The BEST Winter Tyre Snow Test 2022/23

Steve Sutcliffe heads to the North of Sweden for a cracking comparison test between 5 of the BEST winter tyres on the market, watch to find out who the winner was!
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Car Used: BMW 320i
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Tyre Size: 225/50 R17
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Tyres tested:
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*** Chapters ***
00:00 Introduction
00:52 Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2 - Snow Handling
02:14 Traction Test
03:05 Sponsors
03:33 Continental Winter Contact TS 870 - Snow Handling
05:09 Snow Braking Test
05:45 Snow Track Handling Test
06:17 Lateral Grip Test
07:05 Goodyear UltraGrip Performance +
07:30 Steve's Summary
09:32 Conclusion

[doriangray]

Thank you SOO much. I used this and another video and about 30 tiny not so empirical caveats to help me. porsche 718 Boxster T :D

[raresionel]

I tried to see if Continental tires are good for summer, all season and winter, I went to Finland during the winter and I had good all season and winter results

[raresionel]

if a full Michelin 7 appeared, what do you think?

[sergiogiacomosammartano]

A few years ago I drove my Alfa Romeo on Bridgestone winter tires (I don't remember the exact model) in north Italy near the alps, where you get quite often some snow and ice, as well as frequent wet or sub-zero dry conditions. Later, I got (not studded) Nokian R5 winter tires bolted on my car when I moved to Helsinki, Finland, where you get pretty much 6 months of winter, and significant amounts of snow and ice for at least 4 months in a row.
It might sound weird, but in my opinion the Bridgestone were the better tires overall, and by quite some margin. They were much better all-rounder, they kept the same level of grip nearly unchanged for over 3 years (I changed them during their 4th winter season), and they handled impressively well on snow and ice, without sacrificing the grip on dry surfaces, which was predictable, reliable and consistent season after season.
The Nokian performed well only during their first winter, and mostly only on snow; on wet conditions they were prone to aquaplaning and on dry conditions they felt poorly reactive and slow, with a strong tendency to under-steering. And their performance faded away quite dramatically: already during their second winter they felt much more slippery even on snow, compared to the previous year, so much so that I swapped them for Continental winter tires (WinterContact TS 850), which felt still very grippy on snow (even though not quite as grippy as brand new Nokian on the same surface), while performing much better on wet and dry, and keeping their grip for 3 winters straight. I was overall so satisfied that for my next car (a BMW) I bought Conties as my next summer tires (SportContact 7), which I couldn't be happier about (tons of grip and fantastic handling on wet and dry alike).
However, I do remember that the winter Conties were a tiny bit "snappy" if pushed near to their limit (especially on ice), and they lacked a bit of steering sharpness on the dry, especially when temps got close to 10 °C at the end of the season. That's why I'm thinking of going back to Bridgestone for my next winter swap.

[LordToogood]

Can't get any of those in my wheel size. Have you tested the yokohama bluearth v906 yet?

[Z-u-m-a]

Solid review Steve. Had the Goodyears on my old Passat. They were my first set of winter tyres (or all-season) and the grip on snow/slush was amazing. Even though they don't compare so well here.

[meverkko]

I think it would be fair to say which "winter" you´re talking about. Since all the tyres in the test are ment for mild winter climates. No proper winter tyres in the test for proper winter.

[cransaftvalve]

We can only drive in snow with the symbol marked on the tire without using chains. Or with an all season tire we could drive in snow?.

[rubenramos-wpnw]

My gf just bought Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2s (she came from Michelim Pilot Alpin 5s) amd i‘ve got to say i was contemplating on whether to buy something else than the PA5 because they are so good in cold temps hearing the cinturatos are also nice makes me feel better about my decision just got to get them fitted now…

[atarimoon]

Where is Nokian? It’s made in Finland where is one of the harshest winter in the world! In my opinion it’s much better than all of these! I’m using some of the brands you’ve shown but for summer. In winter it’s only NOKIAN on all of my cars!

[d_d]

Just got Good Year ugp + over Fulda crystal contact or w.e on a 2015 tiguan, Massive upgrade, the grip on cold asphalt has been better and better.No snow test yet :) They had a little strange noice when were totally new, now its gone.Breaking on cold asphalt is also great.

[maartenk]

Good review. Non of these tyres are really bad. I got a set of TS870's from my dealer today. It was a nice deal. Winters in the Netherlands here are mostly cold and wet. And sometimes we have real snow. So, choosing the 'best' tires is dependent on your local climate. Seems non of the tires in this test are really bad. Thanks for the effort you put in this test.

[darylRvillaescusa]

You forgot to put nokian on the list if your saying the "best winter" tire

[yamahass]

Nordic winter tires are better then all of these.

[TheRg]

Great review but I don’t think much of the unbeatable sponsor price!

Contiwintercontact 255/35/R19 £55 more than my usual supplier!