2019 AMS Winter SUV Tyre Test

Dry BrakingNokian WR Snowproof: 44.1 MHankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV: 46.8 M
Dry HandlingToyo Snowprox S954 SUV: 116.1 Km/HGoodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus: 114.1 Km/H
Subj. Dry HandlingVredestein Wintrac Pro: 10 PointsFalken Eurowinter HS01 SUV: 7 Points
Wet BrakingBridgestone Blizzak LM005: 31.2 MNokian WR Snowproof: 36.1 M
Wet HandlingGoodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus: 73.3 Km/HNokian WR Snowproof: 68.9 Km/H
Subj. Wet HandlingVredestein Wintrac Pro: 10 PointsToyo Snowprox S954 SUV: 6 Points
Straight AquaFalken Eurowinter HS01 SUV: 83.1 Km/HNokian WR Snowproof: 70.3 Km/H
Snow BrakingBridgestone Blizzak LM005: 25.6 MToyo Snowprox S954 SUV: 28.1 M
Snow HandlingGoodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus: 49.4 Km/HGiti GitiWinterW1: 46 Km/H
Subj. Snow HandlingGoodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus: 10 PointsToyo Snowprox S954 SUV: 7 Points
Subj. ComfortFalken Eurowinter HS01 SUV: 10 PointsGiti GitiWinterW1: 7 Points
NoiseHankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV: 69.3 dBPirelli Winter Sottozero 3: 71.1 dB
PriceGiti GitiWinterW1: 73 Michelin Alpin 6: 160
Rolling ResistanceContinental WinterContact TS 850 P: 7.4 kg / tFalken Eurowinter HS01 SUV: 9.3 kg / t
Warning, lots of data ahead! For the 2019 winter, Auto Motor und Sport have tested eleven of the best winter tyres in the 215/55 R17 crossover SUV size.

The biggest plus of this test is the sheer amount of data they've produced, as they've rated the tyres both objectively and subjectively in a lot of categories.

It's also good news for Goodyear, as the new Goodyear UltraGrip Performance + wins on its first outing, proving to have an excellent balance of wet and snow performance, along with short dry braking distances.

Stepping up on the promise of 2018, the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 once again proves itself as a strong contender, and maybe the tyre of choice for the snowier climates.

The Vredestein Wintrac Pro rounds out the top three places. This tyre might be the best choice for the drier, warmer climates, as it excelled in the dry and wet handling tests, but was a little weaker than the best on test during snow testing.

The other result worth mentioning was the new Nokian SnowProof. It's not very often we see Nokian performing badly in a winter test, let alone finishing last. In this test, the Nokian performed extremely well in the dry, with the best dry braking result and had a good result in the snow, but really struggled in the wet. As this is the first test of the SnowProof we've seen, we'll await more test data to see whether the new Nokian really is this bad in the wet, or it was something related to this test.

The overall results were incredibly close, with all the tyres down to eighth place being recommended, but if you want the best for your SUV in 215/55 R17, pick from the top five.

Dry

Interestingly, the top two spots during dry braking were taken by the bottom two tyres overall, with the Nokian and Giti proving to be the best at stopping the VW T-Roc.

Dry handling was extremely close between the eleven tyres, with a difference of just 2 km/h between the best and worst tyres.

The sporty Vredestein was the only tyre to receive ten points during subjective dry handling scoring.

Wet

The Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 had a significant advantage during wet braking.

The top three tyres overall dominated wet handling, both in average speed and subjectively.

The Falken had an advantage during the aquaplaning testing, with the rest of the tyres closely matched.

Snow

Bridgestone once again stopped the VW T-Roc in the shortest distance, this time during snow braking.

As in the wet testing, the new Goodyear proved to be excellent during snow handling.

Environment

All the tyres were relatively close in both external noise and subjective internal noise, but the Falken proved to have the best balance of the two.

The Continental WinterContact TS850P had the lowest rolling resistance, but was one of the most expensive to buy.

