Large winter tire test from ADAC — 2025
The All-German Automobile Club ADAC conducted the largest winter tire test in its over 50-year history of testing, comparing 31 models from all price segments, from economy to premium, in the 225/40 R18 size, which is suitable for cars such as the Volkswagen Golf, Skoda Octavia, Toyota Camry, and many others.
As noted in ADAC, with the development of online trading platforms, buyers are increasingly being offered tires from little-known brands, which are available from both traditional dealers and similar products produced mainly in Asia, and are attractive primarily due to their low price. For example, the Star Performer Stratos UHP tire can be purchased in Germany for 95 euros per piece, while the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 costs twice as much. At the same time, the characteristics of winter tires can vary very seriously, and in order to get a complete picture of the market, it was decided to conduct the largest winter tire test in the history of the auto club, and the following tires were included in the list of participants.
Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3
MOMO North Pole W-20 Europa
Nankang Winter Activa SV 4
Radar Dimax Winter
Star Performer Stratos UHP
In the acceleration and braking tests on snow, the budget tires Syron took first place, and very good results were also shown by Kleber and Michelin, while the worst in such conditions were Landsail, which are produced by the Chinese company Sentury.
ADAC, which is unusual, tests "European" tires, including on ice, and here the shortest braking distance was again recorded by Syron, followed by Ceat and Radar tires, while Evergreen tires are completely unsuitable for icy surfaces.
Combining good performance in winter conditions with high grip on wet pavement is very difficult, and the Syron developers were unable to achieve this, and on the irrigated track, their tires increased the braking distance. The best in this discipline were the premium Bridgestone, Goodyear, and Michelin, however, the MOMO and Landsail also made it to the list of leaders.
Syron also has the lowest resistance to aquaplaning among the tested tires, and the first place in this indicator was confidently taken by Giti tires. In addition, Kleber tires received good ratings.
On dry asphalt, Syron also has a very long braking distance, and only Evergreen was worse in this regard, while the most effective in this regard were Michelin and Ceat.
ADAC measures noise not in the cabin, but outside the car (according to the same principle, ratings are awarded according to the Euro marking system), and the quietest were Point S, and the last places were taken by Hankook and CST.
In terms of economy, the highest ratings were received by Continental, Matador, Maxxis, Petlas, Point S, and Tomket, while MOMO increases fuel consumption.
There were very significant differences between the tires in the wear resistance test, and the most durable are the Radar tires, which can travel up to 81,000 km, which is even more than the tires from the Goodyear brand, which regularly leads in this discipline. At the same time, the potential mileage of Nankang is only 34,200 km.
ADAC experts were the first to take into account such a factor as the emission of harmful particles that are formed during tire wear, and in this discipline, the first place was shared by Goodyear and Michelin.
According to the test results, six tires received a "Good" rating, and all of them belong to the premium segment, and also demonstrated the best balance of characteristics, although they received an average rating in a number of disciplines, since ideal tires still do not exist. The top of the rating included Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3, Michelin Pilot Alpin 5, Bridgestone Blizzak 6, Dunlop Winter Sport 5, Hankook Winter i*cept evo3 W330, and Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, which, naturally, also differ in their characteristics, and, for example, Michelin works significantly better in winter conditions than Hankook, and in terms of environmental friendliness, Goodyear was the clear leader with a very large potential mileage (76,500 km), which helped the tires win in the overall standings.
Good choices were also recognized among the mid-range tires, and eight out of 11 participants in this class were able to receive a "Satisfactory" rating, but it should be taken into account that all tires in this group also have their strengths and weaknesses.
Kleber Krisalp HP3, Nokian Snowproof P, Ceat WinterDrive, Uniroyal WinterExpert, Fulda Kristall Control HP2, Semperit Speed-Grip 5, GT Radial WinterPro 2 Sport, and Giti GitiWinter W2 showed decent results in the tests, however, ADAC stated that they cannot recommend three models of the mid-range category: Firestone Winterhawk 4, Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6, and Apollo Aspire XP Winter. The reason was that Firestone performed well on snow and ice, but on dry asphalt, the reactions to the driver's actions were blurred and the handling worsened, while Maxxis and Apollo also have unbalanced characteristics.
ADAC experts are known for their strict standards, and this time 11 tires, i.e., almost every third one in the test, received a "Poor" rating. All of them belong to the economy class and have serious drawbacks that directly affect the level of safety. So, the CST Medallion Winter WCP1, Petlas SnowMaster 2 Sport, and Nankang Winter Activa 4 tires are clearly lacking in grip on snow, which creates a danger that the car can easily skid, and the Evergreen EW66 tires have a very long braking distance on ice.
Many budget tires also showed very weak results on wet pavement, where they had a "dizzyingly long braking distance". During emergency braking from 80 km/h, the difference in braking distance between the best and worst tires was more than 15 meters, and where the car on Goodyear had already stopped, the car on Syron Everest 2 continued to move at a speed of just under 46 km/h.
However, in the budget class, there were exceptions, and the Matador MP93 Nordicca and Momo W-20 North Pole tires were able to receive a "Satisfactory" rating, and the experts noted that although they have small drawbacks, they can still be considered an acceptable alternative for those who do not particularly often use their car.
In conclusion, ADAC said that those who save on tires sacrifice safety, which was once again confirmed by the weak results of almost all products offered at low prices.