Winter tyre test 225/55 R18 - Autobild 2026

Winter Ivalo · Papenburg · Pferdsfeld

2026

Year

10

Tyres

Winner

Hankook Winter i*cept evo 4

Test Vehicle

BMW X1

Tested tyres

10

article

AUTO BILD tyre test 2026: 225/55 R18 — Hankook Winter i*cept evo 4

AUTO BILD compared 10 tyres in size 225/55 R18.

read the full article

Price vs Quality

See how tyre price relates to test performance at a glance

Results

Agenda:

Best value in test

Better than average value

Worse than average value

Worst value in test

1

Hankook Winter i*cept evo 4

Rating: Exemplary

Wet1.2

Dry1.4

Snow1.4

Stopping distance on dry42.14

Stopping distance on wet45.2

Stopping distance on snow28.4

Comfort1.2

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#1/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/10

Wet Braking#2/10

Wet Handling Measured#2/10

Wet Circle Cornering#4/10

Dry

Dry Handling Measured#1/10

Dry Braking#3/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#1/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#5/10

Snow

Snow Braking#4/10

Snow Handling Measured#5/10

Snow Traction#5/10

Snow Circle Cornering#7/10

Summary

Balanced newcomer; cheapest of the three exemplary tyres
Relatively weaker on snow

2

Pirelli Cinturato Winter 3

Rating: Exemplary

£190

102 V

mytyres.co.uk

Wet1.2

Dry1.7

Snow1.5

Stopping distance on dry42.32

Stopping distance on wet44.4

Stopping distance on snow29

Comfort1.5

Wet

Wet Braking#1/10

Wet Circle Cornering#1/10

Wet Handling Measured#1/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#2/10

Aquaplaning Cross#3/10

Dry

Dry Braking#4/10

Dry Handling Measured#7/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#2/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#5/10

Snow

Snow Traction#3/10

Snow Circle Cornering#4/10

Snow Handling Measured#6/10

Snow Braking#7/10

Summary

Best wet braking and handling; very quiet
Minor dry-road weaknesses

2

Michelin PILOT ALPIN 5

Rating: Exemplary

£213

102 V

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

+1 More sizes →

102V · £213

Wet1.7

Dry1.6

Snow1.1

Stopping distance on dry41.8

Stopping distance on wet47.1

Stopping distance on snow27.7

Comfort1.2

Wet

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#3/10

Aquaplaning Cross#4/10

Wet Braking#4/10

Wet Handling Measured#4/10

Wet Circle Cornering#6/10

Dry

Dry Braking#2/10

Dry Handling Measured#4/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#4/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#4/10

Snow

Snow Braking#1/10

Snow Traction#1/10

Snow Circle Cornering#2/10

Snow Handling Measured#2/10

Summary

Outstanding winter performance; confident on dry roads
Slightly weaker in the wet

Overall grades: lower is better. Shared positions follow AUTO BILD.

4

GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3

Rating: Good

£186

102 V

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

Wet1.9

Dry1.4

Snow1.2

Stopping distance on dry41.31

Stopping distance on wet48.1

Stopping distance on snow28.1

Comfort1.3

Wet

Wet Circle Cornering#3/10

Wet Handling Measured#3/10

Wet Braking#5/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#6/10

Aquaplaning Cross#7/10

Dry

Dry Braking#1/10

Dry Handling Measured#3/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#5/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#1/10

Snow

Snow Circle Cornering#1/10

Snow Traction#1/10

Snow Braking#2/10

Snow Handling Measured#2/10

Summary

Excellent on snow and dry roads; shortest dry braking distance
Minor wet-road weaknesses

5

Bridgestone Blizzak 6

Rating: Good

£141

102 V

mytyres.co.uk

Wet1.8

Dry1.7

Snow1.5

Stopping distance on dry43.09

Stopping distance on wet46.8

Stopping distance on snow28.5

Comfort1.4

Wet

Wet Braking#3/10

Aquaplaning Cross#4/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#4/10

Wet Circle Cornering#4/10

Wet Handling Measured#6/10

Dry

Dry Handling Measured#2/10

Dry Braking#6/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#9/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#1/10

Snow

Snow Traction#4/10

Snow Braking#5/10

Snow Circle Cornering#5/10

Snow Handling Measured#7/10

Summary

Low rolling resistance; strong on snow
Minor wet and dry weaknesses

6

Falken EuroWinter HS02 Pro

Rating: Satisfactory

£113

102 V

mytyres.co.uk

Wet2.1

Dry1.9

Snow1.8

Stopping distance on dry43.61

Stopping distance on wet48.2

Stopping distance on snow29.4

Comfort2.2

Wet

Wet Circle Cornering#2/10

Wet Handling Measured#5/10

Wet Braking#6/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#7/10

Aquaplaning Cross#8/10

Dry

Dry Handling Measured#5/10

Dry Braking#10/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#7/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#9/10

Snow

Snow Traction#6/10

Snow Handling Measured#8/10

Snow Braking#9/10

Snow Circle Cornering#9/10

Summary

Decent snow performance; very quiet
No outstanding strengths; weaker aquaplaning resistance

Completed and corrected from the printed AUTO BILD 39/2026, pp. 58–63. Printed results take precedence over the online table. Lower grades are better. The magazine calls the top three “vorbildlich”; the online article uses “sehr gut”. Noise readings: 60 / 80 km/h. · Pirelli: Longitudinal aquaplaning 80.9 km/h; Cornering aquaplaning 3.2 m/s². · Bridgestone: Wet braking 46.8 m; Wet handling - objective 83.1 km/h. · Matador: 8/10.

