Test: Which are the best 4×4 winter tires 225/60R18?

Many drivers of SUVs and 4x4s still rely on four-wheel drive to maneuver their cars safely through the winter. However, four-wheel drive alone is not enough to cope under those conditions. Choosing the right tires is just as important, if not more so, as our winter tire test shows. We also subjected a summer tire to all test disciplines.

Four-wheel drive traction is only part of the story

All-wheel drive definitely improves a car’s traction by distributing power to all four wheels. This is useful when starting off and it also helps with acceleration on slippery surfaces. However, traction is only part of the safety story. When braking and cornering, winter tires are crucial to keep the car under control. The ideal combination for winter conditions is therefore four-wheel drive in combination with winter tires. This combination offers maximum safety, stability and driving pleasure on winter roads. This way you will always be well prepared, whatever King Winter has in store.

Test parts on snow

• Cornering behavior: The snow kings of the season are undoubtedly the tires from Firestone, Hankook and Michelin. The lack of grip of the test candidates from Bridgestone and Falken, on the other hand, significantly spoils the driving pleasure.
• Traction: Four-wheel drive, in combination with good winter tires, guarantees reliable driving on ice and snow. Michelin’s Pilot Alpin 5 SUV takes a small lead on this test section.
• Brakes: Hankook and Firestone winter tires also provide the shortest braking distance on stuck snow. The summer tire requires twice as long a braking distance.

Test parts on wet roads

• Aquaplaning and cornering aquaplaning: During heavy rain or melting snow, the danger of aquaplaning lurks. The Bridgestone tire offers the greatest safety reserves, together with the B-brand Firestone tire from the same group. The Superia tire loses contact with the road at relatively low speeds.
• Roundabout and handling: Goodyear, Michelin and Bridgestone tires are the safest tires to drive on wet surfaces, with good grip and reliable lateral grip. The summer tire, on the other hand, does not provide convincing lateral grip at low temperatures.
• Brakes: On wet roads, Pirelli’s Scorpion Winter 2 takes first place with a short braking distance, well ahead of its competitors and the summer tire that we also tested on this test section. The Firestone and Falken give away a little less than a car length, but with the cheap tire from the Superia brand things go completely wrong. With this tire, the test car needs more than ten meters more to come to a stop after a simulated emergency stop.

Test parts on dry road surface

• Cornering behavior: On dry surfaces, Michelin and Continental tires offer good lateral grip and direct steering responses, which ensures safe and dynamic handling.
• Brakes: Winter tires have design-related disadvantages compared to summer tires. In the event of an emergency stop, they need an extra vehicle length to come to a stop.
• Rolling resistance: Michelin disappoints with the worst value (label C), compared to the Continental (label B), the tire manages to reduce fuel consumption by about six percent.
• Noise (when driving past): Tires with little rolling noise, such as Michelin’s Pilot Alpin 5 SUV, can reduce noise pollution along busy roads at least a little.

Top-5 4×4 winter tires 225/60R18

1. Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
2. Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 SUV
3. Goodyear UltraGrip Performance + SUV
4. Pirelli Scorpion Winter 2
5. Vredestein Wintrac Pro

The test tracks

50 kilometers above the Arctic Circle, near the Finnish city of Ivalo, we conducted our tests on the snow-covered roads of the UTAC winter site. For tests on asphalt we went to the TRIWO test center in the German region of Hunsrück and the ATP test site in Emsland, also in Germany.

Extensive results and graphs

All results are also shown in graphs, as well as an overview of all tires and their performance. We cannot show this on the web page, but you will find it 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 complete range of sixteen different tire providers. The results are also here all tire tests from the past 9 years.