Click here to read the intro from evo's 2011 winter tyre test

Click here to read the test scores from evo's 2011 winter tyre test

The Results

Winter tyres excel in the snow and fill the top positions in the cold wet tests too, yet in the dry they’re not far behind the all-season tyres. It’s a winter tyre that gets closest in feel to the summer tyre, too. Objectively, the winter Continental is the best overall with a solid set of results. The Michelin is a close second and has the best ‘on-road’ feel of any winter tyre, while the third-placed Pirelli was best in the wet and the fourth-placed Goodyear was best in the snow. 

Best of the all-season tyres, the Vredestein, comes in fifth. It’s not far behind the winter tyres in snow and wet tests and is, objectively, best in the dry after the summer tyre but in feel it’s not as good as the Michelin. The advantages of the winter and all-season tyres in wintry conditions are enormous, and they are OK in the dry, too. But If you want your car to perform at its best throughout the year you’ll be changing its tyres in late Autumn and spring because only a summer tyre delivers the feel and precision a driver’s car deserves. 

Overall Top Five:

1. Continental ContiWinterContact TS 830 P (90.5%)

2. Michelin Alpin A4 (90.4%)

3. Pirelli Sottozero W240 Serie 2 (90.1%)

4. Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 2 (89.5%)

5. Vredestein Quatrac 3 (all-season) (89.0%)

Click here to read the intro from evo's 2011 winter tyre test

Click here to read the test scores from evo's 2011 winter tyre test

You can read a more detailed version of this test, with full comparative data, in issue 163 of evo, out now!