For 2017, the "All Road" edition of the German publication Auto Bild has tested ten 225/55 R17 winter tyres. This size is commonly used by compact crossovers, such as the BMW X1 used in this test.

The biggest interest in this test was the Chinese budget winter tyre from Pace. With the most expensive set of winter tyres costing 660 euros at time of test, the budget Pace tyres were a full 400 euros cheaper, at just 260 euros. Are the savings worth the performance drop? Read on below to find out.

Dry

In the dry, the summer tyre dominates braking, and wins the handling test. The Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 is the best of the winter tyres, while the test-topping Goodyear and Continental tyres could only manage mid-pack. The budget Pace tyre is acceptable under dry braking conditions, but is by far the worst during the dry handling lap.

Dry Braking
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	39.2 m	-5.30 m
1Bridgestone Blizzak LM001	44.5 m	Best
2Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3	44.8 m	+0.30 m
3Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1	45.5 m	+1.00 m
4Kumho WinterCraft WP71	46.1 m	+1.60 m
5Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S	46.4 m	+1.90 m
5Michelin Alpin 5	46.4 m	+1.90 m
7Pace Antarctica 5 Pace	46.5 m	+2.00 m
8Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05	46.7 m	+2.20 m
9Continental WinterContact TS 850 P	47 m	+2.50 m
10Hankook Winter i cept evo2	48.2 m	+3.70 m

The difference between best and worst was 23% (9 m ≈ 2 Car Lengths).

Dry Handling
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	114.7 km/h	+0.30 km/h
1Bridgestone Blizzak LM001	114.4 km/h	Best
2Hankook Winter i cept evo2	114 km/h	-0.40 km/h
3Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05	113.8 km/h	-0.60 km/h
4Continental WinterContact TS 850 P	113.7 km/h	-0.70 km/h
5Michelin Alpin 5	113.5 km/h	-0.90 km/h
6Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1	113.2 km/h	-1.20 km/h
7Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3	113 km/h	-1.40 km/h
8Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S	112.9 km/h	-1.50 km/h
9Kumho WinterCraft WP71	112.2 km/h	-2.20 km/h
10Pace Antarctica 5 Pace	111.2 km/h	-3.20 km/h

The difference between best and worst was 3.1% (3.5 Km/H).

Wet

For the top five winter tyres, wet braking was closely contested with the summer tyre, with the Goodyear winter tyre finishing top. Wet handling puts the summer reference back on top, with the Goodyear winter being the best of the winter tyres on test. In both tests, the budget Pace tyre again performs the worst.

Wet Braking
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
1Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1	53.4 m	Best
2Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S	53.5 m	+0.10 m
3Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3	53.7 m	+0.30 m
4Michelin Alpin 5	54.4 m	+1.00 m
RefReference Summer	54.6 m	+1.20 m
5Bridgestone Blizzak LM001	55.2 m	+1.80 m
6Continental WinterContact TS 850 P	56.3 m	+2.90 m
7Kumho WinterCraft WP71	56.7 m	+3.30 m
8Hankook Winter i cept evo2	58.5 m	+5.10 m
9Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05	63.2 m	+9.80 m
10Pace Antarctica 5 Pace	63.8 m	+10.40 m

The difference between best and worst was 19.5% (10.4 m ≈ 2.3 Car Lengths).

Wet Handling
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
RefReference Summer	74 km/h	+0.50 km/h
1Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1	73.5 km/h	Best
2Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S	73.3 km/h	-0.20 km/h
3Continental WinterContact TS 850 P	73.2 km/h	-0.30 km/h
4Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3	72.8 km/h	-0.70 km/h
5Michelin Alpin 5	72.7 km/h	-0.80 km/h
6Bridgestone Blizzak LM001	70.8 km/h	-2.70 km/h
6Hankook Winter i cept evo2	70.8 km/h	-2.70 km/h
8Kumho WinterCraft WP71	70.4 km/h	-3.10 km/h
9Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05	69 km/h	-4.50 km/h
10Pace Antarctica 5 Pace	68.5 km/h	-5.00 km/h

The difference between best and worst was 7.4% (5.5 Km/H).

