Auto Express winter test: Continental pips Bridgestone at post

It’s not every day that Michelin finishes last in a tyre test, but this was the case when Auto Express recently examined half a dozen winter tyres. But tester Kim Adams assures that the Alpin 6 is by no means a poor performer – instead, the result reflects the high standards amongst the tyres featured in this year’s test. The pick of the bunch is the Continental WinterContact TS 870, closely followed by the Bridgestone Blizzak LM005.

Auto Express looked at the top-selling size 205/55 R16, with the six candidates including three previously-tested tyres and three newcomers. One of the returnees is the WinterContact TS 870, which impressed Auto Express during its 2020 winter tyre test but was ultimately excluded from the final score after its launch date was pushed back. Other test regulars were unable to take part in this year’s test due to issues with stock levels or the imminent arrival of new designs. This list of absentees includes Goodyear, who hosted snow testing at its Arctic Center in Saariselka, Finland – the tyre maker has delayed the launch of its latest-generation UltraGrip.

Adams and the Auto Express team tested the six tyres (speed ratings T & H, load indices 91 & 94) in snowy, wet and dry conditions as well as for cabin noise, fuel economy and price. Performance in the wet and on snow respectively accounted for 50 per cent and 20 per cent of the result, and the other criteria the remainder.

Test winner: Continental WinterContact TS 870

Victory in the Auto Express winter tyre test was the seventh test triumph for the latest incarnation of Continental’s WinterContact. But this was a hard-fought win, with the result “going right down to the wire.” Kim Adams praised the TS 870 for displaying “balanced performance in all conditions.”

+ Snow & dry braking, wet & snow circular track, straight & curved aquaplaning, dry handling, cabin noise
– Wet braking, snow traction, snow handling

2nd: Bridgestone Blizzak LM005

Bridgestone returns as Continental’s main winter test rival and this year had to concede “by the smallest of margins.” Auto Express reports that “just a handful of percentage points” separated the Blizzak LM005 and WinterContact TS 870 in the wet and snow tests, but in dry conditions the Blizzak was “more convincingly beaten by the TS 870.” Adams nonetheless declares the Bridgestone tyre “a great all-round performer and well worth considering.”

+ Wet braking, wet handling, wet & snow circle, curved aquaplaning, dry handling

3rd: Hankook i*cept RS3

Introduced this year, the i*cept RS3 finished the Auto Express test as the best-performing newcomer but Adams noted a gap between it and the two “winter pacesetters,” adding that the Hankook tyre was “least comfortable” during the snow tests in Finland.

+ Snow & wet handling
– Dry, wet & snow braking, snow circle, rolling resistance

4th: Pirelli Winter 2

In its test debut, the Pirelli Winter 2 was “happiest on the snow” and performed nearly as well as the top tyres in these conditions. It delivered a midfield result in the wet. Auto Express notes that the Winter 2 achieved the worst result in the rolling resistance test, prompting Kim Adams to write that “if you want a quiet-riding tyre then look no further, but you will pay for it at the pumps.”

+ Snow traction & handling, straight aquaplaning, low cabin noise
– Wet circular track, dry handling, rolling resistance

5th: Vredestein Wintrac

In its Auto Express test debut, this successor to the Snowtrac was at its most competitive in wet and dry conditions, although Auto Express reports that the Wintrac “didn’t like the deep-water aquaplaning tests” and its was also the slowest around the handling track. Adams writes that “Wintrac could suit many drivers who do limited driving on snow” but added that “there are more versatile options.”

+ Wet & dry braking, rolling resistance
– Snow braking, traction, circle & handling, straight & curved aquaplaning, wet handling

6th: Michelin Alpin 6

In as-new condition the Alpin 6 delivered the best results in the snow, but Auto Express says the tyre’s improved snow grip has “come at the expense of wet performance,” where the Michelin was last-placed. The publication notes, however, that the margins here “were small” and the Alpin 6 was “most successful in braking, plus it felt safe on the handling track, with a stable rear.” Kim Adams declared the Michelin Alpin 6 “the tyre to have in the snow” but conceded “some compromises in the wet and dry.”

+ Snow braking & traction
– Straight & curved aquaplaning, wet circle, dry braking & handling, cabin noise

Gaining the wooden spoon in a tyre test is an experience often accompanied by words of caution or an explicit warning not to purchase a particular product. This is certainly not the case in the Auto Express 2022 winter test.

Putting Michelin’s result into perspective, Kim Adams explains that only the smallest of margins exist between its performance and that of the fifth, fourth and even third-placed tyres. He adds that the Alpin 6, a tyre that Auto Express first tested in 2019, was “closer to the winner here than when it finished third that year.”