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2017 Auto Bild Winter Tyre Test

Jonathan Benson
Data analyzed and reviewed by Jonathan Benson
10 min read Updated

Adjust Result Weighting

The overall scores below are calculated using our weighting system. Since the original publication may use a different scoring methodology that wasn't shared, these results may differ from their published rankings. You can adjust the weightings below to explore how different priorities affect the results.
Dry 20%
Wet 35%
Snow 30%
Comfort 5%
Value 10%
Dry 20% · Wet 35% · Snow 30% · Comfort 5% · Value 10%
Fine-tune sub-categories
Dry
Wet
Snow
Comfort
Value

Test Results Data

BEST Good Average Below Average
# Tyre Total Score Dry Wet Snow Comfort Value
Braking M Handling Km/H % Braking M Handling Km/H Straight Aqua Km/H % Braking M Handling Km/H % Noise dB % Wear KM Value Price/1000 Rolling Resistance kg / t %
1 ▲9 Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 92.5% 45.4 109.5 90.1% 34 72.6 85.5 92.3% 28.3 51.4 94.9% 71.8 2 98.8% 48375 ★ 7.55 ★ 9.07 92.1%
2 ▲4 BFGoodrich gForce Winter 2 92% 46 107 88.5% 35.1 72.3 93.3 ★ 91.8% 25.9 ★ 52.3 2 99.7% 71.9 3 98.6% 38625 12.3 8.15 77.5%
3 ▼2 Continental WinterContact TS 860 92% 44.5 3 110.8 2 91.5% 33.5 74.6 87.5 94.3% 27.5 52.2 3 96.9% 73 97.1% 34500 15.94 7.96 71.3%
4 ▼2 Michelin Alpin 5 91.9% 45.4 109.1 89.9% 33.3 74.9 3 88.7 94.9% 28.7 51.2 94.1% 72.2 98.2% 44250 3 12.43 8.52 80.1%
5 ▲2 Fulda Kristall Control HP2 91.9% 45.5 109.4 90% 35.5 71.3 90.5 90.5% 28.1 52.2 3 96% 74 95.8% 47625 2 9.13 3 7.95 90.8%
6 ▲2 Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO 91.8% 46.7 108.5 88.5% 32.5 3 74.7 90.7 3 96% 28.7 50.9 93.8% 70.9 ★ 100% 40125 12.71 8.2 77.9%
7 ▲10 Sava Eskimo HP2 91.8% 46.3 109.1 89.1% 36.4 71.1 85 88.7% 27.2 3 51.9 97.1% 73.5 96.5% 44250 3 7.57 2 7.83 93.4%
8 ▼5 Dunlop Winter Sport 5 91.4% 45.1 108.7 90% 33.6 74.2 86.8 93.9% 27.6 51.6 96.1% 73 97.1% 35250 15.04 8.03 72.3%
9 ▲7 Barum Polaris 3 91.4% 45.7 109.6 89.9% 35.8 71.2 85.4 89.5% 27.6 52.6 ★ 97.2% 73.1 97% 37500 9.33 7.53 3 84.5%
10 ▼6 Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1 91.3% 44.9 108.8 90.3% 33.4 74.1 88.1 94.2% 27.7 52 96.4% 72.4 97.9% 32250 16.59 8.05 68.7%
11 ▼2 Kleber Krisalp HP3 91.2% 45.6 107.3 89% 35.7 72.8 90.9 2 91.2% 26.7 2 51.7 97.7% 71.9 3 98.6% 36375 11.55 8.3 76.3%
12 ▼7 Semperit Speed Grip 3 90.9% 45.6 109.6 90% 34.4 73.6 86.5 92.6% 27.4 51.1 95.9% 72.8 97.4% 33375 13.78 7.88 72.8%
13 ▼1 Kumho WinterCraft WP71 90.9% 44.5 3 107.3 90% 34.8 72.1 84.8 91% 29.2 50.7 92.9% 72.2 98.2% 42375 9.2 7.91 86.9%
14 ▲4 Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 90.7% 43.7 2 109 91.5% 32.2 2 75.8 2 88.9 96.8% 29.8 50.2 91.5% 72.8 97.4% 29625 16.88 8.25 65.8%
15 ▼4 Gislaved EuroFrost 5 90.4% 44.9 109.3 90.5% 36.5 71.3 88.3 89.2% 28 50.9 94.8% 73.9 95.9% 37500 9.87 7.78 82.2%
16 ▼3 Uniroyal MS Plus 77 90.1% 45.2 108.3 89.8% 36 71.9 87.5 89.9% 28.1 49.7 93.4% 73.5 96.5% 37500 11.47 7.23 2 81.8%
17 ▼2 Yokohama W drive V905 90% 44.6 108.9 90.6% 34.7 73.5 84.6 91.9% 28.3 50.6 94% 73.7 96.2% 32625 12.72 8.57 70.8%
18 ▼4 Nokian WR D4 90% 44.5 3 108.3 90.4% 35 73.6 87.8 92% 27.7 50.9 95.3% 72.7 97.5% 28875 16.1 8.17 66.1%
19 Firestone Winterhawk 3 89.5% 44.8 108.6 90.3% 36.3 72.2 86.1 89.6% 27.9 50.4 94.4% 72.2 98.2% 34875 12.62 8.62 72.5%
20 Hankook Winter i cept evo2 89% 45.6 109.7 3 90% 35.9 70.6 87.5 89.3% 28.6 50 93% 73.5 96.5% 34875 12.47 8.21 74.2%
21 Reference Summer 68.7% 37.9 ★ 113.2 ★ 100% 31 ★ 77.5 ★ 90.5 99.7% 60.7 75.3 42.7% 7.1 ★ 94.2%
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1
Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 ▲9
92.5%
Dry 90% Wet 92% Snow 95% Comfort 99% Value 92%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 45.4 M
Dry Handling 109.5 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 34 M
Wet Handling 72.6 Km/H
Straight Aqua 85.5 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 28.3 M
Snow Handling 51.4 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 71.8 dB 2
Value
Wear 48375 KM ★
Value 7.55 Price/1000 ★
Rolling Resistance 9.07 kg / t
More information
2
BFGoodrich gForce Winter 2 ▲4
92%
Dry 89% Wet 92% Snow 100% Comfort 99% Value 78%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 46 M
Dry Handling 107 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 35.1 M
Wet Handling 72.3 Km/H
Straight Aqua 93.3 Km/H ★
Snow
Snow Braking 25.9 M ★
Snow Handling 52.3 Km/H 2
Comfort
Noise 71.9 dB 3
Value
Wear 38625 KM
Value 12.3 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 8.15 kg / t
More information
3
Continental WinterContact TS 860 ▼2
92%
Dry 92% Wet 94% Snow 97% Comfort 97% Value 71%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 44.5 M 3
Dry Handling 110.8 Km/H 2
Wet
Wet Braking 33.5 M
Wet Handling 74.6 Km/H
Straight Aqua 87.5 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 27.5 M
Snow Handling 52.2 Km/H 3
Comfort
Noise 73 dB
Value
Wear 34500 KM
Value 15.94 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 7.96 kg / t
More information
4
Michelin Alpin 5 ▼2
91.9%
Dry 90% Wet 95% Snow 94% Comfort 98% Value 80%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 45.4 M
Dry Handling 109.1 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 33.3 M
Wet Handling 74.9 Km/H 3
Straight Aqua 88.7 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 28.7 M
Snow Handling 51.2 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 72.2 dB
Value
Wear 44250 KM 3
Value 12.43 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 8.52 kg / t
More information
5
Fulda Kristall Control HP2 ▲2
91.9%
Dry 90% Wet 91% Snow 96% Comfort 96% Value 91%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 45.5 M
Dry Handling 109.4 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 35.5 M
Wet Handling 71.3 Km/H
Straight Aqua 90.5 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 28.1 M
Snow Handling 52.2 Km/H 3
Comfort
Noise 74 dB
Value
Wear 47625 KM 2
Value 9.13 Price/1000 3
Rolling Resistance 7.95 kg / t
More information
6
Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 EVO ▲2
91.8%
Dry 89% Wet 96% Snow 94% Comfort 100% Value 78%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 46.7 M
Dry Handling 108.5 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 32.5 M 3
Wet Handling 74.7 Km/H
Straight Aqua 90.7 Km/H 3
Snow
Snow Braking 28.7 M
Snow Handling 50.9 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 70.9 dB ★
Value
Wear 40125 KM
Value 12.71 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 8.2 kg / t
More information
7
Sava Eskimo HP2 ▲10
91.8%
Dry 89% Wet 89% Snow 97% Comfort 97% Value 93%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 46.3 M
Dry Handling 109.1 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 36.4 M
Wet Handling 71.1 Km/H
Straight Aqua 85 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 27.2 M 3
Snow Handling 51.9 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 73.5 dB
Value
Wear 44250 KM 3
Value 7.57 Price/1000 2
Rolling Resistance 7.83 kg / t
More information
8
Dunlop Winter Sport 5 ▼5
91.4%
Dry 90% Wet 94% Snow 96% Comfort 97% Value 72%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 45.1 M
