4×4 SUV winter tire test 2022 size 225/45R19

We can well understand that car owners are thinking about ways to save money in these times of inflation and rising energy costs. Especially now that winter is just around the corner and prices for natural gas and electricity are skyrocketing.

Winter tires investment in safety

But winter time also means winter tire time. It doesn’t help if the old tires have only three millimeters or less profile or are more than seven or eight years old. Then new winter tires are desperately needed, no matter how much pain the costs of tyres, mounting and balancing cause. Keep in mind that a slipper with, for example, a dented front bumper already costs more than a set of winter tires if you are not fully insured. We don’t even want to think about the consequences of a more serious accident. Driving on summer tires in the winter is an option if you want to keep your budget, but if there is snow or ice on the road, that choice has consequences. Then you have to be sure that you don’t have to hit the road in those kinds of weather conditions. For example, that you can work from home when King Winter strikes hard, which of course doesn’t happen very often in the Netherlands. With our eastern neighbors there is a situation-dependent winter tire obligation; however, in many other countries there is a general winter tire obligation, for example in Italy (South Tyrol) or the Czech Republic. It is therefore better not to do so with summer tires if you go on winter sports. You should also bear in mind that the weather can change just like that, so that the drive home through Germany, for example, is no longer possible on summer tires. Anyone who takes the gamble to do so is not only playing with his life and that of others, you also risk a hefty fine. An insurer will make it difficult if you cause a collision on summer rubber under such circumstances.

It is therefore better to have tires fitted that are suitable and permitted for winter use. Then we are talking about footwear with the Alpine symbol with snowflake on the sidewall of the tire. Of course, all of our ten winter tires tested have the required snowflake marking.

Large price differences

This also applies to the Explero Winter W671 from the Turkish brand Petlas. The company is certainly not a startup, as it was founded in 1976. In the first decades, the Turkish manufacturer concentrated on tires for military vehicles and agricultural vehicles, after which it became active in the passenger car and SUV segment in recent years. We pay a lot of attention to this tire because it is remarkably cheap. A set of the tested winter tires is already available in the generous 19-inch format for about 470. By way of comparison: the Pilot Alpin5 winter tires from the renowned French Michelin, which we also tested for this test, cost no less than €1,125 – a difference of €655.
Do you really have to spend two and a half times as much for a new set of winter tires from a well-known brand in these times? The short answer: yes, if you can afford it, definitely do it. Our tests show that cheap tires drop left and right. Surprisingly, they perform quite acceptable when driving in real winter conditions on snow. The test BMW performs quite well with the Turkish rubber overall, even if the understeer in corners is quite disturbing.

It goes very wrong in the tests on wet roads, which you often find especially in the winter months. In the aquaplaning test, the Petlas tire falls short when it comes to adequate drainage of the rainwater. The lateral grip and especially the braking power are below par, or even downright bad. It takes a whopping 63.3 meters to come to a stop with an initial speed of 100 km/h. That is about 17(!) meters more than the winter tires from Hankook, Bridgestone, Vredestein and Continental, which perform best on this test item. In an emergency, that makes the difference between a big bang and a narrow escape.

Summary of the results

It is therefore better to spend a little more money when purchasing a set of winter tires – after all, it is about your own safety. If you can afford it, the expensive Michelins are your best bet. Our test winner scored at least ‘good’ in all tests and didn’t drop any notable marks. In addition, it offers a lot of rolling comfort and the rolling noise is very acceptable. The Continental, which is six percent cheaper, finishes just behind in second place, also with the designation ‘exemplary’. It doesn’t quite reach the Michelin top level on snow, but brakes even better on wet roads. An alternative for drivers who are conscious of the price can be Firestone products. The American subsidiary of the Japanese tire giant Bridgestone offers the Winterhawk 4 for an acceptable €720 per set – more than €400 cheaper than a comparable set from Michelin. Overall, the Firestone took sixth place with a “good” final score. The Wintrac Pro from the Dutch Vredestein also offers good performance for a reasonable price. Its slightly higher rolling resistance prevents it from finishing in the highest echelons. On the other hand, you don’t have to dig too deep for it.

