2018 Auto Bild Winter SUV / 4x4 Tyre Test

Test Summary
Wet BrakingPirelli Scorpion Winter
Dry BrakingGoodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1
Pirelli Scorpion Winter
Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV
Wet HandlingNokian WR SUV 4
Michelin Latitude Alpin 2
Rolling ResistancePirelli Scorpion Winter
Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV
NoiseGoodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1
Michelin Latitude Alpin 2
Snow HandlingFirestone Destination Winter SUV
Achilles Winter 101 X
Michelin Latitude Alpin 2
The 2018 Auto Bild SUV / 4x4 winter tyre test has used an Audi Q5 to test ten 235/60 R18 winter tyres, with the Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen-1 SUV proving to be the best tyre on test thanks to a balanced all-round performance.

Surprisingly Pirelli edged out Continental to second place, with a brilliant result for the Pirelli Scorpion Winter. This tyre has been on the market a number of years now, and historically hasn't tested as well as Goodyear or Continental, so there must have been and update for the 2018 winter season. The Continental Winter Contact TS850P SUV rounded out the top three, with its only real weakness appearing during the dry braking tests.

The other notable result was the new Achilles W101X. Budget tyres like this Achilles historically perform excellently in snow testing, but end up with dangerously long wet and dry braking distances, but in this test the Achilles held its own, finishing second during dry braking and beating the established names of Toyo and Firestone during wet braking. Impressive when you consider a set is nearly half the price of the most expensive tyre on test...

Dry

The Pirelli winter tyre proved to be the master of dry testing, but still lagged significantly behind the reference summer tyre again highlighting the dry penalty siped winter tyres bring.

Wet

The summer tyres advantage continued in the wet, albeit the gap was smaller. The top three tyres overall were all stars of the wet testing, showing how important wet performance is to winter tyre testing.

Snow

Unsurprisingly the summer tyre was at a huge disadvantage in the snow testing. Continental proved to have the best snow braking, where Nokian was the fastest around the snow handling lap.

Environment

The Pirelli bended an excellent dry and wet performance with the lowest rolling resistance on test, an impressive feat!

Unusually the summer tyre was the quietest on test.

The budget Achilles was by far the cheapest set of tyres on test, with the Michelin the most expensive. Sadly Auto Bild didn't include any wear testing, so we can't judge which tyre is best value overall.

Results

1st: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1

Goodyear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen 1
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 68
  2. Dry: 11
  3. Wet: 13
  4. Snow: 12
  5. Comfort: 12
  6. Rolling Resistance: 10
  7. Noise: 10
Excellent handling behavior in all weather conditions, good steering, short braking distances, average price.
Slightly noisy.

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2nd: Pirelli Scorpion Winter

Pirelli Scorpion Winter
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 71
  2. Dry: 12
  3. Wet: 13
  4. Snow: 11
  5. Comfort: 10
  6. Rolling Resistance: 14
  7. Noise: 11
Balanced performance, dynamic handling, excellent steering, low rolling resistance.
High price.

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3rd: Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV

Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 69
  2. Dry: 10
  3. Wet: 12
  4. Snow: 13
  5. Comfort: 10
  6. Rolling Resistance: 14
  7. Noise: 10
Winter specialist with excellent snow performance, dynamic sporty wet handling and low rolling resistance.
Slightly long dry braking.

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4th: Fulda Kristall Control SUV

Fulda Kristall Control SUV
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 66
  2. Dry: 11
  3. Wet: 12
  4. Snow: 12
  5. Comfort: 9
  6. Rolling Resistance: 12
  7. Noise: 10
Well-priced winter tyres with well balanced a balanced performance, very good snow traction, high aquaplaning safety.
Understeer in snow.

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5th: Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV

Dunlop Winter Sport 5 SUV
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 66
  2. Dry: 11
  3. Wet: 13
  4. Snow: 11
  5. Comfort: 11
  6. Rolling Resistance: 10
  7. Noise: 10
Dynamic sporty wet handling, short braking distances in the wet, high aquaplaning safety.
Average snow cornering, high price.

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6th: Nokian WR SUV 4

Nokian WR SUV 4
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 67
  2. Dry: 10
  3. Wet: 10
  4. Snow: 14
  5. Comfort: 9
  6. Rolling Resistance: 13
  7. Noise: 11
Winter king with excellent driving on snow and ice, low rolling resistance.
Long dry braking distances.

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7th: Michelin Latitude Alpin 2

Michelin Latitude Alpin 2
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 65
  2. Dry: 8
  3. Wet: 11
  4. Snow: 14
  5. Comfort: 12
  6. Rolling Resistance: 8
  7. Noise: 12
Good in the snow and wet, good steering response.
Long dry braking, high rolling resistance, expensive.

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8th: Firestone Destination Winter SUV

Firestone Destination Winter SUV
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 60
  2. Dry: 8
  3. Wet: 9
  4. Snow: 13
  5. Comfort: 8
  6. Rolling Resistance: 10
  7. Noise: 12
Very good in the snow, low purchase price.
Understeer and long braking distances in the dry and wet, average comfort.

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8th: Achilles Winter 101 X

Achilles Winter 101 X
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 61
  2. Dry: 11
  3. Wet: 10
  4. Snow: 11
  5. Comfort: 9
  6. Rolling Resistance: 8
  7. Noise: 12
Balance performance, very well priced.
Understeer in the wet, slow steering, high rolling resistance.

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10th: Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV

Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV
  • 235/60 R18
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 59
  2. Dry: 10
  3. Wet: 10
  4. Snow: 9
  5. Comfort: 11
  6. Rolling Resistance: 10
  7. Noise: 9
Balanced in the wet, low price.
Poor snow grip, long dry braking.

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