Winter tyre test 215/55 R17 - Autobild 2025
Winter Snow tests were conducted at the Hankook Technotrac proving ground in Ivalo, Finland, on large snowfields and a snow handling circuit; wet and dry tests took place at the Triwo Testcenter in Pferdsfeld, Germany, equipped with modern controlled irrigation and varied racetrack layouts; all tests were run under closely logged atmospheric conditions to ensure repeatability.
VW T-Roc compact SUV used, representative of the target vehicle segment for 215/55 R17 tyres; uniform tyre mounting to minimize vehicle-dependent variables.
Price vs Quality
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Results
Agenda:Best value in test
Better than average value
Worse than average value
Worst value in test
Kumho exhibited the shortest dry braking distance, while the Tomket required over 3 meters more to come to a stop; Michelin and Hankook demonstrated class-leading dry handling, nearly matching a summer tyre.
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#1/12
Wet Circle Cornering#1/12
Wet Handling#1/12
Wet Braking#2/12
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#4/12
Dry
Dry Braking#1/12
Dry Handling#7/12
Comfort
Noise Exterior#1/12
Ride Comfort#3/12
Snow
Snow Braking#1/12
Snow Traction#1/12
Snow Circle Cornering#3/12
Snow Handling#3/12
Hankook dominated wet braking, setting a clear benchmark; leading brands such as Bridgestone and Pirelli underperformed, stopping over five meters later than the best; lower-tier brands showed critical safety deficits.
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#1/12
Wet Braking#1/12
Wet Circle Cornering#1/12
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#2/12
Wet Handling#4/12
Dry
Dry Handling#1/12
Dry Braking#4/12
Comfort
Noise Exterior#3/12
Ride Comfort#3/12
Snow
Snow Braking#1/12
Snow Traction#1/12
Snow Handling#3/12
Snow Circle Cornering#5/12
Hankook delivered the shortest snow braking distance, with the first 6 tyres separated by just 0.5 meters; Leao and Tomket lagged significantly, needing up to 2.9 meters more to stop on snow.
Wet
Wet Braking#2/12
Wet Handling#2/12
Aquaplaning Cross#4/12
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#4/12
Wet Circle Cornering#5/12
Dry
Dry Handling#3/12
Dry Braking#4/12
Comfort
Noise Exterior#1/12
Ride Comfort#1/12
Snow
Snow Braking#1/12
Snow Traction#5/12
Snow Circle Cornering#6/12
Snow Handling#6/12
Goodyear, Michelin, and Continental led in snow traction, closely followed by Pirelli and Vredestein; Leao and Tomket struggled to maintain traction, indicating poor performance under wintry conditions.
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#1/12
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#1/12
Wet Circle Cornering#1/12
Wet Braking#2/12
Wet Handling#4/12
Dry
Dry Handling#3/12
Dry Braking#4/12
Comfort
Noise Exterior#8/12
Ride Comfort#8/12
Snow
Snow Circle Cornering#6/12
Snow Handling#6/12
Snow Braking#7/12
Snow Traction#7/12
Snow and wet surface testing utilized purpose-built proving grounds with controlled snow/ice quality and automated wetting systems for high repeatability.
Wet
Wet Circle Cornering#1/12
Wet Braking#2/12
Wet Handling#2/12
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#7/12
Aquaplaning Cross#11/12
Dry
Dry Braking#1/12
Dry Handling#3/12
Comfort
Noise Exterior#8/12
Ride Comfort#8/12
Snow
Snow Circle Cornering#6/12
Snow Handling#6/12
Snow Braking#7/12
Snow Traction#8/12
All test data was adjusted for ambient temperature and wind to control for environmental variability, ensuring statistically significant comparisons.
Wet
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#7/12
Wet Braking#7/12
Wet Handling#7/12
Wet Circle Cornering#8/12
Aquaplaning Cross#9/12
Dry
Dry Handling#1/12
Dry Braking#4/12
Comfort
Noise Exterior#3/12
Ride Comfort#3/12
Snow
Snow Braking#1/12
Snow Handling#1/12
Snow Traction#1/12
Snow Circle Cornering#3/12
A specialist rolling resistance dynamometer was employed to benchmark energy efficiency alongside dynamic performance factors.
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#4/12
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#4/12
Wet Circle Cornering#5/12
Wet Handling#7/12
Wet Braking#8/12
Dry
Dry Handling#7/12
Dry Braking#10/12
Comfort
Noise Exterior#8/12
Ride Comfort#8/12
Snow
Snow Braking#1/12
Snow Circle Cornering#1/12
Snow Handling#1/12
Snow Traction#1/12
Wet
Wet Handling#4/12
Wet Circle Cornering#5/12
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#7/12
Wet Braking#8/12
Aquaplaning Cross#9/12
Dry
Dry Braking#4/12
Dry Handling#7/12
Comfort
Ride Comfort#1/12
Noise Exterior#3/12
Snow
Snow Braking#1/12
Snow Circle Cornering#1/12
Snow Handling#3/12
Snow Traction#5/12
Wet
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#2/12
Wet Braking#2/12
Aquaplaning Cross#4/12
Wet Handling#7/12
Wet Circle Cornering#8/12
Dry
Dry Braking#1/12
Dry Handling#3/12
Comfort
Noise Exterior#3/12
Ride Comfort#8/12
Snow
Snow Braking#9/12
Snow Handling#9/12
Snow Circle Cornering#10/12
Snow Traction#10/12
Wet
Wet Circle Cornering#8/12
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#10/12
Wet Handling#10/12
Wet Braking#11/12
Aquaplaning Cross#12/12
Dry
Dry Braking#4/12
Dry Handling#7/12
Comfort
Ride Comfort#3/12
Noise Exterior#8/12
Snow
Snow Circle Cornering#6/12
Snow Traction#8/12
Snow Braking#9/12
Snow Handling#9/12
11
11
Rating: Conditionally recommended
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#4/12
Wet Braking#8/12
Wet Circle Cornering#11/12
Wet Handling#11/12
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#12/12
Dry
Dry Braking#10/12
Dry Handling#12/12
Comfort
Ride Comfort#3/12
Noise Exterior#8/12
Snow
Snow Braking#11/12
Snow Circle Cornering#11/12
Snow Handling#11/12
Snow Traction#11/12
Wet
Aquaplaning Cross#4/12
Aquaplaning Longitudinal#10/12
Wet Braking#12/12
Wet Circle Cornering#12/12
Wet Handling#12/12
Dry
Dry Handling#11/12
Dry Braking#12/12
Comfort
Noise Exterior#3/12
Ride Comfort#8/12
Snow
Snow Braking#11/12
Snow Circle Cornering#12/12
Snow Handling#12/12
Snow Traction#12/12
Same size tyres not featured in the test
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