Top 10 Winter Tires

"Winter is coming" is a very famous quote from the TV series The Game of Thrones, but the reason for mentioning it here is to shed some light on the effects winter will have on your vehicle's performance. Winter with its ice and snow, unlike other seasons, can severely affect both your driving confidence and the capabilities of your car, especially the tires.

You might be thinking that you have an excellent all-season tire, so you should be fine, but sorry to disappoint you. All-season tires will only work if you live in mildly cold conditions, but if you are living or moving to an icy cold climate, you need a good winter tire to offset the effects ice and snow will have on your car.

Winter brings cold and snow along with it, covering the roads and might give you a frightful experience of losing control of the vehicle because of the tire's low traction, grip, and handling power on the ice. To prevent such accidents, the manufacturers have invested lots of effort in research. After rigorous testing, they have introduced specially designed winter tires comprising unique construction, tread compound, and design. These tires give you firm traction, full controlling ability, strong braking power, and an overall sense of security.

Which one is the best winter tire, and how to find it? You will be lost if you do not have a guide into the world of tire types, models, costs, and performances. Our team has investigated tire models of all brands, their ratings, and customer reviews to give you accurate information about the best winter tires.

Pick the most suitable tire from the list below.

Bridgestone Blizzak WS80

Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 is one of the top-rated winter tires. It is designed using cutting-edge winter tire technology such as 3D jagged sipes on the outer edges and the NanoPro tech tread compound to offer improved grip, traction, and handling on icy surfaces.

The circumferential tooth-shaped sipes allow it to penetrate the ice to enhance controlling ability. Moreover, the tire also offers impressive performance on dry and wet terrains.

Key Features:

• Integration of cutting-edge technologies in this tire offers better traction in all seasons.
• The grooving at outer edges helps in removing water on wet roads.
• 3D tooth-shaped sipes improve performance in the snow.

Pros:

• It has impressive all-season traction.
• It offers exemplary performance in wintertime.
• It promotes a comfortable and pleasant driving experience.

Cons:

• The company can improve the tread life.

Nokian WR G3:

Nokian WR G3 is an excellent all-season tire. It is designed for passenger cars whose drivers are looking for an all-weather tire with the topmost winter season performance. The tire is developed using a Cryogenic Canola tread compound and cryo silane additives with silica to deliver an amazing performance in icy terrains. Besides, WR G3's unique tread design offers traction in wet and slushy landscapes and reduces the threat of hydroplaning. Improved cornering is another plus for this model.

Key Features:

• Great performance on wet roads and reduced chance of hydroplaning.
• It uses silane additives and silica tread compounds to improve traction in winter.

Pros:

• It provides all-season traction in the snow.
• It gives great cornering power on dry and wet surfaces.

Cons:

• The tire generates too much noise.

Michelin X-Ice Xi3:

Michelin X-Ice series is known for having a collection of amazing winter tires, but Xi3 is the best tire Michelin can offer in this niche. The tire is molded using Flex Ice-Silica tread compound, Michelin's latest winter tire technology, to keep the tire flexible even in severely cold conditions with zigzag sipes to enhance the grip on snow and ice.

This tire features intelligent technology that warns the driver when the tread is filled to a certain extent, after which traction will drop significantly. Michelin X-Ice Xi3 also offers outstanding fuel efficiency.

Key-Features:

• It gives impressive handling on wet and dry surfaces due to the silica tread compound.
• It has a tread warranty related to the speed rating.
• It has jagged sipes to improve traction on snow.

Pros:

• It offers the best traction in ice and snow.
• It delivers improved drive comfort and stability.
• It has enhanced grip on dry and wet roads.

Cons:

• It has a below-average cornering ability.

Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip Ice WRT:

Goodyear makes an appearance in top winter tires with its proprietary Winter Reactive Technology. This model, Eagle Ultra Grip, utilizes this new technology to deliver top-quality deep snow traction. This way, it improves the standard of your driving by making it safer in harsh climates.