Straight Aqua
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
1Michelin Alpin 5	79 km/h	Best
2Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1	76 km/h	-3.00 km/h
RefReference Summer	74.8 km/h	-4.20 km/h
3Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3	74.7 km/h	-4.30 km/h
4Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05	74.5 km/h	-4.50 km/h
5Continental WinterContact TS 850 P	73.1 km/h	-5.90 km/h
6Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S	72.7 km/h	-6.30 km/h
7Hankook Winter i cept evo2	72.3 km/h	-6.70 km/h
8Kumho WinterCraft WP71	70.7 km/h	-8.30 km/h
9Bridgestone Blizzak LM001	70.4 km/h	-8.60 km/h
10Pace Antarctica 5 Pace	67.8 km/h	-11.20 km/h

The difference between best and worst was 14.2% (11.2 Km/H).

Snow

Surprisingly the Pace budget tyre wins the snow braking test, proving that it's easy for a budget tyre manufacturer to make a tyre which works well in one road condition, but not all three. Snow handling is also closely contested, with only the Maxxis and Vredestein noticeably behind the rest.

Snow Braking
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
1Pace Antarctica 5 Pace	22 m	Best
2Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1	22.1 m	+0.10 m
3Continental WinterContact TS 850 P	22.4 m	+0.40 m
3Michelin Alpin 5	22.4 m	+0.40 m
3Hankook Winter i cept evo2	22.4 m	+0.40 m
6Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3	22.9 m	+0.90 m
6Bridgestone Blizzak LM001	22.9 m	+0.90 m
8Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S	23 m	+1.00 m
9Kumho WinterCraft WP71	23.1 m	+1.10 m
10Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05	23.9 m	+1.90 m
RefReference Summer	57.9 m	+35.90 m

The difference between best and worst was 163.2% (35.9 m ≈ 8 Car Lengths).

Snow Handling
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
1Continental WinterContact TS 850 P	48.6 km/h	Best
2Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1	48.5 km/h	-0.10 km/h
3Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3	48.3 km/h	-0.30 km/h
4Michelin Alpin 5	48.2 km/h	-0.40 km/h
5Hankook Winter i cept evo2	48.1 km/h	-0.50 km/h
5Kumho WinterCraft WP71	48.1 km/h	-0.50 km/h
7Pace Antarctica 5 Pace	48 km/h	-0.60 km/h
8Bridgestone Blizzak LM001	47.7 km/h	-0.90 km/h
9Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05	47 km/h	-1.60 km/h
10Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S	45.8 km/h	-2.80 km/h
RefReference Summer	37 km/h	-11.60 km/h

The difference between best and worst was 23.9% (11.6 Km/H).

Environmental

Both the Continental and Bridgestone winter tyres have a lower rolling resistance than the summer tyre on test, and every winter tyre proves to be quieter than the summer.

Rolling Resistance
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best	Extra fuel / year
1Bridgestone Blizzak LM001	8.26 kg/t	Best	£0
2Continental WinterContact TS 850 P	8.34 kg/t	+0.08 kg/t	£4
RefReference Summer	8.71 kg/t	+0.45 kg/t	£24
3Kumho WinterCraft WP71	9.12 kg/t	+0.86 kg/t	£46
4Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3	9.14 kg/t	+0.88 kg/t	£47
5Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1	9.18 kg/t	+0.92 kg/t	£49
6Michelin Alpin 5	9.21 kg/t	+0.95 kg/t	£51
7Hankook Winter i cept evo2	9.31 kg/t	+1.05 kg/t	£56
8Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S	9.69 kg/t	+1.43 kg/t	£76
9Pace Antarctica 5 Pace	9.91 kg/t	+1.65 kg/t	£88
10Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05	10.1 kg/t	+1.84 kg/t	£98

The difference between best and worst was 22.3% (1.84 kg / t). Over 19,000 km a year at £1.45/L, the Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05 uses about 68 L (£98) more fuel than the Bridgestone Blizzak LM001.