7

Linglong Sport Master Winter

Rating: Satisfactory

Wet2.6

Dry1.8

Snow1.5

Stopping distance on dry42.32

Stopping distance on wet48.8

Stopping distance on snow28.2

Comfort2.1

Wet

Wet Braking#7/10

Wet Circle Cornering#7/10

Wet Handling Measured#8/10

Aquaplaning Cross#9/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#9/10

Dry

Dry Braking#4/10

Dry Handling Measured#5/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#10/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#8/10

Snow

Snow Handling Measured#1/10

Snow Braking#3/10

Snow Circle Cornering#3/10

Snow Traction#8/10

Summary

Best snow handling; confident on dry roads; inexpensive
Wet weaknesses led to a downgrade

8

Matador MP93 Nordicca

Rating: Satisfactory

Wet2.4

Dry2.0

Snow1.8

Stopping distance on dry43.45

Stopping distance on wet48.8

Stopping distance on snow29

Comfort1.8

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#6/10

Wet Braking#7/10

Wet Handling Measured#7/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#8/10

Wet Circle Cornering#8/10

Dry

Dry Braking#8/10

Dry Handling Measured#8/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#6/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#5/10

Snow

Snow Handling Measured#4/10

Snow Braking#7/10

Snow Circle Cornering#8/10

Snow Traction#9/10

Summary

Strong snow handling; quiet
Wet-road weaknesses

9

Prinx Winter Excelia

Rating: Satisfactory

Wet2.9

Dry2.0

Snow1.7

Stopping distance on dry43.55

Stopping distance on wet50.5

Stopping distance on snow28.9

Comfort2.3

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#2/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#5/10

Wet Braking#9/10

Wet Circle Cornering#9/10

Wet Handling Measured#9/10

Dry

Dry Braking#9/10

Dry Handling Measured#10/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#2/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#3/10

Snow

Snow Circle Cornering#5/10

Snow Braking#6/10

Snow Traction#7/10

Snow Handling Measured#9/10

Summary

Newcomer; good on snow
Weak wet lateral grip; high price for the performance

10

Zeetex WH1000 SUV

Rating: Poor

Wet3.9

Dry2.5

Snow3.8

Stopping distance on dry43.42

Stopping distance on wet57.5

Stopping distance on snow31.8

Comfort2.9

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#10/10

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#10/10

Wet Braking#10/10

Wet Circle Cornering#10/10

Wet Handling Measured#10/10

Dry

Dry Braking#7/10

Dry Handling Measured#9/10

Comfort

Noise Exterior#8/10

Economy

Rolling Resistance#10/10

Snow

Snow Braking#10/10

Snow Circle Cornering#10/10

Snow Handling Measured#10/10

Snow Traction#10/10

Summary

Lowest price in the test
Unacceptable wet braking; poor wet lateral grip

Detailed results

Same size tyres not featured in the test

Tests usually don't cover the whole market - here is our selection what not to miss when shopping for tyres in this size.

#	Name	Our rating	Segment	Price
1	Premium GoodYear UltraGrip Performance SUV Gen-1 95%	95%	Premium
2	Premium Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005 90%	90%	Premium	£179 102 H +2 More
3	Premium Continental WinterContact TS 850P SUV 90%	90%	Premium
4	Premium GoodYear UltraGrip Performance+ 90%	90%	Premium
5	Upper-middle Nokian WR SUV 4 89%	89%	Upper-middle
6	Premium Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2 89%	89%	Premium	£159 102 H +3 More
7	Premium Michelin PILOT ALPIN PA4 88%	88%	Premium
8	Premium Pirelli WINTER SOTTOZERO Serie III 86%	86%	Premium	£157 98 H +1 More

9	Upper-middle Firestone Winterhawk 4 84%	84%	Upper-middle	£118 102 V +1 More
10	Premium Bridgestone Blizzak LM-001 84%	84%	Premium	£154 102 V
11	Upper-middle Nokian WR SUV 3 81%	81%	Upper-middle
12	Budget Semperit Speed-Grip 5 81%	81%	Budget	£120 98 V +2 More
13	Upper-middle Toyo Observe S944 79%	79%	Upper-middle	£128 102 V
14	Upper-middle Nokian WR Snowproof P 79%	79%	Upper-middle
15	Upper-middle Toyo Snowprox S954 78%	78%	Upper-middle
16	Upper-middle Kleber KRISALP HP3 77%	77%	Upper-middle	£148 102 V

17	Upper-middle Hankook Winter i*cept evo3 X W330A 76%	76%	Upper-middle	£174 102 V +2 More
18	Upper-middle Hankook Winter i*cept evo2 SUV W320 75%	75%	Upper-middle
19	Upper-middle Kumho WinterCraft WS71 75%	75%	Upper-middle
20	Upper-middle BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2 SUV 75%	75%	Upper-middle	£133 98 H +3 More
21	Premium Hankook Winter i*cept iON IW01 74%	74%	Premium	£180 98 V +1 More
22	Premium Bridgestone Blizzak LM-80 EVO 74%	74%	Premium
23	Upper-middle Yokohama Bluearth Winter V906 72%	72%	Upper-middle	£118 102 V
24	Upper-middle Uniroyal WinterExpert 65%	65%	Upper-middle	£125 102 H +1 More

25	Upper-middle Yokohama BluEarth winter V905 62%	62%	Upper-middle	£115 98 Q +2 More
26	Budget Apollo Aspire XP Winter 49%	49%	Budget
27	Budget Fortune Fsr901 40%	40%	Budget
28	Budget Platin RP70 Winter 34%	34%	Budget
29	Budget Lassa Competus Winter 2+ 31%	31%	Budget
30	Budget Imperial SnowDragon UHP 25%	25%	Budget
31	Budget Radar Dimax Winter 9%	9%	Budget
32	Budget Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 SUV 1%	1%	Budget	£113 102 V +1 More