Winter tyre test 215/55 R17 - AutoMotorSport 2025

Winter Testing was conducted using both compact SUV Audi Q2 and high-performance SQ2 models at specialized automotive test facilities, involving dry asphalt, wet asphalt (with artificial watering), and packed snow; ambient conditions reflect typical Central European winter scenarios.

2025

Year

10

Tyres

Primary vehicles were Audi Q2 and SQ2 compact SUVs equipped with Dezent TO 7.5 x 17-inch lightweight alloy wheels, with up to 755 kg load rating and compatible with a wide range of mid-size cars, wagons, and hybrids.

Winner

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P

Best Value

Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3

Test Vehicle

Audi Q2

Tested tyres

10

article

Deep Dive: Automotorsport’s Latest Winter Tyre Test for 2025 Reveals Surprises, Dangers, and Inconsistencies

Every year, the search for the perfect winter tyre begins. With vehicle running costs on everyone's mind, the temptation to save a few hundred euros on a set of budget tyres is strong. But what do you sacrifice in safety and performance? To get to the bottom of this, the respected German magazine Automotorsport conducted an in-depth test on the common 215/55 R 17 size. Their lineup was designed to find the truth, comparing top-tier offerings from Continental and Michelin against value-focused brands and even a super-cheap Linglong tyre, to see which ones truly deliver when conditions get tough.

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

Best dry braking from 100 km/h: Continental (43.6 m), followed closely by Linglong (44.5 m) and Goodyear (44.6 m); worst: Profil with 50.1 m.

1

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P

Rating: Outstanding

£145

94 T

mytyres.co.uk

+5 More sizes →

94H · £166 94H · £148 94V · £162 +2

Wet9.8

Dry8.9

Snow8.2

Enviromental impact9.0

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#1/9

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/9

Wet Braking#1/9

Wet Handling#1/9

Wet Side Guide#1/9

Dry

Dry Braking#1/9

Dry Handling#1/9

Dry Lane Change#1/9

Dry Steering Reaction#1/9

Comfort

Ride Comfort#1/9

Snow

Snow Braking#1/9

Snow Handling#1/9

Snow Side Guide#1/9

Snow Traction#1/9

Best wet braking from 80 km/h: Continental (31.2 m), Michelin (31.4 m), Vredestein (31.9 m); Linglong: 32.2 m; Profil (retread) proves extremely poor at 52.5 m.