Results

1st: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+

Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Plus
  • 215/55 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking3rd44.5 M44.1 M+0.4 M99.1%
Dry Handling11th114.1 Km/H116.1 Km/H-2 Km/H98.28%
Subj. Dry Handling6th8 Points10 Points-2 Points80%
Wet Braking3rd32.5 M31.2 M+1.3 M96%
Wet Handling1st73.3 Km/H100%
Subj. Wet Handling1st10 Points100%
Straight Aqua2nd76.5 Km/H83.1 Km/H-6.6 Km/H92.06%
Snow Braking2nd26 M25.6 M+0.4 M98.46%
Snow Handling1st49.4 Km/H100%
Subj. Snow Handling1st10 Points100%
Subj. Comfort2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Noise6th70.2 dB69.3 dB+0.9 dB98.72%
Price9th145 73 +72 50.34%
Rolling Resistance4th8 kg / t7.4 kg / t+0.6 kg / t92.5%
Great in the wet and on snow, show braking in the dry, worked well with the vehicles ESP systems
Average dry grip when cornering
Test winner

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2nd: Bridgestone Blizzak LM005

Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
  • 215/55 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking4th44.6 M44.1 M+0.5 M98.88%
Dry Handling7th114.9 Km/H116.1 Km/H-1.2 Km/H98.97%
Subj. Dry Handling2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Wet Braking1st31.2 M100%
Wet Handling3rd72.9 Km/H73.3 Km/H-0.4 Km/H99.45%
Subj. Wet Handling1st10 Points100%
Straight Aqua6th75.5 Km/H83.1 Km/H-7.6 Km/H90.85%
Snow Braking1st25.6 M100%
Snow Handling7th48 Km/H49.4 Km/H-1.4 Km/H97.17%
Subj. Snow Handling2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Subj. Comfort2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Noise6th70.2 dB69.3 dB+0.9 dB98.72%
Price7th128 73 +55 57.03%
Rolling Resistance2nd7.6 kg / t7.4 kg / t+0.2 kg / t97.37%
Very good handling in the snow and the wet, stable behavior during emergency maneuvers
Relatively long braking and poor lateral stability in the dry
Excellent

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3rd: Vredestein Wintrac Pro

Vredestein Wintrac Pro
  • 215/55 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking4th44.6 M44.1 M+0.5 M98.88%
Dry Handling4th115.4 Km/H116.1 Km/H-0.7 Km/H99.4%
Subj. Dry Handling1st10 Points100%
Wet Braking4th32.6 M31.2 M+1.4 M95.71%
Wet Handling2nd73.2 Km/H73.3 Km/H-0.1 Km/H99.86%
Subj. Wet Handling1st10 Points100%
Straight Aqua5th75.8 Km/H83.1 Km/H-7.3 Km/H91.22%
Snow Braking8th27.3 M25.6 M+1.7 M93.77%
Snow Handling4th48.4 Km/H49.4 Km/H-1 Km/H97.98%
Subj. Snow Handling8th8 Points10 Points-2 Points80%
Subj. Comfort8th8 Points10 Points-2 Points80%
Noise4th70 dB69.3 dB+0.7 dB99%
Price5th118 73 +45 61.86%
Rolling Resistance8th8.7 kg / t7.4 kg / t+1.3 kg / t85.06%
Precise steering response and high traction in the dry and wet
Relatively long snow braking, high rolling resistance
Excellent

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4th: Continental WinterContact TS 850 P

Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
  • 215/55 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking8th45.7 M44.1 M+1.6 M96.5%
Dry Handling3rd115.6 Km/H116.1 Km/H-0.5 Km/H99.57%
Subj. Dry Handling2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Wet Braking2nd32.3 M31.2 M+1.1 M96.59%
Wet Handling5th72.5 Km/H73.3 Km/H-0.8 Km/H98.91%
Subj. Wet Handling5th9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Straight Aqua4th76 Km/H83.1 Km/H-7.1 Km/H91.46%
Snow Braking6th27.2 M25.6 M+1.6 M94.12%
Snow Handling6th48.3 Km/H49.4 Km/H-1.1 Km/H97.77%
Subj. Snow Handling2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Subj. Comfort2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Noise9th70.7 dB69.3 dB+1.4 dB98.02%
Price10th147 73 +74 49.66%
Rolling Resistance1st7.4 kg / t100%
Although tires were launched five years ago, they still perform well due to their balanced performance, stable behavior and good lateral stability in the snow, good wet handling
Relatively long braking distance on snow and dry surfaces
Excellent