Adjust the assumptions

Calculated estimates, not additional measurements. Use the controls to explore the assumptions.

Petrol/Diesel Electric

Annual Mileage

19,000 km

km (L)

miles (US gal)

Fuel Price

£1.45/L

GBP (£)

EUR (€)

USD ($)

Set my vehicle consumption

Estimates based on typical driving conditions. Rolling resistance accounts for approximately 20% of IC vehicle fuel consumption and 25% of EV energy consumption. Actual savings vary based on driving style, vehicle weight, road conditions, and tyre age. For comparative purposes only. Lifetime savings based on a 40,000km / 25,000 mile tread life.

Noise
Position / Tyre	Result	Gap to best
1Pace Antarctica 5 Pace	72.1 dB	Best
2Continental WinterContact TS 850 P	72.5 dB	+0.40 dB
3Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S	72.8 dB	+0.70 dB
4Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05	73.2 dB	+1.10 dB
5Michelin Alpin 5	73.5 dB	+1.40 dB
6Bridgestone Blizzak LM001	73.6 dB	+1.50 dB
6Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1	73.6 dB	+1.50 dB
6Hankook Winter i cept evo2	73.6 dB	+1.50 dB
9Kumho WinterCraft WP71	73.7 dB	+1.60 dB
10Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3	73.9 dB	+1.80 dB
RefReference Summer	74.5 dB	+2.40 dB

The difference between best and worst was 3.3% (2.4 dB).

Result

Auto Bild started the test asking whether the huge cost saving of a budget winter tyre was worth the risk? Their answer is a firm no, unless you only ever drive it on snow covered roads - the dry and wet penalty is too vast.

Test winner

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	8
Wet	11
Snow	8
Comfort	10
Rolling Resistance	8
Noise	8

Total: 53

Price: 600.00

Recommended

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	8
Wet	8
Snow	10
Comfort	8
Rolling Resistance	8
Noise	8

Total: 50

Price: 640.00

Recommended

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	8
Wet	10
Snow	8
Comfort	8
Rolling Resistance	8
Noise	8

Total: 50

Price: 660.00

Recommended

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	8
Wet	10
Snow	8
Comfort	8
Rolling Resistance	8
Noise	8

Total: 50

Price: 560.00

Good

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	10
Wet	8
Snow	8
Comfort	8
Rolling Resistance	9
Noise	8

Total: 51

Price: 580.00

Satisfactory

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	6
Wet	8
Snow	8
Comfort	6
Rolling Resistance	8
Noise	8

Total: 44

Price: 480.00

Satisfactory

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	8
Wet	10
Snow	6
Comfort	8
Rolling Resistance	6
Noise	8

Total: 46

Price: 520.00

Satisfactory

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	8
Wet	8
Snow	8
Comfort	6
Rolling Resistance	8
Noise	8

Total: 46

Price: 420.00

Not Recommended

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	8
Wet	6
Snow	8
Comfort	8
Rolling Resistance	6
Noise	8

Total: 44

Price: 400.00

Not Recommended

All discipline results (6)

Test	Result
Dry	6
Wet	4
Snow	8
Comfort	6
Rolling Resistance	6
Noise	9

Total: 39

Price: 260.00

Tyre	Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1	Continental WinterContact TS 850 P	Michelin Alpin 5	Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3	Bridgestone Blizzak LM001	Hankook Winter i cept evo2	Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S	Kumho WinterCraft WP71	Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05	Pace Antarctica 5 Pace
Position	1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	5^th	6^th	7^th	8^th	9^th	10^th
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The evidence behind the verdict

Dry

Wet

Snow

Environmental

Result

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