Spotlight on the Best Winter Tires
Auto Bild is gearing up for its massive 2024 winter tire test. While the main event is still in progress, we’re giving you an exclusive preview of the qualifying round, where 55 winter tires faced off. These tires need to shine across all terrains—snow, ice, rain, and dry roads—while ensuring safety and keeping fuel consumption in check. This qualifying stage sets the contenders apart from the rest, showing you which models truly stand out.
Winter’s Toughest: Which Tires Can Handle the Challenge?
This year, Auto Bild has launched its highly anticipated winter tire test, focusing on one of Europe's most popular sizes: 205/55 R16. This dimension is a staple for compact cars like the Seat Leon, Opel Astra, Ford Focus, VW Golf, Skoda Octavia, and Audi A3 in their standard versions.
With so many options available, it’s easy to get lost. That’s why AUTO BILD put 55 winter tires through rigorous testing to narrow down the best performers. The test begins with a standard braking trial—50 km/h on snow and 80 km/h on wet roads. Here’s what the results show.
| Brand / Model / LI / SR | Wet* | Snow** | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgestone / Blizzak 6 (94H) |
34,6
|
29,6
|
64,2
|
| Kumho / WinterCraft WP52 (94H) |
34,6
|
30,3
|
64,9
|
| GT Radial / WinterPro2 Evo (91H) |
36,0
|
29,3
|
65,3
|
| Pirelli / Cinturato Winter 2 (94H) |
35,6
|
30,2
|
65,8
|
| Michelin / Alpin 6 (91H) |
36,2
|
29,7
|
65,9
|
| Semperit / Speed-Grip 5 (91H) |
36,8
|
29,1
|
65,9
|
| Uniroyal / WinterExpert (91H) |
36,5
|
29,5
|
66,0
|
| Continental / WinterContact TS 870 (91H) |
37,1
|
29,1
|
66,2
|
| Goodyear / UltraGrip Performance 3 (91H) |
36,9
|
29,4
|
66,3
|
| Firestone / Winterhawk 4 (91H) |
35,5
|
30,9
|
66,4
|
| Dunlop / Winter Sport 5 (91H) |
37,4
|
29,2
|
66,6
|
| Giti / GitiWinter W2 (91H) |
37,4
|
29,2
|
66,6
|
| BFGoodrich / g-Force Winter 2(91H) |
37,5
|
29,4
|
66,9
|
| Hankook / Winter i*cept RS3 W462 (91H) |
37,8
|
29,1
|
66,9
|
| Apollo / Alnac 4G Winter (91H) |
36,4
|
30,6
|
67,0
|
| Kleber / Krisalp HP3 (91H) |
37,8
|
29,3
|
67,1
|
| Vredestein / Wintrac (91H) |
37,3
|
30,2
|
67,5
|
| Barum / Polaris 5 (91H) |
37,7
|
30,0
|
67,7
|
| Yokohama / BluEarth*Winter V906 (91H) |
37,1
|
30,8
|
67,9
|
| Fulda / Kristall Control HP2 (91H) |
38,6
|
29,6
|
68,2
|
| Radar / Dimax Alpine (91H) |
39,9
|
28,9
|
68,8
|
| Falken / Eurowinter HS02 (91 H) |
38,3
|
30,7
|
69,0
|
| Sava / Eskimo HP2 (91H) |
39,5
|
29,6
|
69,1
|
| Ceat WinterDrive (91H) |
39,0
|
30,2
|
69,2
|
| Point S Winter S (91H) |
38,3
|
31,2
|
69,5
|
| Nexen / Winguard Snow G 3 (91H) |
37,7
|
32,4
|
70,1
|
| Nokian / Snowproof 2 (91H) |
40,0
|
30,5
|
70,5
|
| Delinte Winter WD1 (91H) |
36,1
|
35,8
|
71,9
|
| Lassa / Snoways 4 (91H) |
39,2
|
34,1
|
73,3
|
| Petlas Snowmaster 2 (91H) |
39,5
|
35,4
|
74,9
|
| Landsail / Winter Lander (91H) |
38,0
|
38,1
|
76,1
|
| Mastersteel / Winter Plus (91H) |
38,6
|
38,4
|
77,0
|
| Infinity Ecozen (94H) |
37,6
|
41,0
|
78,6
|
| Goodride / SW608 (91H) | 40,6 | ||
| Toyo Snowprox S944 (91H) | 40,6 | ||
| Riken / Snow (91H) | 40,8 | ||
| Torque TQ 023 (94H) | 40,8 | ||
| Laufenn / I FIT+ (91H) | 41,1 | ||
| Kormoran / Snow (91H) | 41,5 | ||
| Westlake / SW608 (91H) | 41,5 | ||
| Maxxis / Premitra Snow WP6 (91H) | 42,0 | ||
| Zeetex WH1000 (91H) | 42,3 | ||
| Tracmax X-Privilo S130 (94H) | 43,3 | ||
| Sailun Ice Blazer Alpine + (91H) | 43,5 | ||
| Tourador WinterPro TS1 (91H) | 43,5 | ||
| Kenda / Wintergen 2 KR501 (94H) | 43,7 | ||
| Road X RX Frost WU01 (91H) | 44,2 | ||
| Imperial / Snowdragon HP (91H) | 44,5 | ||
| Minerva Frostrack HP (91H) | 44,5 | ||
| Duraturn / Mozzo Winter (91V) | 44,7 | ||
| Austone Skadi SP-901 (91H) | 45,7 | ||
| Superia Bluewin UHP (91H) | 45,7 | ||
| Powertrac Snowtour Pro (91H) | 46,6 | ||
| Roadmarch Winter XPro 888 (91H) | 48,2 | ||
| Maxtrek Trek M7 Plus (91H) | 50,6 |
Note:
All braking distances are recorded in meters. *Wet braking tests are conducted from a speed of 80 km/h, while **snow braking tests start from 50 km/h.The Top 20 Move Forward
Only the 20 best-performing tires move on to the full test, where they’ll face challenges on dry, wet, and snow-covered roads, along with evaluations for cost and durability. Tires ranked 21 to 33 didn’t make the cut but still showed decent stopping power. Any tire with a wet braking distance over 40 meters didn’t even qualify for snow testing—that’s the maximum limit for safety. As for the bottom-ranked tires, those in positions 43 to 55, their braking distances were alarming. The gap between the last-place Maxtrek and the top-ranked Bridgestone was nearly 16 meters. Stay tuned to see how the top 20 perform in the complete test.