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5th: Michelin Alpin 6

Michelin Alpin 6
  • 215/55 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking4th44.6 M44.1 M+0.5 M98.88%
Dry Handling7th114.9 Km/H116.1 Km/H-1.2 Km/H98.97%
Subj. Dry Handling2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Wet Braking5th33.5 M31.2 M+2.3 M93.13%
Wet Handling4th72.6 Km/H73.3 Km/H-0.7 Km/H99.05%
Subj. Wet Handling1st10 Points100%
Straight Aqua7th75.4 Km/H83.1 Km/H-7.7 Km/H90.73%
Snow Braking6th27.2 M25.6 M+1.6 M94.12%
Snow Handling10th47.7 Km/H49.4 Km/H-1.7 Km/H96.56%
Subj. Snow Handling2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Subj. Comfort2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Noise8th70.5 dB69.3 dB+1.2 dB98.3%
Price11th160 73 +87 45.63%
Rolling Resistance4th8 kg / t7.4 kg / t+0.6 kg / t92.5%
Good handling in the snow and on dry roads, good lateral grip in the wet
Relatively long braking distances in the snow and wet
Good

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6th: Hankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV

Hankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV
  • 215/55 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking11th46.8 M44.1 M+2.7 M94.23%
Dry Handling2nd115.9 Km/H116.1 Km/H-0.2 Km/H99.83%
Subj. Dry Handling6th8 Points10 Points-2 Points80%
Wet Braking5th33.5 M31.2 M+2.3 M93.13%
Wet Handling7th70.7 Km/H73.3 Km/H-2.6 Km/H96.45%
Subj. Wet Handling8th6 Points10 Points-4 Points60%
Straight Aqua9th72.3 Km/H83.1 Km/H-10.8 Km/H87%
Snow Braking4th26.5 M25.6 M+0.9 M96.6%
Snow Handling2nd49.2 Km/H49.4 Km/H-0.2 Km/H99.6%
Subj. Snow Handling2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Subj. Comfort2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Noise1st69.3 dB100%
Price4th115 73 +42 63.48%
Rolling Resistance10th9 kg / t7.4 kg / t+1.6 kg / t82.22%
Good traction and handling in the snow, good dry handling, very quiet
Long dry braking, unbalanced in the wet, high rolling resistance
Good

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7th: Falken Eurowinter HS01 SUV

Falken Eurowinter HS01 SUV
  • 215/55 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking10th45.9 M44.1 M+1.8 M96.08%
Dry Handling9th114.4 Km/H116.1 Km/H-1.7 Km/H98.54%
Subj. Dry Handling10th7 Points10 Points-3 Points70%
Wet Braking8th34 M31.2 M+2.8 M91.76%
Wet Handling10th69.8 Km/H73.3 Km/H-3.5 Km/H95.23%
Subj. Wet Handling8th6 Points10 Points-4 Points60%
Straight Aqua1st83.1 Km/H100%
Snow Braking3rd26.1 M25.6 M+0.5 M98.08%
Snow Handling3rd48.7 Km/H49.4 Km/H-0.7 Km/H98.58%
Subj. Snow Handling2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Subj. Comfort1st10 Points100%
Noise3rd69.8 dB69.3 dB+0.5 dB99.28%
Price2nd106 73 +33 68.87%
Rolling Resistance11th9.3 kg / t7.4 kg / t+1.9 kg / t79.57%
Good snow performance, very good aquaplaning resistance
Relatively weak wet grip, average dry performance
Good

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8th: Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV

Toyo Snowprox S954 SUV
  • 215/55 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking8th45.7 M44.1 M+1.6 M96.5%
Dry Handling1st116.1 Km/H100%
Subj. Dry Handling2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Wet Braking10th34.8 M31.2 M+3.6 M89.66%
Wet Handling8th70.5 Km/H73.3 Km/H-2.8 Km/H96.18%
Subj. Wet Handling8th6 Points10 Points-4 Points60%
Straight Aqua8th74.1 Km/H83.1 Km/H-9 Km/H89.17%
Snow Braking11th28.1 M25.6 M+2.5 M91.1%
Snow Handling8th47.9 Km/H49.4 Km/H-1.5 Km/H96.96%
Subj. Snow Handling10th7 Points10 Points-3 Points70%
Subj. Comfort8th8 Points10 Points-2 Points80%
Noise10th71 dB69.3 dB+1.7 dB97.61%
Price3rd111 73 +38 65.77%
Rolling Resistance3rd7.9 kg / t7.4 kg / t+0.5 kg / t93.67%
Strong in the dry
Long braking distances in the dry, wet and snow. Poor snow handling, poor wet handling
Good

