2018 Auto Bild Winter Tyre Test

Test Summary
Wet BrakingYokohama BluEarth Winter V905
Dry BrakingContinental WinterContact TS 860
Wet HandlingKleber Krisalp HP3
Goodyear UltraGrip 9
Nokian WR D4
Rolling ResistanceNokian WR D4
NoiseContinental WinterContact TS 860
Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
Snow BrakingMichelin Alpin 5
Snow HandlingSemperit Master Grip 2
Pirelli Cinturato Winter
Kleber Krisalp HP3
Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
Following on from the 51 winter tyre braking test, the excellent German publication Auto Bild have promoted the best 20 tyres to their full winter test, which covers every aspect of the winter tyres performance.

As always, an (unnamed) summer and all season tyre have been included as reference, and to make a change from the past few years, it isn’t the remarkable Continental WinterContact TS860 taking the top spot overall…

Dry

During the dry braking test the summer tyre dominated, with the all season tyre bridging the gap between the best winter tyre and the summer tyre (which leads us to guess the all season tyre was either the Michelin CrossClimate or Continental AllSeasonContact.) Yokohama had a small dry braking advantage, but the rest of the pack was extremely close, covered by just a few meters.

Dry handling resulted with the summer tyre with a similar advantage, but this time the Hankook was the leading winter tyre.

Wet

Wet performance is a key factor for UK winters, so these are the most important results in the test. Both Bridgestone and Continental were the standouts of wet braking, with Dunlop, Fulda and Hankook extremely close.

Continental and Hankook were the two brands that managed to score consistently in the wet grip tests.

Continental once again proved its wet consistency with a third wet podium in the straight aquaplaning testing.

Snow

It will come as no surprise the summer tyre struggled in the snow testing, with dangerous / unusable levels of performance. During snow braking Goodyear lead, but the results were close overall.

Snow handling once again had the Goodyear leading, with both the Pirelli and Nokian also consistent across the two tests.

Environment

Nokian and Goodyear continued the strong results in the rolling resistance tests, with the Nokian having a huge advantage in fuel use.

The noise testing highlighted the fact many winter tyres are now quieter than their summer counterparts.

Value

As we’ve seen with other Michelin patterns, the Alpin 5 had a clear lead in wear testing, which made them the best value tyre on test. Hankook also proved to be a very low wear tyre, which when combined with the lower purchase price, proved to be as equally good value as the Michelin.

Results

The overall results are below, and be sure to check out autobild.de, or the September 20th issue of the Auto Bild magazine for the full results.

1st: Dunlop Winter Sport 5

Dunlop Winter Sport 5
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 49
  2. Dry: 6
  3. Wet: 7
  4. Snow: 7
  5. Comfort: 7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 7
  7. Noise: 7
  8. Wear: 8
The best tyre on test, with no drawbacks. Stable handling in all conditions, precise steering behavior and good feedback.
None mentioned.

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2nd: Continental WinterContact TS 860

Continental WinterContact TS 860
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 50
  2. Dry: 6
  3. Wet: 8
  4. Snow: 7
  5. Comfort: 9
  6. Rolling Resistance: 7
  7. Noise: 7
  8. Wear: 6
Excellent all rounder with excellent winter performance. High steering precision and dynamic handling on snow and in the wet, good comfort, low rolling resistance.
None mentioned.

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3rd: Kleber Krisalp HP3

Kleber Krisalp HP3
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 46
  2. Dry: 6
  3. Wet: 6
  4. Snow: 9
  5. Comfort: 5
  6. Rolling Resistance: 7
  7. Noise: 8
  8. Wear: 5
Inexpensive winter tyre with excellent snow performance. Short braking distances in all conditions, low noise, good price to performance ratio.
None mentioned.

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4th: Fulda Kristall Control HP2

Fulda Kristall Control HP2
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 43
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 7
  4. Snow: 7
  5. Comfort: 5
  6. Rolling Resistance: 7
  7. Noise: 7
  8. Wear: 5
Winter specialist with a balanced performance in the dry and wet. High aquaplaning safety, quiet, low fuel use.
None mentioned.

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5th: Hankook Winter i cept RS2

Hankook Winter i cept RS2
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 45
  2. Dry: 6
  3. Wet: 7
  4. Snow: 8
  5. Comfort: 6
  6. Rolling Resistance: 4
  7. Noise: 5
  8. Wear: 9
Premium tyres with excellent handling qualities in all weather conditions. Low wear, good price / performance ratio.
Slightly high rolling resistance.

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6th: Goodyear UltraGrip 9

Goodyear UltraGrip 9
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 48
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 7
  4. Snow: 9
  5. Comfort: 6
  6. Rolling Resistance: 8
  7. Noise: 6
  8. Wear: 7
Good steering precision on snow covered and wet roads, safe aquaplaning properties, high mileage, low rolling resistance.
Extended dry braking distances.

