2016 AZ Winter Tyre Test - 205/55 R16

Test Summary
Wet Braking	Michelin CrossClimate
Dry Braking	Continental WinterContact TS 860
Wet Handling	Continental WinterContact TS 860
Rolling Resistance	Continental WinterContact TS 860
Noise	Continental WinterContact TS 860 Nokian WR D4 Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S Dunlop Winter Sport 5
Snow Handling	Hankook Winter i cept RS2 GT Radial Champiro WinterPro HP

Once again in 2016, the German Magazine Auto Zeitung have provided one of the most exciting winter tyre tests we've covered. Testing thirteen of the latest winter tyres in 205/55 R16, including the Continental WinterContact TS860, Dunlop Winter Sport 5, Goodyear UltraGrip 9 and Nokian WR D4, Auto Zeitung have also included the Michelin CrossClimate summer-bias all season tyre as a comparison.

The new tyres dominate

The Continental WinterContact TS850 was largely unbeaten in its four year life, so it is no surprise the new TS860 once again dominates the test, winning on snow, in the wet, lowest fuel use, best comfort, and scoring extremely well in the dry.

The new Nokian WR D4 also continues where the WR D3 left off, scoring extremely well on snow and in the dry. Compared to the best winter tyres on test, the WR D4 lacks a little in the wet, but it's still one of the best winter tyres on test.

The top three is rounded out by the Pirelli Cinturato Winter. It scores well in the snow and wet tests, but gives up some points due to long braking distances in the dry and a higher rolling resistance than the best tested.

It's no surprise fourth, fifth and sixth places are taken by Goodyear, Michelin and Dunlop. All three tyres offer a strong balanced performance, and with the top six places so closely contested this year, any of these tyres would be excellent choices for winter motoring.

The Michelin CrossClimate

The inclusion of the CrossClimate in a full winter tyre test is extremely interesting, as the main reservation most people have for the CrossClimate is the snow and ice performance.

Unsurprisingly the Michelin dominates under dry braking, stopping the car from 62 mph in 40.2 meters whereas the winning Continental could only manage 44.4 meters. The dry handing lap was closer, but the CrossClimate still wins, completing the 3.3 km lap in 107.9 seconds, compared to 109.3 seconds for the Continental.

In the wet, the Michelin stopped the car from 62 mph in 57.6 meters, with the Continental much closer at 57.9 meters. The Continental wins the wet handling course, completing the 1.7 km lap in 87.5 seconds compared to 89 seconds for the Michelin, which places it fourth overall.

The snow performance is where the Michelin CrossClimate is often questioned. Under snow braking from 31 mph, the Continental stopped the car in 24.2 meters and the Michelin 25.1 meters, less than a meter shorter than the test winner, and beating one of the winter tyres on test. During snow handling the Continental finishes the 1.3 km lap in 74 seconds, and the Michelin 77.1 seconds. While this is a gap to the Continental, the Michelin CrossClimate was faster than three of the full winter tyres, including the winter experts Vredestein.

If you're living in a climate like England where snow is a rare occurrence, this test indicates you're better off running the Michelin CrossClimate as your winter option due to the dry and wet braking advantages the tyre offers.

The Results