet braking, good wet handling, low noise
Poor dry grip, high wear, high rolling resistance
Conditionally recommended

Read Reviews    Buy from £82.49

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