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
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
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
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 | | 91% | Premium | |
| 2 | | 90% | Premium | £155 98 H +1 More |
| 3 | | 90% | Premium | |
| 4 | | 89% | Premium | £154 98 V +1 More |
| 5 | | 89% | Upper-middle | £118 94 H +2 More |
| 6 | | 89% | Premium | |
| 7 | | 89% | Premium | |
| 8 | | 89% | Premium | £177 94 H +4 More |
|
| 9 | | 88% | Premium | £113 94 W +7 More |
| 10 | | 87% | Upper-middle | £122 94 H +2 More |
| 11 | | 86% | Premium | £162 94 H +3 More |
| 12 | | 86% | Upper-middle | |
| 13 | | 85% | Upper-middle | £121 98 V |
| 14 | | 84% | Premium | £132 94 V +2 More |
| 15 | | 84% | Premium | £112 +1 More |
| 16 | | 84% | Upper-middle | £99 98 V |
|
| 17 | | 84% | Upper-middle | |
| 18 | | 84% | | £126 98 V |
| 19 | | 82% | Budget | £83 98 V |
| 20 | | 81% | Budget | £107 94 H +2 More |
| 21 | | 81% | Budget | |
| 22 | | 80% | Upper-middle | |
| 23 | | 80% | Budget | £101 98 V |
| 24 | | 79% | Upper-middle | |
|
| 25 | | 79% | Upper-middle | £143 98 V +1 More |
| 26 | | 79% | Upper-middle | |
| 27 | | 78% | Upper-middle | |
| 28 | | 77% | Premium | £162 98 V |
| 29 | | 75% | Budget | £107 98 V |
| 30 | | 75% | Upper-middle | |
| 31 | | 74% | Upper-middle | |
| 32 | | 74% | Budget | |
|
| 33 | | 69% | Budget | £110 98 V +1 More |
| 34 | | 66% | Budget | |
| 35 | | 66% | Budget | £105 98 V |
| 36 | | 65% | Upper-middle | £101 94 H +1 More |
| 37 | | 64% | Budget | |
| 38 | | 63% | Upper-middle | |
| 39 | | 62% | Upper-middle | £141 94 H +3 More |
| 40 | | 61% | Upper-middle | |
|
| 41 | | 59% | Budget | |
| 42 | | 56% | Budget | |
| 43 | | 40% | Budget | |
| 44 | | 40% | Budget | |
| 45 | | 39% | Budget | |
| 46 | | 34% | Budget | |
| 47 | | 25% | Budget | |
| 48 | | 1% | Budget | |
|
| 49 | | 1% | Budget | |
