Winter tire test: Tops and Flops

Cologne, September 26, 2014

From " O " to " O " ?? ?? from October to Easter is the rule of thumb for the period during which the car should wear winter coats on the rims. But what are the best tires for the cold season? The automobile club ADAC and Stiftung Warentest tested 28 winter and four all-season tires from different manufacturers and come to a sobering conclusion: Only eight are really "good ".

195/65 R15T: Four times a " good"

In the dimension 195/65 R15T, which for compact and midsize cars like the Audi A3, the Opel Astra or the Mercedes C - Class are, there is the overall rating of " good" for the Conti Winter Contact TS850, the Bridgestone Blizzak LM 001, the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D and the Semperit speed-Grip 2 While Continental was able to convince top marks on snow, fuel consumption and wear testers, Bridgestone lands on a wet road at number one. Although Dunlop and Semperit not set bests, but are broadly balanced. Eight other tires move in midfield, seven of which are "satisfactory ", a " sufficient". And there are twice the red lantern in the form of the predicate "poor" for the Winter Hero Infinity INF 049 and the Achilles Winter one hundred and first

175/65 R14T: Also only four " good"

Also in the dimension 175/65 R14T that fits in small cars such as Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio and VW Up, there are four times by the testers a " good": The Continental Conti Winter Contact TS850 scores with the highest rating in the wet and very good wear properties. The Dunlop SP Winter Response 2 shines with the lowest fuel consumption. Michelin Alpin A4 convinced with the highest mileage in wear and the Firestone Winterhawk 3 shows consistently good performance. Eight times awarded the testers in this tire size a "satisfactory " and twice "poor" ?? failed are the Cooper WM SA2 and the Star Performer SPTS.

All season tires are not recommended

Of the four tested all season tires could reap any laurels. The experts of automobile clubs are of the opinion that the all-season tires pose too many dangers for road safety. As the Hawks EuroAllSeason AS200 and the Vredestein Quatrac Lite are rated 'satisfactory'. Only "poor" cut from the Kumho Solus HA31 and Uniroyal AllSeason Expert. Both fail in summer temperatures on dry pavement.