Dry Handling 108.7 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 33.6 M
Wet Handling 74.2 Km/H
Straight Aqua 86.8 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 27.6 M
Snow Handling 51.6 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 73 dB
Value
Wear 35250 KM
Value 15.04 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 8.03 kg / t
More information
9
Barum Polaris 3 ▲7
91.4%
Dry 90% Wet 90% Snow 97% Comfort 97% Value 85%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 45.7 M
Dry Handling 109.6 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 35.8 M
Wet Handling 71.2 Km/H
Straight Aqua 85.4 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 27.6 M
Snow Handling 52.6 Km/H ★
Comfort
Noise 73.1 dB
Value
Wear 37500 KM
Value 9.33 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 7.53 kg / t 3
More information
10
Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen 1 ▼6
91.3%
Dry 90% Wet 94% Snow 96% Comfort 98% Value 69%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 44.9 M
Dry Handling 108.8 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 33.4 M
Wet Handling 74.1 Km/H
Straight Aqua 88.1 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 27.7 M
Snow Handling 52 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 72.4 dB
Value
Wear 32250 KM
Value 16.59 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 8.05 kg / t
More information
11
Kleber Krisalp HP3 ▼2
91.2%
Dry 89% Wet 91% Snow 98% Comfort 99% Value 76%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 45.6 M
Dry Handling 107.3 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 35.7 M
Wet Handling 72.8 Km/H
Straight Aqua 90.9 Km/H 2
Snow
Snow Braking 26.7 M 2
Snow Handling 51.7 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 71.9 dB 3
Value
Wear 36375 KM
Value 11.55 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 8.3 kg / t
More information
12
Semperit Speed Grip 3 ▼7
90.9%
Dry 90% Wet 93% Snow 96% Comfort 97% Value 73%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 45.6 M
Dry Handling 109.6 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 34.4 M
Wet Handling 73.6 Km/H
Straight Aqua 86.5 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 27.4 M
Snow Handling 51.1 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 72.8 dB
Value
Wear 33375 KM
Value 13.78 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 7.88 kg / t
More information
13
Kumho WinterCraft WP71 ▼1
90.9%
Dry 90% Wet 91% Snow 93% Comfort 98% Value 87%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 44.5 M 3
Dry Handling 107.3 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 34.8 M
Wet Handling 72.1 Km/H
Straight Aqua 84.8 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 29.2 M
Snow Handling 50.7 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 72.2 dB
Value
Wear 42375 KM
Value 9.2 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 7.91 kg / t
More information
14
Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 ▲4
90.7%
Dry 92% Wet 97% Snow 92% Comfort 97% Value 66%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 43.7 M 2
Dry Handling 109 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 32.2 M 2
Wet Handling 75.8 Km/H 2
Straight Aqua 88.9 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 29.8 M
Snow Handling 50.2 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 72.8 dB
Value
Wear 29625 KM
Value 16.88 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 8.25 kg / t
More information
15
Gislaved EuroFrost 5 ▼4
90.4%
Dry 91% Wet 89% Snow 95% Comfort 96% Value 82%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 44.9 M
