Menu

2017 235/55 R17 SUV Winter Tyre Test

Jonathan Benson
Data analyzed and reviewed by Jonathan Benson
5 min read Updated
Contents
  1. Results
  2. Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV
  3. Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1
  4. Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV
  5. Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
  6. Nokian WR A4
  7. Kumho WinterCraft WP71
  8. Hankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV
  9. Cooper Weather Master SA2+

Test Summary
Wet Braking Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV
Nokian WR A4
Dry Braking Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV
Wet Handling Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV
Snow Handling Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1
Nokian WR A4
Ice Braking Nokian WR A4
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

1st

Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV

235/55 R17
Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV
  • 3PMSF: no
Total: 203
Dry 44
Wet 65
Snow 69
Noise 5
Cost 20
Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1
  • 3PMSF: no
Total: 199
Dry 42
Wet 63
Snow 66
Noise 8
Cost 20
Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV
  • 3PMSF: no
Total: 190
Dry 38
Wet 58
Snow 68
Noise 5
Cost 21
Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
  • 3PMSF: no
Total: 190
Dry 42
Wet 56
Snow 63
Noise 7
Cost 22
5th

Nokian WR A4

235/55 R17
Nokian WR A4
  • 3PMSF: no
Total: 187
Dry 44
Wet 45
Snow 64
Noise 8
Cost 26
6th

Kumho WinterCraft WP71

235/55 R17
Kumho WinterCraft WP71
  • 3PMSF: no
Total: 186
Dry 42
Wet 54
Snow 59
Noise 7
Cost 24
Hankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV
  • 3PMSF: no
Total: 181
Dry 42
Wet 49
Snow 62
Noise 6
Cost 22
Cooper Weather Master SA2 Plus
  • 3PMSF: no
Total: 179
Dry 37
Wet 51
Snow 61
Noise 6
Cost 24

comments powered by Disqus