For 2017, the "All Road" edition of the German publication Auto Bild has tested ten 225/55 R17 winter tyres. This size is commonly used by compact crossovers, such as the BMW X1 used in this test.
The biggest interest in this test was the Chinese budget winter tyre from Pace. With the most expensive set of winter tyres costing 660 euros at time of test, the budget Pace tyres were a full 400 euros cheaper, at just 260 euros. Are the savings worth the performance drop? Read on below to find out.
Dry
In the dry, the summer tyre dominates braking, and wins the handling test. The Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 is the best of the winter tyres, while the test-topping Goodyear and Continental tyres could only manage mid-pack. The budget Pace tyre is acceptable under dry braking conditions, but is by far the worst during the dry handling lap.
- Reference Summer
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Kumho WinterCraft WP71
- Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S
- Michelin Alpin 5
- Pace Antarctica 5 Pace
- Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Hankook Winter i cept evo2
- Reference Summer
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Hankook Winter i cept evo2
- Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Michelin Alpin 5
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S
- Kumho WinterCraft WP71
- Pace Antarctica 5 Pace
Wet
For the top five winter tyres, wet braking was closely contested with the summer tyre, with the Goodyear winter tyre finishing top. Wet handling puts the summer reference back on top, with the Goodyear winter being the best of the winter tyres on test. In both tests, the budget Pace tyre again performs the worst.
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Michelin Alpin 5
- Reference Summer
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Kumho WinterCraft WP71
- Hankook Winter i cept evo2
- Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
- Pace Antarctica 5 Pace
- Reference Summer
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Michelin Alpin 5
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Hankook Winter i cept evo2
- Kumho WinterCraft WP71
- Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
- Pace Antarctica 5 Pace
- Michelin Alpin 5
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Reference Summer
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S
- Hankook Winter i cept evo2
- Kumho WinterCraft WP71
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Pace Antarctica 5 Pace
Snow
Surprisingly the Pace budget tyre wins the snow braking test, proving that it's easy for a budget tyre manufacturer to make a tyre which works well in one road condition, but not all three. Snow handling is also closely contested, with only the Maxxis and Vredestein noticeably behind the rest.
- Pace Antarctica 5 Pace
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Michelin Alpin 5
- Hankook Winter i cept evo2
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S
- Kumho WinterCraft WP71
- Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
- Reference Summer
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Michelin Alpin 5
- Hankook Winter i cept evo2
- Kumho WinterCraft WP71
- Pace Antarctica 5 Pace
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
- Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S
- Reference Summer
Environmental
Both the Continental and Bridgestone winter tyres have a lower rolling resistance than the summer tyre on test, and every winter tyre proves to be quieter than the summer.
- Pace Antarctica 5 Pace
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S
- Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
- Michelin Alpin 5
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Hankook Winter i cept evo2
- Kumho WinterCraft WP71
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Reference Summer
- Pace Antarctica 5 Pace
- Maxxis Arctictrekker WP05
- Kumho WinterCraft WP71
- Hankook Winter i cept evo2
- Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S
- Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3
- Bridgestone Blizzak LM001
- Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen
- Continental WinterContact TS 850 P
- Michelin Alpin 5
Result
Auto Bild started the test asking whether the huge cost saving of a budget winter tyre was worth the risk? Their answer is a firm no, unless you only ever drive it on snow covered roads - the dry and wet penalty is too vast.
Very good results on snow, High resistance to aquaplaning, Very high grip on wet surfaces, High level of comfort, Precise steering on dry surfaces
Slightly high noise level, expensive
Test winner
Total: 53
Dry
8
Wet
11
Snow
8
Comfort
10
Rolling Resistance
8
Noise
8
Good balance of performance, Very good results on snow, especially in terms of lateral stability, Low noise level
Average braking performance on dry surfaces, Average ride comfort, High price
Recommended
Total: 50
Dry
8
Wet
8
Snow
10
Comfort
8
Rolling Resistance
8
Noise
8
Good results on snow, High resistance to aquaplaning, Short braking distance on wet roads
Average braking performance on dry surfaces, High price
Recommended
Total: 50
Dry
8
Wet
10
Snow
8
Comfort
8
Rolling Resistance
8
Noise
8
Short braking distance on dry and wet surfaces, Good lateral stability on wet surfaces
Medium traction and lateral stability in snow, Increased noise level
Recommended
Total: 50
Dry
8
Wet
10
Snow
8
Comfort
8
Rolling Resistance
8
Noise
8
Close to a summer tyre in the dry, good snow traction, low rolling resistance
Average aquaplaning resistance, poor snow handling
Good
Total: 51
Dry
10
Wet
8
Snow
8
Comfort
8
Rolling Resistance
9
Noise
8
Short braking distance and general well balanced snow performance, well priced
Long braking distances in the dry and wet, average comfort
Satisfactory
Total: 44
Dry
6
Wet
8
Snow
8
Comfort
6
Rolling Resistance
8
Noise
8
Short braking distance and generally high wet grip, Low noise level
Poor snow grip, poor dry grip, high rolling resistance
Satisfactory
Total: 46
Dry
8
Wet
10
Snow
6
Comfort
8
Rolling Resistance
6
Noise
8
Good snow handling, Low price
Average aquaplaning resistance, low wet grip, poor dry grip and handling
Satisfactory
Total: 46
Dry
8
Wet
8
Snow
8
Comfort
6
Rolling Resistance
8
Noise
8
Good resistance to aquaplaning, Good grip on dry surfaces, Low noise level
Relatively weak grip and a long stopping distance on snow and wet surfaces, High rolling resistance
Not Recommended
Total: 44
Dry
8
Wet
6
Snow
8
Comfort
8
Rolling Resistance
6
Noise
8
Very good results on snow, Very low price, Very low noise level
Weak grip on dry and wet surfaces, Very long braking distances on wet surfaces, High rolling resistance
Not Recommended
Total: 39
Dry
6
Wet
4
Snow
8
Comfort
6
Rolling Resistance
6
Noise
9
Discussion