Dry Handling 109.3 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 36.5 M
Wet Handling 71.3 Km/H
Straight Aqua 88.3 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 28 M
Snow Handling 50.9 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 73.9 dB
Value
Wear 37500 KM
Value 9.87 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 7.78 kg / t
More information
16
Uniroyal MS Plus 77 ▼3
90.1%
Dry 90% Wet 90% Snow 93% Comfort 97% Value 82%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 45.2 M
Dry Handling 108.3 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 36 M
Wet Handling 71.9 Km/H
Straight Aqua 87.5 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 28.1 M
Snow Handling 49.7 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 73.5 dB
Value
Wear 37500 KM
Value 11.47 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 7.23 kg / t 2
More information
17
Yokohama W drive V905 ▼2
90%
Dry 91% Wet 92% Snow 94% Comfort 96% Value 71%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 44.6 M
Dry Handling 108.9 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 34.7 M
Wet Handling 73.5 Km/H
Straight Aqua 84.6 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 28.3 M
Snow Handling 50.6 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 73.7 dB
Value
Wear 32625 KM
Value 12.72 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 8.57 kg / t
More information
18
Nokian WR D4 ▼4
90%
Dry 90% Wet 92% Snow 95% Comfort 98% Value 66%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 44.5 M 3
Dry Handling 108.3 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 35 M
Wet Handling 73.6 Km/H
Straight Aqua 87.8 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 27.7 M
Snow Handling 50.9 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 72.7 dB
Value
Wear 28875 KM
Value 16.1 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 8.17 kg / t
More information
19
Firestone Winterhawk 3
89.5%
Dry 90% Wet 90% Snow 94% Comfort 98% Value 73%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 44.8 M
Dry Handling 108.6 Km/H
Wet
Wet Braking 36.3 M
Wet Handling 72.2 Km/H
Straight Aqua 86.1 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 27.9 M
Snow Handling 50.4 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 72.2 dB
Value
Wear 34875 KM
Value 12.62 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 8.62 kg / t
More information
20
Hankook Winter i cept evo2
89%
Dry 90% Wet 89% Snow 93% Comfort 97% Value 74%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 45.6 M
Dry Handling 109.7 Km/H 3
Wet
Wet Braking 35.9 M
Wet Handling 70.6 Km/H
Straight Aqua 87.5 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 28.6 M
Snow Handling 50 Km/H
Comfort
Noise 73.5 dB
Value
Wear 34875 KM
Value 12.47 Price/1000
Rolling Resistance 8.21 kg / t
More information
21
Reference Summer
68.7%
Dry 100% Wet 100% Snow 43% Comfort 94% Value 100%
View detailed scores
Dry
Dry Braking 37.9 M ★
Dry Handling 113.2 Km/H ★
Wet
Wet Braking 31 M ★
Wet Handling 77.5 Km/H ★
Straight Aqua 90.5 Km/H
Snow
Snow Braking 60.7 M
Comfort
Noise 75.3 dB
Value
Rolling Resistance 7.1 kg / t ★
More information
Not every driver has the same priorities. Adjust the category weightings above to re-rank the tyres based on what matters most to your driving style.
Scores are colour-coded from red (weakest) through yellow to green (strongest) to help you quickly spot each tyre's strengths and weaknesses.
The original test ranking is shown in the # column. Arrows indicate how each tyre moves when your custom weighting is applied.