This Goodyear model has improved ability to accelerate, decelerate and corner in the snow without the threat of slipping due to lack of traction. It also performs well on wet surfaces due to the water expelling grooves added to the tread.

Key Features:

• It uses the latest winter tire technology to provide the best performance in winter.
• Its tread design has grooves to expel water for enhanced wet traction.
• It offers increases cornering power due to tread lock technology.

Pros:

• It gives impressive traction in cold conditions.
• It performs well on dry and wet terrains.

Cons:

• Some people complained that the tire gets noisy with age.

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D:

This model deserves a place in our winter tire hotlist due to its outstanding performance in snow, slush, and hard snow, where most of its competitors failed. This model is designed to provide excellent all-season traction, including winter, by using the 3D zigzag sipes and Reactive silica tread compound.

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D is a top candidate for the best tire in the winter performance category because it performs exceptionally well in winter and all-weather conditions.

Key-Features:

• Reactive silica tread compound promotes traction in snow.
• The tread design and grooves reduce the risk of hydroplaning by channeling the water away.
• Jointless band technology protects the tire from deforming during long travels.

Pros:

• It runs smoothly on highways and streets.
• It gives solid traction in snow.
• It focuses on improving driving comfort.

Cons:

• It is not durable enough.
• It lacks cornering ability on wet roads.

Hankook I*Cept Evo W310

I*Cept Evo W310 is a fantastic winter-rated tire that uses a unique tread compound called the “polar bear claw” that gives the extra grip for better traction. Besides, this tire performs extremely well in all seasons and offers improved handling and grip in wet and dry conditions.

Key-Features:

• Its unique tread pattern improves wet and dry traction.
• Its ribbed construction improves the braking power.
• Improved grip on slippery surfaces.

Pros:

• This tire is a champion of all-season traction.
• Promotes comfort while driving.

Cons:

• Cornering ability can be improved.

General Altimax Arctic

Altimax Arctic offers you the best value for money. This tire is engineered to perform well in very harsh winter conditions. It has been one of the best-selling tires consistently for a long time because of its brilliant performance.

People love this tire not only because of its winter performance but because it offers great traction, substantial handling, and comfortable rides in all-year-round conditions.

Key-Features:

• It has a double tread pattern to improve wet traction.
• It has new siping technology for better traction in the snow.

Pros:

• It gives enhanced traction, handling, and control on icy surfaces.
• It supports firm braking and fast acceleration on snow.
• It offers the best bang for your buck.

Cons:

• It is not the best performer in dry conditions.

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4:

This winter tire has been developed to offer the best performance in the winter and summer seasons. Michelin combined unique tread compound technology with the latest sipes to add more grip in slippery situations to achieve this goal. Alpin PA4 is probably one of the best in the winter category overall, with its all-rounder performance all year round, including snow.

Key Features:

• All-season traction due to the Helio traction compound.
• Improved fuel efficiency.

Pros:

• Perfect handling on dense snow.
• Great accelerating and braking ability.

Cons:

• No major fault.

Continental Extreme WinterContact

The WinterContact of Continental is loved by SUVs and light-truck drivers worldwide due to its confident performance in winter conditions. It is famous because it offers enhanced grip and traction in snow and improves the comfort level.

Key Features:

• Sipes to enhance grip on snow.
• The edged design gives better winter performance.

Pros:

• All-season traction.
• Comfortable ride.

Cons:

• Durability reduces quickly.

Nokian Hakkapaliitta R2

This wonderful tire model has an exclusive design that improves the performance in snow and improves the fuel mileage. It features all the characteristics an outstanding winter tire should have, from solid grip and traction to precise controlling and cornering power; this tire has everything.

Key Features:

• Improved fuel mileage.
• Designed for better grip.

Pros:

• Particles laced tread for improved traction in snow.
• Next level stability.

Cons:

• There is a margin for improvement in durability.
• Fuel efficiency can be improved.