Major Winter Tire Test by Auto Bild — 2025
Auto Bild summed up the results of a major test of winter tires in 2025 in the size 225/40 R18. In the qualifying stage, 51 tires participated, and 20 of them made it to the main part of the test, proving that they can quickly stop a car on snow and wet pavement. During qualifying, there were no sensations, and all premium tires coped with the tasks, and among budget models, Ceat and Linglong tires succeeded.
The snow tests were held in Arvidsjaur, Sweden, and on dry and wet asphalt - in Germany at the Contidrom test site. The selected size is suitable, for example, for compact but powerful cars such as the Audi S3, Hyundai i30 N, and VW Golf GTI, and the BMW M135i with 300 hp and all-wheel drive served as the power unit.
For comparison, a summer tire was taken for testing, as well as one of the budget tires, which showed such weak results on wet pavement during qualifying that they were not even tested on snow (the model name is not specified, and it is designated simply as a "cheap winter tire").
List of participants:
Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
Dunlop Winter
Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3
Linglong Sport Master Winter
Toyo Observe Winter Sport 1
The shortest braking distance on snow was recorded by Kleber and BFGoodrich (both brands belong to Michelin), and the worst of all were Falken and Toyo.
In terms of traction on snow, Kleber and BFGoodrich are again leaders, and an unnamed budget tire outperforms several premium-level models.
In the test of handling on a snowy track, the average speed of passing the distance was evaluated, and here the best were BFGoodrich and Michelin, and Toyo and Falken were again at the bottom of the list.
In the slalom on snow, the leaders are the same, and Fulda and Dunlop also receive good ratings.
On wet asphalt, Michelin has one of the shortest braking distances, but in this discipline, the first place is taken by Goodyear, and the anonymous cheap tire demonstrates how weak the grip of economy-class products can be.
Goodyear, Pirelli, and Michelin provide excellent transverse grip on a wet surface, and difficulties on the circular track arose only with Fulda and cheap tires.
Goodyear would also have won the handling test on wet pavement, but they were hindered by Pirelli, and it should be noted that both tires had better performance than summer tires.
In the tests for resistance to longitudinal aquaplaning, BFGoodrich and Kleber return to the top spots in the rating, and the unnamed cheap tire has very weak results.
Aquaplaning in turns is better resisted by Hankook and Goodyear, but they do not reach the level of summer tires.
On dry asphalt, Michelin turned out to be the most effective in terms of braking performance, followed by Toyo and Ceat, and Kleber rolled back to the very last line, which means they clearly lack balance of characteristics.
In terms of handling on dry pavement, Kleber was also one of the worst, but Firestone tires showed even weaker performance. The leaders are premium Bridgestone, Michelin, and Continental.
Michelin was also recognized as one of the quietest tires in the test, but overall, all tires showed good results, and increased noise - especially at 50 km/h - was recorded with Semperit.
The most durable among the tested tires were recognized as Bridgestone and Goodyear, which can travel about 53,000 km before replacement, and Falken tires wear out the fastest.
Auto Bild also calculates the cost of 1,000 km of travel based on the cost of tires and their potential mileage, and the most profitable purchase in this regard was Ceat from an Indian company. The worst result is demonstrated by Falken.
In the rolling resistance test, four Continental tires immediately took the first four places, followed by two Bridgestone tires. In general, the performance of the tires did not differ significantly, and only Linglong clearly lagged behind the rest.
Verdict
Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 takes the first place with a minimal gap from the competitors, combining good grip and comfort, and their only drawback was called a high price. Four more tires also received an "Exemplary" rating, and the silver goes to Dunlop Winter tires with good performance on snow, but a relatively long braking distance on dry pavement. The third place is shared by Bridgestone Blizzak 6 and the new Kumho WinterCraft WP52+, about which the experts said that the first tires have excellent performance on dry pavement and high wear resistance, but relatively weak lateral stability on wet pavement, while the second ones excelled in good price and resource ratio and excellent properties on snow and wet asphalt, but on dry surface, they were noted to have minor flaws. Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3, with a very high resource, but relatively weak results on dry pavement, closes the top five "exemplary" tires.
Seven tires received a "Good" rating, and the best in this group were Hankook Winter i*Cept evo3 and Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, which did not enter the top three due to a relatively long braking distance on wet roads. At the same time, Hankook has high traction on snow and a good price and resource ratio, and Continental is very efficient on snowy and dry surfaces. Two more tires from the German concern - Uniroyal WinterExpert and Barum Polaris 6 - shared eighth place, just a little behind the model under the "senior" brand. As the testers noted, Uniroyal has a good balance of characteristics and low rolling resistance, and Barum received high ratings on snow and dry asphalt, and were also the most economical in the test. However, Uniroyal worsened their rating due to not very good braking performance on dry pavement, and Barum - on wet pavement.
Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2 (a new model, Cinturato Winter 3, is already available) took 10th place, which works well on wet pavement, but on dry asphalt, the grip is not so reliable, and in addition, the tires have a fairly high price.
Next come Semperit Speed Grip 5, which showed good performance on dry and wet pavement, but were less effective on snow, especially in terms of lateral stability, and BFGoodrich G-Force Winter 2, which, on the contrary, are clearly made with an emphasis on improving properties on snowy roads, due to which the qualities on asphalt suffered.
All other tires received a "Satisfactory" rating (openly weak participants were eliminated at the qualifying stage), and Vredestein Wintrac Pro+ took 13th place, which work well on snow, but worsened their rating with a long braking distance on dry pavement and low resistance to wear. One line below are Kleber Krisalp HP3, which, like BFGoodrich, have an imbalance of parameters, that is, on snow, everything is fine, but on asphalt, the grip is reduced. In turn, Ceat WinterDrive recorded the best price and resource ratio and performed well on snowy and dry pavement, but allowed weaknesses on wet terrain.
Firestone Winterhawk 4 turned out to be very effective on snow, but on dry pavement, the tires worsen handling and increase the braking distance, while Toyo Observe Winter Sport 1 work not very well on snow, but can boast high transverse grip on wet pavement and slow wear. 18th place was taken by Fulda Kristall Control HP2 tires, which have high traction on snow, but did not perform very well on asphalt, and behind them are Linglong Sport Master Winter, which have weak grip on snowy and wet pavement, as well as very high rolling resistance, but one of the best price and resource ratios among the tested tires. This time, Falken Eurowinter HS02 Pro took the last line, which were able to show good results only on dry surface.
According to Dirk Möller, an expert at Auto Bild, the choice of tires is becoming increasingly complex due to the large number of new manufacturers and the influx of products from Asia, however, in the end, all tires with "Exemplary" and "Good" ratings were released by well-known companies, and this again confirms that the development of a truly balanced winter tire requires great effort and experience.
Source: Auto Bild