Vredestein Snowtrac 3

Braking is good on all surfaces, but fuel economy needs to be improved.

The Snowtrac 3 turned in a variable performance, popping up everywhere in the results except right at the top.

On snow, it combined two fourths with a sixth and seventh. It struggled for traction and you could really feel it on the handling track, with the front wheels easily spinning up. That made it hard to get out of turns, and essential to have the wheels straight. But the tyre turned in well and wasreassuring on the brakes.

Vredestein was up with the best in the aquaplaning tests but struggled in braking, where it came home a disappointing seventh, albeit a long way in front of the desperate Linglong.

But it lacked bite on the wet handling circuit and required plenty of lock to make the tighter turns. It felt stable, though, and there was plenty of warning as you reached the limit.

That stability could also be felt in the dry through faster sweeps, although it was noisy in tighter turns. Cabin noise was also high compared to rivals, but the rolling resistance result will be of more concern to the Dutch tyre maker. It was some way behind leading rivals, finishing eighth.