Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme

37,000 miles (59,500km) driven on these. Very good in all respects. Good grip in snow, quite, good wear and ok in warmer dry conditions too.

Perfect tyres!! I have used and I'm using them through the Alps during this winter. In the first 1000/2000 miles the fuel consumption is a bit higher than normal, but then it stabilizes. Great comfort and very quiet. The traction on snow and ice is perfect. It seems you are driving during the summer. Best snow tyres I have ever bought!!

Very good/enough grip for a normal drive style on wet and dry roads. Many tests say that they are not champions in the rain, but I have to say, that I don't have had any problem with aquaplaning or in heavy rain. I'm very satisfied. In the snow they are plenty of grip and traction. Wher other people were mounting snow chains, my Z4 was still running without difficulties. Starting in the snow is not a problem too. Very good product, quiet and comfortable on bumpy roads. Strongly recommended. (sorry for my english :-)

I recomend this tyres! very good tyres.

I have these fitted to my RS4, and I get so much driver confidence from these tyres which is vital for a car with so much performance. They just assist the 4WD to grip beyond expectations even when the roads are a bit icy you get confidence and grip with a great progressive feel.

I fully recommend these tyres for winter months as they are comfortable, wear is good and fairly quiet so they are easy to live with. (I can't comment on MPG as I only get 19-26 MPG anyway...)

Bad bits:
They could do with being a bit more precise on steering, but I've overlook this as the benefits outweigh the negatives.

Verdict:
What can I say, these tyres are amazing in the snow/ice and when the weather gets cold. I'd even consider leaving them on all year round, if I didn't already have a set of summer tyres as they suit 95% of my driving all year.

Wow - honestly these tyres are absolutely stunning!! I bought a spare set of 18" alloys (proper Audi ones) to mount Winter tyres as I run Summer tyres on the 19" that were fitted when I bought the car from new, in order that I can easily swap to Winter rubber and back without having to go to a fitting centre.
I cannot say I particularly experienced a poor run-in period but, if you know about these things, 100 miles takes no time at all to eat up so tyres should never be downgraded just for that. After being sceptical of the virtues of Winter vs Summer I was encouraged to try after reading so many independent articles that they do work. Well do they?!! If you're reading this, just buy them. Magnificent in snow and ice. I kid you not I was driving past and overtaking cars that were all over the place as if mine was on rails! To me Audi's can be a handful in Winter conditions but with these bad boys I haven't looked back. I am totally converted and, if cash continues to allow me the choice of switching between the 2 sets whatever car I have, I absolutely will - blown away by these Vreds. Just one word of warning, it hasn't happened to me but they are so good, you could get carried away and forget about the snow etc and even drive these beyond their limits.

Superb tyres. The grip is so good my car thought it had a puncture. Once bedded in 100miles or so, the tyres improved my fuel economy over the dunlop st30 on from new. Now 10, 000 miles later they're still looking good and gripping well. During the recent snow and ice I never had a single slide. Absolute confidence in all conditions. I know these are a winter tyre, I hhave no second thoughts about taking them off for summer, they are staying on all year. Looking at the amount of tread on them now, I am expecting 20 to25k from them. The only problem I have is they are hard to get hold of. Well worth hunting down.

Replaced summer pirelli zero rosso with these after getting sick of going nowhere in the snow. They are a revelation. I have to say I didn't really notice this first 100miles "running in" thing that others have noted, maybe got lucky. Drove around a snowy/icy Kent and the hills in Derbyshire with 6 inches of snow and it handled as if in the dry, when I couldn't even get out of the drive previously. Great in the wet, no aquaplaning to speak of, got me to Austria and back with not even a thought of needing chains and with better fuel economy. Just have to be careful not to get carried away because you often forget how bad conditions are with these things. Seems to cope fine in the dry and in 15c we had recently..so far, so good. Wear is phenomenal, can barely register a measurement after 4,000 miles, still close on the full 8 mm (and this after a spirited run on the autobahns). Am seriously considering leaving them on in the summer to see how they cope. Having to choose between a summer tyre that's crap in winter over a winter that's not so great in summer, it's a no brainer this climate. March and its snowing again, bring it on!

First 100+ miles or so is quite scary. They have next to no grip, and are lethal in damp conditions. They feel completely detached from the road surface, like driving on a bars of soap. When the dealer warns you about this, take them seriously. It was very easy to loose traction even in a 4motion and literally slide on corners at anything over 30mph.

Once run in, then the sealing agent wears off and they start to perform. The grip is consistent, and the tyres are very progressive even in greasy conditions. When really pushed they don't break away liek the nokians, but rather "judder" in a controlled manner as they repeatedly lose and gain grip around a tight corner.

Turn-in is however severely delayed. I think the side wall is alot softer than expected. The grip is there but the lag is very noticeable and takes alot of getting used to. The car just doesn't feel like you've started the turn and then it bites, and until you are used to it, you end up turning too much then backing off, not great at higher speeds. Also I found gentle curves at Autobahn speeds are also a little unsettling, with the car feeling quite detached and "floaty".

In the wet they are confident performers, clearing standing water quite well and with good braking. Not the best aquaplaning resistance i've experienced in a straight line, but they do not "pull" when one tyre hits a deep standing water.

It's winter properties are very good, with almost no loss of traction unless pushed. Handles snow and icying roads, with esp lighting up the dash only when I am heavy on the throttle. Once the sipes open up the tyres feel very attached to the road surface, (I doubt very much if they would work at all in wet snow in the first 100 miles or so....) Slush, like standing water does not appear to clear as fast as the Nokians I had before, but then again at such a wide profile I am very impressed.

All in all I would buy them again. Just gotta remember to be patient after fitting! They came recommend for heavier cars and SUV's, offer great winter/wet weather performance while maintaining a wide profile and higher speed rating. Good choice for UK milder winter, with lots of rain, and random snow/sleet, and have stood up well to Welsh, Scottish and German winter road conditions without issues. Time will tell if the wear rate is as good as claimed.