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9th: Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3

Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
  • 215/55 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking7th44.8 M44.1 M+0.7 M98.44%
Dry Handling10th114.2 Km/H116.1 Km/H-1.9 Km/H98.36%
Subj. Dry Handling6th8 Points10 Points-2 Points80%
Wet Braking9th34.4 M31.2 M+3.2 M90.7%
Wet Handling9th70.3 Km/H73.3 Km/H-3 Km/H95.91%
Subj. Wet Handling6th7 Points10 Points-3 Points70%
Straight Aqua10th71.7 Km/H83.1 Km/H-11.4 Km/H86.28%
Snow Braking10th27.9 M25.6 M+2.3 M91.76%
Snow Handling8th47.9 Km/H49.4 Km/H-1.5 Km/H96.96%
Subj. Snow Handling8th8 Points10 Points-2 Points80%
Subj. Comfort2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Noise11th71.1 dB69.3 dB+1.8 dB97.47%
Price8th134 73 +61 54.48%
Rolling Resistance7th8.6 kg / t7.4 kg / t+1.2 kg / t86.05%
Balanced dry performance
Long braking distances in the snow and wet, weak aquaplaning resistance
Average

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10th: Giti GitiWinterW1

Giti GitiWinterW1
  • 215/55 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking2nd44.3 M44.1 M+0.2 M99.55%
Dry Handling5th115.2 Km/H116.1 Km/H-0.9 Km/H99.22%
Subj. Dry Handling10th7 Points10 Points-3 Points70%
Wet Braking5th33.5 M31.2 M+2.3 M93.13%
Wet Handling6th70.8 Km/H73.3 Km/H-2.5 Km/H96.59%
Subj. Wet Handling6th7 Points10 Points-3 Points70%
Straight Aqua2nd76.5 Km/H83.1 Km/H-6.6 Km/H92.06%
Snow Braking9th27.7 M25.6 M+2.1 M92.42%
Snow Handling11th46 Km/H49.4 Km/H-3.4 Km/H93.12%
Subj. Snow Handling10th7 Points10 Points-3 Points70%
Subj. Comfort11th7 Points10 Points-3 Points70%
Noise5th70.1 dB69.3 dB+0.8 dB98.86%
Price1st73 100%
Rolling Resistance9th8.8 kg / t7.4 kg / t+1.4 kg / t84.09%
Very low price, short braking distances in the dry
Long braking distances and poor grip in the snow, poor wet handling, understeer in the dry
Average

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11th: Nokian WR Snowproof

Nokian WR Snowproof
  • 215/55 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Dry Braking1st44.1 M100%
Dry Handling5th115.2 Km/H116.1 Km/H-0.9 Km/H99.22%
Subj. Dry Handling6th8 Points10 Points-2 Points80%
Wet Braking11th36.1 M31.2 M+4.9 M86.43%
Wet Handling11th68.9 Km/H73.3 Km/H-4.4 Km/H94%
Subj. Wet Handling8th6 Points10 Points-4 Points60%
Straight Aqua11th70.3 Km/H83.1 Km/H-12.8 Km/H84.6%
Snow Braking5th26.6 M25.6 M+1 M96.24%
Snow Handling4th48.4 Km/H49.4 Km/H-1 Km/H97.98%
Subj. Snow Handling2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Subj. Comfort8th8 Points10 Points-2 Points80%
Noise2nd69.7 dB69.3 dB+0.4 dB99.43%
Price6th125 73 +52 58.4%
Rolling Resistance6th8.4 kg / t7.4 kg / t+1 kg / t88.1%
Good handling in the snow, short braking distances in the snow and dry, acceptable safety on dry roads
Long braking distances and poor lateral stability in the wet
Average

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