Each year, more and more new tire models are launched on the market, and buying a set of such new tires is often fraught with a number of risks. According to the results of the winter tire test 2020 conducted in size 245/45 R18 by the German industry publication Auto Bild, many tires have serious issues in terms of dependability and driving safety. Therefore, if you do not want to buy the wrong set of tires, instead of proceeding solely from the budget considerations or the reputation of the brand, make a thorough research on the tires’ performance in those conditions, in which you are most likely to drive.

For yet another annual large-scale tire test, where more than 50 sets of tires are aligned at the start, the Auto Bild experts anonymously bought these tire sets online or in retail tire dealerships.

Thanks to the price variance among the test participants, those who are looking to save money can clearly see that safety usually does not come cheap. Thanks to the price variance among the test participants, those who are looking to save money can clearly see that safety usually does not come cheap. First things first, though!

Two stages of the Auto Bild test

Traditionally, the large Auto Bild winter tire test consists of two stages. In the elimination round, models are screened out, whose braking performance on snow (from 50 km/h) and on wet pavement (from 80 km/h), falls short of the better performing tires.

The 42nd place in the tire ranking 2020 — Haida HD617. Source: Auto Bild.

Places 32–51

In the elimination round, twenty models were disqualified due to extremely poor braking performance on wet pavement. Their number included budget tires, both from Chinese brands, such as Fortuna Winter, Zeetex WH1000, Infinity Ecozen, Aeolus Snowace 2 HP, Wanli S 1083 SnowGrip and Haida HD617, as well as from European ones: Tomket Snowroad Pro 3, Momo W-2 North Pole. The losers’ list is bottomed by two models from the Turkish tire manufacturer Petlas.

*List of the tires eliminated at the start*
Place	Brand and Model	Wet Braking
32	Riken Snow	37.1
33	Firestone Winterhawk 3	37.9
34	GT Radial Champiro WinterPro HP	38.3
35	Fortuna Winter	38.4
36	Zeetex WH 1000	38.7
37	Infinity Ecozen	38.9
38	Aeolus Snowace 2 HP	39.0
39	Tomket Snowroad Pro 3	39.3
40	Atlas Polarbear 2	39.6
41	Radar Dimax Alpine	40.5
42	Haida HD617	40.6
43	Mazzini Snowleopard	40.6
44	Duraturn Mozzo Winter	40.7
45	Nordexx Wintersafe	41.0
46	Tracmax Ice-Plus S210	41.1
47	Imperial Snowdragon 3	41.4
48	Wanli S 1083 Snow Grip	41.4
49	Momo W-2 North Pole	41.7
50	Starmaxx Icegripper W850	42.3
51	Petlas Snow Master W651	43.1

Curiously, this company of outsiders includes tires from the third subsidiary line of Michelin — Riken Snow — and the Firestone Winterhawk 3 models, a subsidiary brand of Bridgestone. The last to be released in 2020 was the Winterhawk 4 replacement model but it looks like it is going to get into independent tests only in the next winter season 2021/2022.

Zeetex WH1000. 36th place. Source: Auto Bild.

Places 21–31

Among the other eleven models that did not reach the final because of the excessive braking distance, there are no expensive tires. However, we can see Chinese developments trying to make it into this medium-segment group, and even looking to surpass their competitors.

In the elimination round, the tires that scored places 21–31 went in the following order: Sava Eskimo HP2, Yokohama BluEarth-Winter V905, Fortune FSR901, Nexen Winguard Sport 2, Goodride Z-507, Platin RP 60 Winter, Westlake SW608, Gislaved Euro*Frost 6, Kumho WinterCraft WP71, Toyo Snowprox S954, and Falken Eurowinter HS01.

*Tires whose extra meters stopped them from reaching the finals*
Place	Brand and Model	Wet Braking	Snow Braking	Total
21	Sava Eskimo HP2	36.3	25.1	61.4
22	Yokohama BluEarth-Winter V905	35.4	26.1	61.5
23	Fortune FSR901	36.3	25.3	61.6
24	Nexen Winguard Sport 2	36.5	25.1	61.6
25	Goodride Z-507	34.7	27.0	61.7
26	Platin RP 60 Winter	37.0	25.2	62.2
27	Westlake SW608	34.2	28.0	62.2
28	Gislaved Euro*Frost 6	36.9	25.8	62.7
29	Kumho WinterCraft WP71	35.7	28.0	63.7
30	Toyo Snowprox S 954	37.0	26.9	63.9
31	Falken Eurowinter HS01	37.0	27.0	64.0

The final:

Only the best models reached the final:

