For those looking for a studless winter / snow tire with a good balance of grip on snow and icy roads, and when they are cleared, too.

Excellent grip and very good handling response on snow and ice. Low hydroplaning resistance. Insufficient handling response on tarmac.

Positive: Good performance on snow and ice. Very low rolling resistance.
Negative: Insufficient dry handling.

Excellent grip in any conditions. Best fuel efficiency. Reliable handling response on snow and ice. Excellent.

The Finnish friction tire ensures great winter traction, particularly on ice. The HKPL R3 also provides good cornering stability and crisp steering response. And, what’s more, it does it equally well on snow, ice, and bare pavement. However, compared to the Continental model, the Nokian demonstrates a weaker road holding ability in the dry, and, what’s worse, generates excessive low-frequency noise at certain speeds. At the same time, Hakkapeliitta R3 delivers plenty of precise handling response, ensuring safety on the brink of grip during emergency maneuvers on wet and dry pavement. Along with Pirelli, the Nokian Tyres’ product is the optimal solution for active driving enthusiasts, ensuring safe handling and excellent traction regardless of the type of the road surface. Therefore, the Finnish are getting the well-deserved «silver».

Positive: No prominent issues found. Short braking distance and great handling response on ice. The tires ensure reliable grip in any situation. Very good handling response and confident behavior on snow. On dry and wet pavement, the tire’s performance was above average, which can be considered a serious achievement because successfully combining high traction on ice/snow and asphalt is quite a tall order. The steering response was somewhat delayed, but the tires kept up stable grip on the rear axle during an emergency maneuver. Low noise emission. Low rolling resistance.
Negative: The road holding ability could have been better.

Nokian has the best grip on winter roads, especially on ice.
Positive: Winter grip, driving pleasure with quick reactions.
Negative: Aquaplaning, uneven steering precision on asphalt, noise.

Tires of the famous Hakkapeliitta family deliver great bite on ice and snow, and VB said that arguably this is the tire that will bring you maximum driving pleasure on a winding winter road. The tires ensure a crisp steering response, and the traction threshold is quite predictable, meaning, these tires will not bring you any unpleasant surprises during sharp cornering.

The tire’s handling feedback on dry pavement was less than perfect but the elk test was something that the Nokian model handled with ease. On wet pavement, this tire performs better than Continental, and it also has a short braking distance. Generally, Nokian showed invariably well-balanced results in all of the disciplines.

Positive: Great handling response on snow and ice. The lowest rolling resistance on test. Negative: In some of the disciplines, the soft tread compound made a negative difference, for example, in the hydroplaning resistance test.

As the test results show, studless tires rule on snow, losing out on ice to their studded rivals. On wet pavement, the studless tires were also no match for their rivals but on dry pavement they were among the leaders in terms of the stability of handling response. The unquestionable advantages of friction winter tires are their riding comfort and eco friendliness. They have the lowest rolling resistance and the lowest noise level in the car cabin.

Nokian does well on ice, although it does not reach its best competitors. However, it provides high precision steering and is easy to handle in critical situations on both ice and snow. This tire does not give you unpleasant surprises in some situations. On wet and dry asphalt, the tire also maintains a good level, although here it does not fully meet the best requirements. Tires are quiet and rolling resistance is low. It is a bit unstable on the track.