Best Winter Tires Based on 2025/2026 Season Tests

Independent tire tests are one of the essential tools for many drivers when searching for the right option when buying a new set, and every year, testers from different countries tirelessly compare tires to show which ones can provide the necessary level of safety and which ones should be avoided. In this article, we have collected the winter models that performed better than others in the tests of the 2025/2026 season.

Studded tires

The "queen" of the studded segment, according to the test results, was the Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10, which, along with its SUV version, won two tests and took silver in another. All experts note that Nokian is still the standard for ice traction, providing maximum safety in the most challenging winter conditions. At the same time, such a strong focus on "winter" qualities affected the performance on asphalt, and here Nokian has less-than-ideal results, including a slowed response to steering wheel turns, but the tires behave stably and do not have unpleasant surprises.

The only studded tire that was able to surpass the Hakkapeliitta in one of the tests was the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2, which, although it does not have such uncompromising ice traction, has more balanced characteristics, and, for example, specialists from Vi Bilägare praised them for good performance on wet pavement, such as a short braking distance and high resistance to aquaplaning.

Bronze is awarded to Continental IceContact 3, which three times made it to the podium. Regarding these tires, all testers agree that they have relatively weak ice traction, which puts them behind some competitors. At the same time, the level of grip is quite acceptable, and Continental works effectively on asphalt, and an additional bonus is low rolling resistance, which helps save fuel.

In the mid-range segment, Kumho WinterCraft ice Wi32 performed well, which, although clearly inferior to premium products, were able to show good results on ice and snow, while on asphalt the results were recognized as mediocre, and in Teknikens Värld, it was noted that the tires are very noisy.

Among budget studded tires, Landsail ice Star iS37 from the Chinese company Sentury were able to stand out in the tests, which in the "AvtoReview" test outpaced Hankook Winter i*pike X of a higher price class. The main advantage of Landsail was excellent traction in deep snow, which is helped by an aggressive tread pattern, and in addition, the tires have good results on ice - Landsail were the softest tires in the test, and Sentury claims that micropores in the rubber compound increase traction with the icy surface. At the same time, the softness of the compound worsened the performance on asphalt, and the tires are recommended for those who often drive on uncleared roads in winter.

Non-studded Scandinavian-type tires

In the "Scandinavian" category, Continental VikingContact 8 dominated without a doubt, which won all four tests it participated in. The premium tires from the German concern traditionally did not allow themselves obvious weaknesses, and in the Teknikens Värld test, they surprised by being able to outperform Michelin X-Ice North 4 on ice, which was once the leader in both the number of studs and traction in similar conditions. In general, Continental has the same good balance of characteristics, although Jonathan Benson from Tyre Reviews noted that the tires are inferior to competitors in terms of resistance to aquaplaning.

The debut of new Pirelli Ice Friction (offered in Russia as Pirelli Ice Zero FR 3) in the tests can be called quite successful, which, although they have only participated in two tests so far, took second place in both. The novelty showed excellent results on snow, and on ice, it only slightly inferior to the leaders of the tests, and in addition, in Vi Bilägare, it was noted that the tires are also very effective on wet pavement, and the only drawback was high rolling resistance, which prevented Pirelli from winning the first victory in the tests.

Goodyear UltraGrip Ice 3 also showed high results, which four times made it to the top three due to balanced driving qualities on all types of surfaces, and experts from Vi Bilägare say that they have excellent transverse traction on ice and snow, which combines with low noise levels.

In the mid-range segment, the tires Hankook Winter i*cept iZ3 (in the version for SUV with the letter X in the name) can be noted for their good performance, which, according to testers, work effectively on both ice and snow, although in terms of overall traction, they do not reach the level of premium tires. At the same time, compared to iZ2, the grip on the icy surface has significantly increased, which, of course, is a significant plus. However, the noise level has also increased, and this is already a minus.

Budget "Scandinavians" did not make it to the list, as all tires in this class showed weak results. However, as usual, there were not many tests: the results of tests by Teknikens Värld (evaluations in studded and friction tire tests were taken into account), Tyre Reviews, Vi Bilägare, UTAC, and "AvtoReview" were used.

Non-studded European-type tires

The rating of "Europeans" according to the test results is traditionally compiled by the Italian portal GripDetective, which reported that in the previous season (as well as in the previous one), the best passenger tire in this segment was Michelin Pilot Alpin 5, which works excellent on snow and also has balanced properties on asphalt, while the drawbacks include reduced resistance to aquaplaning and increased rolling resistance.

The second place is taken by Continental WinterContact TS 870 P (also won in the SUV tire test), which showed high results on all types of surfaces and in any conditions behaves stably and predictably, and is also distinguished by good economy and low noise. At the same time, specialists from ADAC and Auto Bild Sportscars noted that the resistance to lateral aquaplaning could be improved.

Bronze is awarded to Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3 (second place in the SUV rating), which are also effective on both snow and asphalt, and in addition, have a very high operational resource (in the ADAC test, the potential mileage of Goodyear was twice as high as that of tires from one Taiwanese brand), and help save fuel due to low rolling resistance.

The leader in the mid-range segment was Kumho WinterCraft WP52+ - a novelty of the season, which distinguished itself by taking third place in the large test by Auto Bild, in which there were 51 participants. Thus, Kumho was able to outperform tires from many well-known brands, and they were helped in this by very good results on wet asphalt and, especially, on snow. At the same time, in the Auto Bild Allrad test, the tires were noted to have slightly reduced resistance to aquaplaning in turns.

Although the status of the best budget "European" is awarded to Linglong Grip Master Winter (now produced as Linglong Sport Master Winter), in fact, the product of the Chinese brand still has significant drawbacks, and if on dry asphalt the results are acceptable - in the Auto Zeitung test, the tires even surpassed all in terms of handling in similar conditions - then the properties on wet pavement and snow still need to be seriously worked on. At the same time, compared to other economy-class tires, which can show catastrophically poor results, Linglong really stands out.