2

Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+

Rating: Outstanding

Wet9.2

Dry9.1

Snow9.0

Enviromental impact8.6

3

Michelin Alpin 7

Rating: Very good

£155

94 V

mytyres.co.uk

+1 More sizes →

98V · £155

Wet8.9

Dry8.2

Snow8.4

Enviromental impact8.4

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#1/9

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/9

Wet Handling#1/9

Wet Side Guide#1/9

Wet Braking#4/9

Dry

Dry Handling#2/9

Dry Steering Reaction#3/9

Dry Braking#4/9

Dry Lane Change#4/9

Comfort

Ride Comfort#1/9

Snow

Snow Handling#1/9

Snow Side Guide#1/9

Snow Braking#2/9

Snow Traction#3/9

4

Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3

Rating: Very good

£113

98 V

mytyres.co.uk

+2 More sizes →

98V · £126 98V · £128

Wet8.6

Dry8.4

Snow8.5

Enviromental impact7.3

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#1/9

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/9

Wet Side Guide#1/9

Wet Braking#4/9

Wet Handling#5/9

Dry

Dry Steering Reaction#1/9

Dry Handling#2/9

Dry Lane Change#2/9

Dry Braking#4/9

Comfort

Ride Comfort#5/9

Snow

Snow Side Guide#1/9

Snow Braking#2/9

Snow Traction#3/9

Snow Handling#6/9

5

Vredestein Wintrac Pro+

Rating: Very good

£123

94 H

mytyres.co.uk

Wet9.4

Dry8.0

Snow7.6

Enviromental impact7.0

Wet

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/9

Wet Handling#1/9

Wet Braking#3/9

Aquaplaning Cross#4/9

Wet Side Guide#5/9

Dry

Dry Handling#2/9

Dry Braking#7/9

Dry Lane Change#7/9

Dry Steering Reaction#7/9

Comfort

Ride Comfort#4/9

Snow

Snow Traction#3/9

Snow Handling#4/9

Snow Side Guide#5/9

Snow Braking#6/9

6

Bridgestone Blizzak 6

Rating: Very good

£131

98 V

mytyres.co.uk

Wet7.5

Dry8.4

Snow9.1

Enviromental impact7.7

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#5/9

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#5/9

Wet Side Guide#5/9

Wet Handling#6/9

Wet Braking#8/9

Dry

Dry Braking#2/9

Dry Lane Change#2/9

Dry Steering Reaction#3/9

Dry Handling#6/9

Comfort

Ride Comfort#3/9

Snow

Snow Side Guide#1/9

Snow Braking#2/9

Snow Handling#3/9

Snow Traction#6/9

7

Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2

Rating: Good

£135

98 H

mytyres.co.uk

+1 More sizes →

98V · £135

Wet8.7

Dry8.2

Snow7.0

Enviromental impact6.7

Wet

Wet Braking#4/9

Wet Handling#6/9

Wet Side Guide#7/9

Aquaplaning Cross#8/9

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#8/9

Dry

Dry Braking#4/9

Dry Handling#7/9

Dry Lane Change#7/9

Dry Steering Reaction#8/9

Comfort

Ride Comfort#8/9

Snow

Snow Braking#6/9

Snow Traction#6/9

Snow Handling#8/9

Snow Side Guide#8/9

8

Linglong Sport Master Winter

Rating: Good

Wet7.5

Dry7.9

Snow7.2

Enviromental impact7.0

Wet

Wet Braking#4/9

Aquaplaning Cross#8/9

Wet Handling#8/9

Wet Side Guide#8/9

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#9/9

Dry

Dry Braking#7/9

Dry Steering Reaction#8/9

Dry Handling#9/9

Dry Lane Change#9/9

Comfort

Ride Comfort#8/9

Snow

Snow Side Guide#5/9

Snow Braking#6/9

Snow Handling#6/9

Snow Traction#6/9

9

Falken Eurowinter HS02

Rating: Satisfactory

£112

98 V

mytyres.co.uk

Wet7.1

Dry7.6

Snow6.2

Enviromental impact8.0

Wet

Aquaplaning Cross#5/9

Aquaplaning Longitudinal#5/9

Wet Braking#8/9

Wet Handling#8/9

Wet Side Guide#8/9

Dry

Dry Steering Reaction#3/9

Dry Lane Change#4/9

Dry Braking#7/9

Dry Handling#7/9

Comfort

Ride Comfort#5/9

Snow

Snow Traction#6/9

Snow Handling#8/9

Snow Braking#9/9

Snow Side Guide#9/9

10

Profil Winter Maxx

Rating: Poor

Wet1.7

Dry4.4

Snow8.9

Enviromental impact9.7

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 Continental ContiWinterContact TS 850P 91%	91%	Premium
2	Premium Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005 90%	90%	Premium	£153 98 H +1 More
3	Premium Michelin ALPIN 6 89%	89%	Premium
4	Premium Dunlop Winter Sport 5 89%	89%	Premium	£123 98 V +1 More
5	Premium Michelin ALPIN 5 89%	89%	Premium	£151 94 H +4 More
6	Upper-middle Kleber KRISALP HP3 89%	89%	Upper-middle	£120 94 H +2 More
7	Premium Goodyear UltraGrip Performance Gen-1 89%	89%	Premium
8	Premium Bridgestone Turanza T005 88%	88%	Premium	£114 94 V +7 More

9	Upper-middle BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2 87%	87%	Upper-middle	£118 94 H +2 More
10	Premium Pirelli WINTER SOTTOZERO Serie III 86%	86%	Premium	£166 94 H +3 More
11	Upper-middle Nokian WR D4 86%	86%	Upper-middle
12	Upper-middle Cooper Discoverer Winter 85%	85%	Upper-middle	£118 98 V
13	Premium Bridgestone Blizzak LM-001 84%	84%	Premium	£145 94 V +2 More
14	Premium Pirelli CINTURATO WINTER 84%	84%	Premium	£121 +1 More
15	Upper-middle Hankook Winter i*cept evo2 W320 84%	84%	Upper-middle
16	Upper-middle Firestone Winterhawk 4 84%	84%	Upper-middle	£100 98 V

17	Hankook W320 Winter I*Cept Evo2 84%	84%		£158 98 V
18	Budget Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6 82%	82%	Budget	£79 98 V
19	Budget Semperit Speed-Grip 3 81%	81%	Budget
20	Budget Semperit Speed-Grip 5 81%	81%	Budget	£103 94 H +2 More
21	Budget Fulda Kristall Control HP2 80%	80%	Budget	£110 98 V
22	Upper-middle Falken EuroWinter HS01 80%	80%	Upper-middle
23	Upper-middle Nokian WR Snowproof P 79%	79%	Upper-middle
24	Upper-middle Toyo Observe S944 79%	79%	Upper-middle	£133 98 V +1 More

25	Upper-middle Nokian WR Snowproof 79%	79%	Upper-middle	£127 98 H +1 More
26	Upper-middle Toyo Snowprox S954 78%	78%	Upper-middle
27	Premium Hankook Iw01a Ion Icept Suv 77%	77%	Premium	£176 98 V
28	Budget Sava Eskimo HP2 75%	75%	Budget	£98 98 V
29	Upper-middle Kumho WinterCraft WP71 75%	75%	Upper-middle
30	Upper-middle Uniroyal MS Plus 77 74%	74%	Upper-middle
31	Budget Giti GitiWinter W1 74%	74%	Budget
32	Budget Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 WU7 69%	69%	Budget	£91 98 V +1 More

33	Budget Nexen WinGuard Sport 66%	66%	Budget
34	Budget Debica Frigo HP2 66%	66%	Budget	£97 98 V
35	Upper-middle Uniroyal WinterExpert 65%	65%	Upper-middle	£111 94 H +1 More
36	Budget Barum Polaris 5 64%	64%	Budget
37	Upper-middle Nokian WR A4 63%	63%	Upper-middle
38	Upper-middle Yokohama BluEarth winter V905 62%	62%	Upper-middle	£135 94 H +3 More
39	Upper-middle Firestone Winterhawk 3 61%	61%	Upper-middle
40	Budget Giti Gitiwinter W2 59%	59%	Budget

41	Budget Matador MP93 Nordicca 56%	56%	Budget
42	Budget Kormoran SNOW 40%	40%	Budget
43	Budget Fortune Fsr901 40%	40%	Budget
44	Budget GT Radial Champiro WinterPro HP 39%	39%	Budget
45	Budget Platin RP70 Winter 34%	34%	Budget
46	Budget Imperial SnowDragon UHP 25%	25%	Budget
47	Budget Imperial SnowDragon 3 1%	1%	Budget
48	Budget Kormoran SNOWPRO B2 1%	1%	Budget