*List of models tested in the final round*
Place	Brand and Model	Wet Braking	Snow Braking	Total
1	Bridgestone Blizzak LM005	30.3	24.5	54.8
2	Michelin Pilot Alpin 5	31.9	24.3	56.2
3	Semperit Speed-Grip 3	30.8	26.0	56.8
4	Continental WinterContact TS 850 P	31.8	25.2	57.0
5	Hankook Winter i*cept evo3 W330	32.3	25.0	57.3
6	Vredestein Wintrac Pro	33.2	24.9	58.1
7	BFGoodrich g-Force Winter 2	34.1	24.6	58.7
8	Kleber Krisalp HP3	34.4	24.6	59.0
9	Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+	34.4	24.8	59.2
10	Uniroyal MS Plus 77	34.2	25.0	59.2
11	Barum Polaris 5	35.2	24.9	60.1
12	Nokian WR A4	34.6	25.5	60.1
13	Dunlop Winter Sport 5	35.2	25.0	60.2
14	Apollo Aspire XP Winter	35.1	25.3	60.4
15	Giti GitiWinter W1	35.2	25.4	60.6
16	Cooper Weather-Master SA2+	34.6	26.1	60.7
17	General Altimax Winter 3	36.0	24.7	60.7
18	Fulda Kristall Control HP2	36.3	24.5	60.8
19	Laufenn I Fit+	36.2	24.8	61.0
20	Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3	36.2	25.8	61.0

The test car was a BMW 5 series. As usual, the competition also involved summer tires — just to demonstrate the sheer lunacy of their use during snowy and frosty winters.

Test Results

Snow

When driving up a small snow-covered hill, virtually none of the tires had any issues. The Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ fully lives up to its name, showing the best snow traction on test.

Even during the braking on frozen snow coverage all of the tires on test show good safety margin. As for the braking distance demonstrated by the summer tires, it was twice as long as that of the worst winter model out of the top twenty.

Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+. Source: Auto Bild.

Handling response and lateral stability are crucial for the tires’ interaction with snow. The leaders in this area are Dunlop, Goodyear, Bridgestone, and Continental. The Nokian WR A4 model fell short of its rivals in both disciplines.

Wet pavement

Modern winter tires behave confidently on wet pavement as well. Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 and Semperit Speed-Grip 3 ensure braking performance that is better than that of specialized summer tires. In other respects, wet pavement is the natural habitat for summer tires, says the technical expert of tiresvote.com. The excellent lateral grip was demonstrated by the Continental WinterContact TS 850P, while the Fulda Kristall Control HP2 and Laufenn I Fit+ do not ensure as impressive performance in this area.

Continental WinterContact TS 850P. Source: Auto Bild.

Kristall HP2 from Fulda demonstrated the best hydroplaning resistance, both straight and lateral during the cornering. The General Altimax Winter 3 in both cases lose grip on the road surface much earlier than their rivals.

Dry pavement

On dry pavement, the problem comes up of bringing large-sized powerful cars to a halt. The stopping distance demonstrated in this discipline by the winter tire Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 is more than five meters longer than that ensured by the summer tires, which is roughly the length of the car. At the same time, the results demonstrated by the Fulda Kristall Control HP2 were twice as bad.

Michelin Pilot Alpin 5. Source: Auto Bild.

The test experts were seriously impressed by the handling response ensured by the Apollo Aspire XP Winter. The average speed that this tire can reach within the exact execution of all of the driver’s commands is faster than Michelin and Continental.

Apollo Aspire XP Winter. Source: Auto Bild.

In terms of protecting your eardrums, the garland of victory was won by the Kleber Krisalp HP3. Its nearest competitors were the BFGoodrich g-Force Winter 2 and the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5.

The lowest rolling resistance on test was demonstrated by the Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3; the highest — by the Vredestein Wintrac Pro.

The Michelin PA5 wear resistance is above all praise. Just to compare: the expected mileage of the Cooper Weather-Master SA2+ model before it wears down to the minimum legal tread depth of 1.6mm is only 60% of the resource of the leader in this discipline.

Comparing the price and the expected mileage of the models tested, one can figure out that the economy-wise the best deal will be the Laufenn I Fit+. As for Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 and Michelin Pilot Alpin 5, these tires will cost you an extra 6 Euro per each thousand kilometers.

The final ranking of the winter tires 2020/2021

225/45 R18 winter tire test summary Auto Bild, 2020. Places 1–9. Click to enlarge.

1st place: Michelin Pilot Alpin 5.

Quick Take

Auto Bild 2020: Large Winter Tire Test

Two stages of the Auto Bild test

Places 32–51

Places 21–31

The final:

Test Results

Snow

Wet pavement

Dry pavement

The final ranking of the winter tires 2020/2021

Michelin Pilot Alpin 5

Bridgestone Blizzak LM005

Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+

BFGoodrich g-Force Winter 2

Kleber Krisalp HP3

Hankook Winter i*cept evo3 W330

Continental WinterContact TS 850 P

Dunlop Winter Sport 5

Apollo Aspire XP Winter

Semperit Speed-Grip 3

Fulda Kristall Control HP2

Vredestein Wintrac Pro

Giti GitiWinter W1

Uniroyal MS Plus 77

Barum Polaris 5

Laufenn I FIT+

Nokian WR A4

General Altimax Winter 3

Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3

Cooper Weather-Master SA2+

In conclusion

Price

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