Given
83%
while driving a
Mazda 6
(195/65 R15) on
mostly country roads
for 12,000
easy going miles
I've driven these tyres for two winters now and encountered various road conditions. The main focus is deep winter conditions - great performance on snow and ice, but comparatively worse performance in dry and rain. The road feel isn't very sharp on dry asphalt, feels a bit like a boat, but on snow you can read them really well. The behaviour of the tyres is very predictable, you can tell when they're about to slip and how much they're slipping very easily. Slides have been very easy to control or avoid.
They are quiet, and make a slight wind howling sound. Speed bumps and potholes are very squishy and only slightly annoying, smaller road bumps are completely absorbed. After 20000km, I still have 6-7mm of thread left. The rubber is very soft though, so with fast accelerations and speeds they might wear a lot quicker. The tyres feel confident at cold degrees, but warmer than 7 degrees Celsius they feel very spongy.
Performance on various winter road conditions:
1) dry: good grip, but "swimming around" like a boat, the feel isn't very sharp. Above 100 km/h the tyres feel twitchy.
2) fresh powder snow: controllable, decent grip and good braking distance, but sometimes can understeer.
3) deeply packed snow: great grip and sharp steering, good braking distance. The tyres seem to easily grab onto the snow.
4) rain: longer brake distance than many other tyres, still decent grip but not what you might be used to.
5) snow slush, salted roads: better than in rain, digs deep into the slush and grabs fairly well. Some controllable slipping, but decent braking distance.
6) regular ice: the tyres grip ice quite well. moderate braking distance and grip, although longer than on snow. Slides in hard icy corners.
7) black ice: strictly dangerous, since the ice is glass-smooth and the tyres have nothing to grab onto. ABS kicked in even braking from 5 km/h and braking distance was several meters. Steering is hard. Only nail-tyres would help here.
In conclusion, these tyres shine in deep winter conditions, but aren't meant for rainy winters. Grip on various snow surfaces is great and good even on ice. They are very predictable, which makes it easy to correct slides. The tyres are comfortable and quiet, and the wear is good.