Winter tyre reviews 2026: results by category

The budget Triangle performed decently in the snow and was okay in the dry, but was bottom of the table in all the wet tests. 

The Falken (seventh) has useful wet and dry handling, plus is refined, while the Vredestein (sixth) showed no specific strengths but scored okay overall. Fifth place on its debut was a fine result for the LingLong, which claimed the fastest lap in the dry, but was the least economical tyre. The fourth-placed Michelin had a slight bias to snow, but drove well in the wet and was the second most economical. 

The Bridgestone (third) performed well in all disciplines, but especially in the cold wet and dry. Goodyear (second) topped five tests, but was beaten by the superb Continental, which also won five tests to finish top overall for the third time in a row.

Winner

Continental WinterContact TS 870

Once again winning in the snow, wet and dry, the WinterContact TS 870 is also great to drive, refined and reasonably economical too. The Continental is an exceptional winter tyre that has now triumphed in this test three times.

Buy the Continental WinterContact TS870 from Blackcircles.com…

Results

Overall

Price

Snow braking

Snow traction

Snow handling

Wet braking 

Wet handling

Wet cornering

Straight aquaplaning

Curved aquaplaning

Dry braking

Dry handling

Cabin noise

Rolling resistance