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Premium VS Budget Winter Tyres

Jonathan Benson
Tested and written by Jonathan Benson
2 min read Updated
Below are all the data points for the Premium VS Budget Winter Tyres, displaying how each tyre performed across all test categories. The spider chart below provides a complete overview of performance, where one hundred percent represents the best performance in each category. The larger the area covered by each tyre's plot, the better its overall performance.
How to read these charts: For each test category, data is presented relative to the best performing tire. The direction indicates whether lower or higher values are better - pay close attention to this when interpreting results.

Performance Overview

This radar chart shows relative performance across all test categories, with 100% representing the best performance in each category. Reference tires may have gaps where data is not available.

Nokian WR Snowproof
Tristar SnowPower 2

Quick Navigation

Dry Performance Overview

Dry Braking (M)

Spread: 0.13 M (0.5%) | Avg: 28.81 M

Dry braking in meters (Lower is better)

Key Insight: All the tyres in the dry braking test finished less than 3% apart.
  1. Tristar SnowPower 2
    28.74 M
  2. Nokian WR Snowproof
    28.87 M

Dry Handling (s)

Spread: 0.30 s (0.6%) | Avg: 51.42 s

Dry handling time in seconds (Lower is better)

Key Insight: All the tyres in the dry handling test finished less than 3% apart.
  1. Nokian WR Snowproof
    51.27 s
  2. Tristar SnowPower 2
    51.57 s

Wet Performance Overview

Wet Braking (M)

Spread: 3.51 M (11.1%) | Avg: 33.52 M

Wet braking in meters (Lower is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Nokian WR Snowproof with a result of 31.76 M. The difference between best and worst was 10%.
  1. Nokian WR Snowproof
    31.76 M
  2. Tristar SnowPower 2
    35.27 M

Wet Handling (s)

Spread: 0.60 s (1.6%) | Avg: 37.90 s

Wet handling time in seconds (Lower is better)

Key Insight: All the tyres in the wet handling test finished less than 3% apart.
  1. Nokian WR Snowproof
    37.6 s
  2. Tristar SnowPower 2
    38.2 s

Snow Performance Overview

Snow Braking (M)

Spread: 7.90 M (21.9%) | Avg: 39.95 M

Snow braking in meters (Lower is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Nokian WR Snowproof with a result of 36 M. The difference between best and worst was 18%.
  1. Nokian WR Snowproof
    36 M
  2. Tristar SnowPower 2
    43.9 M

Snow Handling (s)

Spread: 7.30 s (7.5%) | Avg: 100.85 s

Snow handling time in seconds (Lower is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Nokian WR Snowproof with a result of 97.2 s. The difference between best and worst was 7%.
  1. Nokian WR Snowproof
    97.2 s
  2. Tristar SnowPower 2
    104.5 s

Overall Findings

Based on the weighted scoring from all tests, here are the overall results:

Position Tyre Score
Nokian WR Snowproof 0%
2 Tristar SnowPower 2 0%

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Discussion

16 comments
  1. Marko Martinović archived

    It will be interesting to compare a premium and budget winter tyres after 15 000 to kilometers to see wich tyres keep better preformance during the tyres wear.

    #5510
  2. Dare archived

    Hello Jonathan. I really enjoy your videos. You helped me understand so much about tyre. Right now I want to buy good all season tyres. I am going to buy VW Polo 1.4 TDI 2006, and it has a strange tyre size. 185/60/14 I think. And I am also limited by budget. I live in Serbia in southern parts and we have per average 37 snow days, and thats nothing. Sometimes we get 20 snow days. Most of the time its just dry. So the tyre need to be only good in dry and hot, becouse we can get a pretty hot summer sometimes. Right now I am looking at Fulda MultiControl 52e and Kleber Quadraxer 2 49e.
    I want a nice riding, comfortable, low noise with good fuel economy tyre that will survive summer.
    Are there any other choices exept these? I will pay more for the right tyre but for a right price.

    #5381
    1. TyreReviews Dare archived

      The CrossClimate is the master of dry performance in the all season category, all the rest can only be described as average at the moment. The Bridgestone A005 looks to be very good in braking but has high wear.

      #5392
      1. Dare TyreReviews archived

        How about Conti Allseasoncontact rr Vredestein Quatrac 5 ? I cant find CrossClimate Plus version in 14' size. They only sell regular version. Is it a still good choice?

        #5394
        1. TyreReviews Dare archived

          The regular CrossClimate is still a great choice, they didn't change much for the + version

          #5400
  3. Mark archived

    Hey TyreReviews, I would love to see a test on the Michellin CrossClimate+ vs UHP Summer, vs UHP Winter Vs Budget Summer in the wet and dry in say 10 degree ish heat (plus or minis a bit). If it performs well at these temps (considering the mild UK winters we've been having) it could actually just be the best UK tyre for most of the time.

    #5369
    1. TyreReviews Mark archived

      Something like that in the works at the moment

      #5370
  4. FritzHatezYouAll archived

    Expected a bigger difference, interresting test.

    #5354
  5. Yo doge archived

    Awesome video, as always.
    And I have one question.
    I live in south east europe and we very rarely have snow here but temps are low and it rains pretty often. Should i buy winter or all season or all weather tyres for conditions like these?

    #5351
    1. TyreReviews Yo doge archived

      Mild winter, buy all seasons, wow.

      #5352
  6. Bill Hartman archived

    Very informative video/post, thank you for taking the time to do it. It convinced me to not go cheap on winter tires despite the short season where I live. I do have a follow up question if you have time.

    I have a Tesla Model 3 with dual motor/AWD, How much difference in dry, wet, and snow/ice would there be between a "studless ice/snow" tire and a "performance winter/snow" tire? Looking at the difference between the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 and Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3. So how much worse in wet/dry is the X-Ice? And how much worse in the snow/ice is the Sottozero?

    Where I live it rains a lot and low temps are in the 34f/2c - 41f/5c range. We only get snow once or twice during the winter, but I do drive through snowy passes a few times a month so I don't want to have sub-optimal snow/ice ability. Thank you!

    #5347
  7. jayfou archived

    Another great video! Just to add - the Golf starts around 1,400 kg, the Volvo around 1,800 kg, depending mainly on the engine and gearbox.

    #5340