These are the tested SUV winter tires

• Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
• Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
• Falken Eurowinter HS01
• Firestone Winterhawk 4
• Hankook Winter iCept evo³
• Michelin Pilot Alpine 5
• Nokian Snowproof P
• Petlas Explero Winter W671
• Toyo Observe S944
• Vredestein Wintrac Pro

The test parts on snow

Traction: On snow you always get along better with a four-wheel drive car. But even the Falken rubber, which has the least traction of all the winter tires tested, has more than five times the traction of the summer tire also tested. Michelin and Bridgestone set the best scores on this test item.

Brakes: As with traction, Michelin and Bridgestone products have an edge when braking on snow. But even closer Falken still achieves a good result. The braking distance with the summer tires is almost infinitely long: 58.8 (!) meters. It almost feels as if the test car is not slowing down at all.

cornering behaviour: The handling course with tight bends, but also long twists and turns and numerous acceleration and braking sections reveal the performance on snow. The Michelin plows through the snow in an almost perfect way. The three winter tires that finish last (Falken, Petlas and Toyo) are disappointing due to the amount of understeer that occurs.

Slalom: This test item revolves around the lateral grip in snow. The higher the lateral grip, the greater the safety reserves in a snowy turn and when swerving. Once again, the Michelin comes out on top. The summer tire, on the other hand, hardly reacts to steering movements.

The wet road test items

Aquaplaning and curve aquaplaning: In heavy rain, a layer of water forms between the tires and the road. The car loses contact with the road and becomes uncontrollable. The mutual differences are obvious. The Petlas tires perform the worst. Falken leads the aquaplaning section, followed by Toyo. It is the leader in cornering aquaplaning.

Roundabout and driving behaviour: With regard to lateral grip on wet asphalt, a number of winter tires are about the same level as the summer tires. Bridgestone and Hankook are especially good. With the Petlas, on the other hand, the test car pushes strongly against the turned-in front wheels: understeer.

Brakes: A disastrous result for Petlas: with these tires our test car only came to a stop after 63.3 meters at an initial speed of 100 km/h – more than 17 (!) meters more than the very good braking Hankooks need. The Hankook is almost on par with the summer tyre, finishing just ahead of Bridgestone, Vredestein and Continental products.

The test parts on dry roads

cornering behaviour: Here, the summer tire that was also tested outperforms all other tires. But the winter tires from Bridgestone, Michelin and Hankook convince on the dry track with their pleasantly precise steering response. With the rubber from Toyo, Falken and Petlas, the test car slides relatively quickly over the front wheels.

Brakes: In the dry braking test, none of the winter tires comes close to the best value recorded by the tested summer tire. But especially Michelin and Nokian brakes relatively well. Surprising: Bridgestone disappoints a bit on this part.

Sound (when driving past): Summer tires are quiet, winter tires are noisy, that is the prevailing prejudice. But this has not necessarily been the case for many years. It simply depends on the band in question. Some winter tires such as Hankook and Falken are more noisy than summer tyres, while Michelin, Firestone and Continental rubber is much quieter.

rolling resistance: Summer tires make a car economical, winter tires make it thirsty – it’s a persistent prejudice. But just as with the rolling noise, this does not apply across the board. The Nokian in particular performs very well in this area, the Falken only moderately.

Conclusion

This test proves once again that it pays to spend a little more money on winter tires. The cheap tire from Petlas fails completely in the wet braking test, while the expensive tires from Michelin and Continental are by far the best in all categories. But you can still save money. Namely with the products of Vredestein, Hankook and Firestone, all of which still score well enough.

Comprehensive results and graphs

All results are also shown in graphs, as is an overview of all tires and their performance. We cannot show these on the web page, but you will find them in the PDF that you can download on this page.

Price comparator

With the AutoWeek Car Tire Price Comparator, we offer you a handy tool to find the best offers on summer tires. The price comparator currently provides an overview of the full range of 16 different tire providers. Also here are the results of all tire tests of the past 9 years.