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7th: Debica Frigo HP2

Debica Frigo HP2
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 39
  2. Dry: 6
  3. Wet: 5
  4. Snow: 6
  5. Comfort: 5
  6. Rolling Resistance: 6
  7. Noise: 6
  8. Wear: 5
Good value winter tyres with balance driving on snow and dry roads. Short braking distances in all weather conditions.
Average handling in the wet.

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8th: Falken Eurowinter HS01

Falken Eurowinter HS01
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 40
  2. Dry: 6
  3. Wet: 6
  4. Snow: 5
  5. Comfort: 7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 4
  7. Noise: 7
  8. Wear: 5
Balanced winter tyres with a good ability on on snow and dry roads. Best aquaplaning performance.
Average wet cornering.

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9th: Nokian WR D4

Nokian WR D4
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 46
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 4
  4. Snow: 9
  5. Comfort: 5
  6. Rolling Resistance: 10
  7. Noise: 7
  8. Wear: 6
Best tyre for snow covered roads, good price / performance ratio with low rolling resistance.
Average wet performance.

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10th: Uniroyal MS+ 77

Uniroyal MS Plus 77
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 40
  2. Dry: 4
  3. Wet: 7
  4. Snow: 7
  5. Comfort: 7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 5
  7. Noise: 5
  8. Wear: 5
Excellent in the wet, good aquaplaning resistance, comfortable, well priced.
Long dry braking and poor dry handling.

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11th: Michelin Alpin 5

Michelin Alpin 5
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 37
  2. Dry: 6
  3. Wet: 6
  4. Snow: 4
  5. Comfort: 2
  6. Rolling Resistance: 4
  7. Noise: 5
  8. Wear: 10
Even as one of the most expensive tyres on test it finished as the best value tyre due to extremely low wear. Good in the wet and dry.
Average snow performance, high rolling resistance.

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12th: Semperit Master Grip 2

Semperit Master Grip 2
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 43
  2. Dry: 4
  3. Wet: 6
  4. Snow: 7
  5. Comfort: 6
  6. Rolling Resistance: 6
  7. Noise: 8
  8. Wear: 6
Good in the snow and wet, low noise.
Long dry braking, average dry handling.

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13th: Pirelli Cinturato Winter

Pirelli Cinturato Winter
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 42
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 7
  4. Snow: 8
  5. Comfort: 7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 5
  7. Noise: 8
  8. Wear: 2
Dynamic sporty handling in the snow and wet, good steering precision.
Poor wear, low value, average dry grip.

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14th: Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO

Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 45
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 7
  4. Snow: 4
  5. Comfort: 9
  6. Rolling Resistance: 7
  7. Noise: 8
  8. Wear: 5
Wet specialist with short braking distances and good aquaplaning properties, good value.
Poor snow performance.

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15th: Yokohama BluEarth Winter V905

Yokohama BluEarth Winter V905
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 43
  2. Dry: 7
  3. Wet: 6
  4. Snow: 4
  5. Comfort: 8
  6. Rolling Resistance: 6
  7. Noise: 7
  8. Wear: 5
Dry specialist with short braking distances and good handling in the dry. Good comfort.
Average snow performance.

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16th: Barum Polaris 3

Barum Polaris 3
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 36
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 4
  4. Snow: 7
  5. Comfort: 4
  6. Rolling Resistance: 7
  7. Noise: 5
  8. Wear: 4
Good snow performance, short wet braking distances, low price.
Understeer in the wet, long dry braking, poor wear.

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17th: Vredestein Snowtrac 5

Vredestein Snowtrac 5
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 35
  2. Dry: 6
  3. Wet: 4
  4. Snow: 6
  5. Comfort: 5
  6. Rolling Resistance: 6
  7. Noise: 5
  8. Wear: 3
Balance performance in the snow and dry, low rolling resistance.
Low grip in the wet, poor wear.

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18th: Matador MP 92 Sibir Snow

Matador MP 92 Sibir Snow
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 37
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 4
  4. Snow: 5
  5. Comfort: 7
  6. Rolling Resistance: 6
  7. Noise: 7
  8. Wear: 3
Good snow handling, good comfort, low priced.
Poor wet performance, long dry braking, high wear.

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19th: Firestone Winterhawk 3

Firestone Winterhawk 3
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 36
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 4
  4. Snow: 5
  5. Comfort: 4
  6. Rolling Resistance: 6
  7. Noise: 6
  8. Wear: 6
Low price, ok in snow.
Low grip and slow steering in the wet, long wet and dry braking, low comfort.

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20th: Gislaved Euro Frost 6

Gislaved Euro Frost 6
  • 195/65 R15
  • 3PMSF: no
  1. Total: 37
  2. Dry: 5
  3. Wet: 4
  4. Snow: 6
  5. Comfort: 6
  6. Rolling Resistance: 6
  7. Noise: 6
  8. Wear: 4
Balanced snow performance.
Poor wet grip, slow wet steering, low aquaplaning resistance, long dry braking distances.

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