The Bridgestone Blizzak Ice, achieving 5th place, is notable for its impressive braking performance on dry pavement and its low noise levels, contributing to a comfortable driving experience. However, it falls short in snow traction and braking, as well as in wet handling. Additionally, its resistance to straight hydroplaning is not optimal, and its economy, considering fuel efficiency and cost, is a concern.

Bridgestone might not ace the icy grip test, but it promises a manageable drive even on the most slippery roads. However, it loses traction on wet roads.

• Pros: Manageable icy terrain handling; smooth rides even on rugged roads.
• Cons: Struggles on wet asphalt.

On ice, the Bridgestone Blizzak Ice demonstrates good acceleration and braking performance but the lateral grip is relatively weak, which compromises handling performance in challenging situations. In addition, both on ice and on snow the rear wheels do not always maintain grip during a high-speed maneuver and quickly go into a drift. On wet pavement, the Bridgestone has a braking distance that is longer than that of the competitors, and it compromises the car’s handling performance during emergency maneuvering. The tire has a slow response to the driver’s inputs, and the grip on the rear axle is also relatively weak. On dry pavement, the Bridgestone has a short braking distance, and demonstrates a stable and confident performance. Noise emission low, rolling resistance average.

High grip on dry surface. Good handling on snow and ice. Relatively low grip on ice and wet pavement. Poor traction in deep snow.

This tire came to replace the Blizzak WS80 model. Just as for its predecessor, Bridgestone chose for the new friction tire one of the softest rubber compounds (52 points by the Shore Hardness Scale), due to which it was highly rated on snow-covered roads. The ice traction falls slightly short of the best tires, but both on snow and ice the tire provides excellent handling response, making early warnings to the driver about the grip loss. The new Bridgestone model got an asymmetric tread pattern, which ensures stronger lateral grip, but at the same time does a poorer job of evacuating water from the contact area. So it comes as no surprise that the Blizzak Ice showed the worst results in the wet tests. On dry pavement, the tire is excessively soft, with poor lateral grip and fuzzy handling response. The low scores on bare pavement put the Japanese studless tire only in seventh place in the tournament bracket.

Positive: Good handling response on snow (but the grip is generally lower than that of the leaders). Well-balanced behavior and short braking distance on dry pavement.
Negative: Prone to understeer on ice and wet pavement.

Blizzak Ice replaces Blizzak WS80. As with its predecessors, Bridgestone has one of the softest rubber compounds and the tire gets high marks on real winter tires.
Positive: Grip on snow.
Negative: Aquaplaning and grip on wet surfaces.