These are the best winter tires 215/55R17 – Winter tire test 2022

The weather is unpredictable, but with good preparation almost nothing can go wrong, even with a sudden winter. In addition to an ice scraper in the door compartment and sufficient antifreeze in the windscreen washer system, this also includes tires that are adapted to the cold weather. Summer tires fail miserably on the first snowy slope and when braking at traffic lights when there is winter sludge on the road. Under such circumstances, you will only be safe on the road if your car is equipped with tires that can handle the winter (recognizable by the snowflake symbol). In fact, the test car drives at least sufficiently safely on snow and ice with almost all candidates, even with the low-budget tire that we have included in all driving dynamics tests for comparison. We had to deal with nasty surprises on wet roads and give tips on what else to watch out for.

The participating winter tires

These tires participated in the winter tire test 2022, in order of increasing braking distance on wet road:

1. Bridgestone Blizzak LM005
2. Continental WinterContact TS870P
3. Michelin Alpine 6
4. Goodyear UltraGrip Performance +
5. Pirelli Cinturato Winter
6. BFGoodrich G-Force Winter2
7. Cooper Discoverer Winter
8. Dunlop Winter Sport 5
9. Hankook Winter i*cept RS 3
10. Semperit Speed ​​Grip 5
11. Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6
12. Falken Eurowinter HS01
13. Nokian WR Snowproof P
14. Firestone Winterhawk 4
15. Nexen Winguard Sport 2
16. Kleber Crystal HP3
17. Uniroyal WinterExpert
18. Fulda Kristall Control HP 2
19. Kumho Wintercraft WP52
20. Vredestein Wintrac Pro

21. GT Radial Winter Pro 2

22. Sava Eskimo HP2
23. Avon WV7 Snow
24. Debica Refrigerator HP2
25. Viking WinTech
26. Barum Polaris 5
27. Lassa Snoways 4
28. Toyo Observe S944
29. Paxaro Winter
30. Yokohama BluEarth Winter V906
31. Matador MP93 Nordicca
32. Platinum RP 60 Winter
33. Gislaved Euro*Frost 6
34. Nankang SV-3 Winter Assets
35. General Altimax Winter 3
36. Radar Dimax Alpine
37. Giti Giti Winter W1
38. Kormoran Snow XL
39. Minerva Frostrack UHP
40. Syron Everest 1 X
41. Laufenn i*Fit Winter
42. Imperial Snow Dragon UHP
43. Riken Snow
44. Tracmax S210 Ice Plus
45. Westlake SW608 Snowmaster
46. Triangle TW401 Winter X
47. Petlas Snowmaster W651
48. Zeetex WH 1000
49. Goodride Snowmaster SW608
50. Tomket Snow Road Pro 3
51. Kenda KR 501 Winter Gen 2
52. Austin SP 901
53. Tourador WinterPro TSU2
54. Starmaxx W850 Icegripper
55. Road X WU01
56. Double Coin DW300

First of all, we performed a safety test with the 56 tyres. In a first step, all tires must qualify for a wet braking test. Tires that underperform are immediately sidelined. Only the best performing tires therefore take part in the snow tests. The 20 winter tires with the shortest braking distances in total qualify for the final. Details of this can be found in the PDF file accompanying this article.

The test parts on snow

It’s amazing what modern winter tires are capable of. At the Arctic Falls test site in the Swedish province of Norrbotten, the winter specialists can show their best side on frozen snow. The winter tires with the best driving characteristics come from Uniroyal and Kleber. In the snow chapter, they are not inferior to the winter specialists of good year and BFGoodrich. With an average performance at most, the low-budget tire also tested ends up at the bottom, while the driving test on the summer tires ends sadly in a snow wall.

We have worked out the results of the sections Driving behavior and slalom, traction and braking in snow in graphs that you can find in the PDF document accompanying this article.

The test parts on wet roads

A comparison with summer tires shows how safe you can drive on wet roads with good winter tires. It can only take advantage of the advantages of its stable tread structure when braking. On the slippery tarmac of the wet track, the soft rubber compound of the winter experts, especially the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 and the Cinturato Winter 2 from Pirelli, for a better grip. Our test Passat, on the other hand, slid down the watered track on the cheap tires as if it were running on soap. Safety has its price, as it turns out.

We have worked out the results of the sections Driving behavior and roundabout, aquaplaning and cornering aquaplaning and braking in graphs that you can find in the PDF document accompanying this article.

The test parts on dry roads

With direct steering responses and dynamic driving behaviour, the candidates of Bridgestone, Kumho and Continental most of the pluses behind the summer tyre. In terms of handling, even the low-budget tire shows itself from its good side once in a while, but in the braking test it ends up at the bottom. The more expensive tires from the top manufacturers Bridgestone and Michelin perform much better in that area and come to a halt a whole car length earlier in an emergency. The silent tires from Nokian and Nexen convince in the rolling noise test.

We have worked out the results of the Brakes and driving behavior parts in graphs that you can find in the PDF document that accompanies this article.

Cost

The WP52 from Kumho not only achieves the highest mileage, but also leads in cost over 1,000 kilometres. The TS 870 P from Continental is twice as expensive.

We have worked out the results of the components Lifetime, price per 1,000 km, and rolling resistance in graphs that you can find in the PDF document accompanying this article.

Conclusion

Winter tires with their soft rubber compound and the many small cuts in the tread blocks (sipes) are designed for optimum grip on snow and ice, but must function just as reliably on wet and dry roads. Compared to a summer tire, of course, some sacrifices have to be made. With balanced performance at a high level, the winter specialists of Michelin and Pirelli finally the wrens of the season, closely followed by the tires of good year, Dunlop and Cooper.

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.