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In rain, snow and ice, 34 tyres reviewed.
Winter tyres have been mandatory in Luxembourg for almost ten years. Gradually, neighbouring countries, such as Germany, are also joining in. To help you choose the right tyres for your vehicle, ACL and its partner clubs reviewed 34 tyres in two different sizes (15” and 17”). Seven tyres came away with top marks.
This year, ACL and its partner clubs have chosen 195/65 R15 and 225/50 R17 tyres. The 195/65 R15 tyres are among the most common sizes mounted on lower mid-range cars such as the Opel Astra or VW Golf, while the 225/50 R17 size is more commonly used on touring cars such as the Audi A4 or the BMW 3 series.
The 15-inch tyre tests produced generally satisfactory results. Two-thirds of the 16 tyres tested had no significant weaknesses in wet and dry conditions or in terms of wear and tear. The four winners of this test, the Dunlop Winter Response 2, the Goodyear UltraGrip 9+, the Michelin Alpin 6 and the Vredestein Wintrac, satisfied all the main criteria and were awarded good marks.
Further down the list, the
BFGoodrich g-Force Winter 2 and the Continental WinterContact TS 860 just missed the cut-off. While the BFGoodrich delivers strong performance on dry roads, its performance on wet roads leaves something to be desired. The Continental tyre, on the other hand, has the highest rating on wet roads, but suffers from a few weaknesses when it comes to dry conditions.
Two brands not up to standard
Of the 18 different 17-inch tyres tested, three got particularly high marks: the Dunlop Winter Sport 5, the Michelin Alpin 5 and the Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+. All three perform well across the main evaluation criteria. The Dunlop and Michelin models are also the best of all the tyres tested on snow and in terms of tread wear.
However, two models have serious deficiencies and their performance was rated as poor. We cannot recommend the
Goodride Zuper Snow Z-507 and the Linglong Green-Max Winter UHP at all.
Of the tyres rated satisfactory, the Kleber Krisalp HP3 does well in the wet. This is an attractive option for a country like Luxembourg, where it rains more than it snows, even in the middle of winter.
The following two tables offer a more accurate indication of the performance of each of the tyres tested. They were rated from 1 to 5 (1 being the best and 5 the worst).
Two of the 17-inch tyres scored 5.5.
Tyre size 225/50 R17
Tyre size 195/65 R15
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