by The results of the tests of studless tires, which are novelties of the winter season, have been published. In this case, we are talking about the least noisy and most “smooth” tires. The winners in this category were selected by the publication “Za Rulem”.
3rd Place. Hankook Winter i*cept IZ2
Surprisingly low noise was shown by the relatively inexpensive Hankook Winter i*cept IZ2, and in terms of smoothness, these tires are on the level of more expensive counterparts, which puts them in the Top-3 in terms of comfort. Compared to other tires in this ranking, Hankook decelerates a bit worse on snow and accelerates the car slowly on icy surfaces, but fuel economy is record-breaking! Moreover, these tires precisely follow a set course on snow and asphalt.
2nd Place. Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV and Continental VikingContact 7
The second position (by just one expert point) was shared by Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV and Continental VikingContact 7. They did well in the general rating too. Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV demonstrated reliable handling and the best braking efficiency on snow and asphalt, but fell behind slightly in ice braking. Meanwhile, Continental VikingContact 7 doesn’t brake as well on wet asphalt, but shows championship traction on ice and very confident on snow, also providing the vehicle with excellent handling.
1st Place. Michelin X-Ice Snow
Michelin X-Ice Snow makes as much noise as Nokian and Continental, but surpasses them in terms of smoothness, making it the leader! It’s quite surprising that based on tests on ice, snow, as well as dry and wet asphalt, the top Michelin X-Ice Snow only managed to reach third place, and even then not alone, sharing it with the aforementioned Hankook Winter i*cept IZ2, whose price is almost half as much. And yes, Michelin handles well on any surface and saves fuel efficiently, but the side grip on ice is the most modest, and they do not brake well on wet asphalt.
Also, if you’re interested, we recommend checking out the ratings table for all parameters.