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Discussion

18 comments
  1. Mickey archived

    If you ditch the handling tests because the difference in speed is close to irrelevant, you can see that there is no way that Continental can be the best, mainly because high price and poor wear. Be sure on what surface you drive the most, it may be snowing but if the road is clear it is wet surface etc. I would suggest that you redo the results of the tes without the speed tests because they don't matter, safety comes first on winter tyres !

    #3856
    1. Dataminer with PhD Mickey archived

      But the speed measurement is a direct metric on how safe the tyre is. For example the higher the aquaplaning speed is the safer it is to drive in a wet condition if the speed is below that measurement.

      #5045
  2. Riccardo archived

    Hi Jonathan, I cannot understand the meaning of Dry and Wet Braking for Reference Summer. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't summer tires stop after winter tires during the bad season? Thanks for the clarification.

    #3099
    1. TyreReviews Riccardo archived

      Do you mean in the dry and wet? A good summer tyre will always beat a winter tyre in the dry, and the wet braking can be very close between the best summer and winter tyres.

      The summer tyre behaves as you would expect in the snow!

      #3100
      1. Riccardo TyreReviews archived

        So what is the utility of winter tires if the summer ones stop first in the wet???
        I am talking about my climate, very rainy but almost never snowy in Fall/Winter...

        #3101
        1. TyreReviews Riccardo archived

          The winter tyre works in lower / freezing temperatures, and obviously works on snow and ice. But I agree, a winter tyre isn't always the best choice.

          https://www.youtube.com/wat...

          #3102
          1. Riccardo TyreReviews archived

            Anyway, one morning of the last week my Goodyear Ultragrip Performance Gen-1 saved me from a crash. It was cold and it was raining, so they did their job very well...

            #3103
  3. Richard DuBois archived

    Unable to find Nokian WRD4 on their website. Is this an old model ?
    Also cannot find anywhere in this test a statement as to whether any of these tires are studded or non-studded.
    Best current studded tire I know of is Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9

    #2985
  4. Ursu Bogdan archived

    The Bridgestone Blizzak LM 001 has class C for wet braking
    How is possible in your test to be no 3 before Continental, Michelin, etc, which has B class?

    Thank you for your answer

    #2978
    1. TyreReviews Ursu Bogdan archived

      As with the Nokian question below, it might be this test used an newer version of the tyre with better label scores, or that the Bridgestone tyre is more sensitive to this braking test scenario - things such as temperature, vehicle used and Mu of the road surface all make a difference.

      #2979
      1. Ursu Bogdan TyreReviews archived

        Thank you for answer.
        May you recommend me a tire model for a weather more wet than snow ?
        Also ice from time to time.
        Thank you

        #2980
        1. TyreReviews Ursu Bogdan archived

          The winner of this test would be a good place to start your research :)

          #2981
  5. Ufuk AKKAŞOĞLU archived

    If you look at the EU label, Nokian has A grade wet braking performance; however, in this test, it sits behind the tyres who has B grade wet braking performance in EU label.
    How is this possible? Which one is wrong: EU label or the test :)
    Another question: 205/55 R17 95V Goodyear winter tire tyre has C grade wet braking performace in its EU label, while same tyre has B grade performance in 215/55 R17 98V. Is it normal to have that difference? To be honest, I would expact better performance in 205 than 215, since width is smaller (only in wet and snow, in dry roads it's vice versa)

    #2971
    1. TyreReviews Ufuk AKKAŞOĞLU archived

      It's normal to have a difference between sizes in the brands, you can even sometimes find the same tyre / size on sale with different label scores if a more recent manufacturer date has had a compound update to improve the label score.

      As for the Nokian being an A, there's no way a company like Nokian would lie on the EU label test. It might be this test used an older version of the tyre with worse label scores, or that the Nokian tyre was more sensitive to this braking test scenario - things such as temperature, vehicle used and Mu of the road surface all make a difference.

      #2975
  6. UK winter archived

    So basically the almost last tire in this test(am looking at you Pirelli),is actually the best "winter" tire for our mild(less snowy) winters?

    #2966
    1. TyreReviews UK winter archived

      It certainly wouldn't be that low in a UK based test, though if you're more concerned about dry and wet performance (which is good for the UK) I'd suggest something like the Michelin CrossClimate.

      #2967
      1. UK winter TyreReviews archived

        Good suggestion,but in my size(205/50 r17) they are prohibitively expensive.
        And the all-season test only confirm that there isn't much else to choose from.So I guess my old(2010) wintersport 3d will have to hold on for a one more winter trough.

        #2968