The ADAC’s and Warentest foundation’s test included 16 size 185 60 R14 models with a speed index of T (up to 190 km/h), that can be fitted on  cars such asthe Skoda Fabia or SEAT Ibiza.As always, dry, wet, snow and ice performances were tested.Moreover, tread wear, fuel consumption and noise levels were also tested.Almost two in three tested tyres were rated as highly recommended or recommended, which means that the overall quality of these products is high.Unfortunately, some inexpensive products, mostly those from the Far East or the economy brands from tyre manufacturers, offer lower performance.

2009 ADAC test of 185 60 R14 T winter tyres

ADAC
recommendation

Final
mark

Approx.
price
in EUR

On
dry sur-
faces

On
wet sur-
faces

On snow sur-
faces

On
ice sur-
faces

Noise

Fuel con-
sump-
tion

Tread wear

Vredestein Snowtrac 3***

2.2

50-83

2.8

2.2

1.8

2.8

3.7

2.3

1.0

Fulda Kristall Montero 3***

2.3

46-72

2.4

2.1

2.0

3.0

4.0

1.9

2.1

Continental WinterContact TS 800***

2.3

54-85

2.7

2.2

2.1

3.3

3.8

2.6

0.8

Bridgestone Blizzak LM 30***

2.4

55-85

2.5

2.1

2.4

2.9

3.4

2.3

2.0

Goodyear UltraGrip 7+***

2.5

53-88

2.6

2.2

2.3

3.0

3.2

2.6

2.2

Dunlop SP Winter Response***

2.5

52-85

2.9

1.9

2.4

3.1

3.4

2.6

3.0

Kleber Krisalp HP2**

2.5

48-76

2.3

2.4

2.8

3.4

4.1

2.1

1.5

Semperit Master-Grip**

2.6

47-73

2.6

2.3

2.4

3.6

3.6

2.6

2.1

Uniroyal MS Plus 6**

2.7

46-73

2.4

2.7

2.4

3.7

3.2

2.7

2.5

Kumbo KW23*

2.7

45-64

2.5

2.2

3.1

3.1

3.9

2.4

2.8

Lassa Snoways Era*

2.9

50-56

2.7

3.3

2.5

3.0

3.8

3.0

2.2

Firestone Winterhawk 2

2.8

49-79

2.4

2.3

3.6

3.3

3.6

2.4

2.4

Pneumant PN 150 Wintec

3.1

44-71

2.4

3.2

3.6

3.2

3.8

2.3

3.3

Marangoni 4 Winter

3.3

38-52

2.8

4.9

2.1

3.1

4.0

2.4

2.6

Score thresholds for ADAC recommendations

 

highly recommended

recommended

conditionally recommended

not recommended

Overall score

0.5-3.0

3.1-3.5

3.6-4.0

4.1-5.5

On dry surfaces

0.5-3.0

3.1-3.5

3.6-4.5

4.6-5.5

On wet surfaces

0.5-2.5

2.6-3.0

3.1-3.5

3.6-5.5

On snow surfaces

0.5-2.5

2.6-3.0

3.1-3.5

3.6-5.5

On ice surfaces

0.5-3.3

3.4-3.8

3.9-4.5

4.6-5.5

Fuel consumption

0.5-3.0

3.1-3.5

3.6-4.0

4.1-5.5

Tread wear

0.5-3.0

3.1-4.0

4.1-5.0

5.1-5.5

*** highly recommended

** recommended

* conditionally recommended

- not recommended

Note: lower score means better result

Note!
In ADAC tests, lower scores mean better results.The tyres with the lowest scores are the most recommended by ADAC.

Vredestein Snowtrac 3 won the test, while five other models received a "highly recommended" rating:Fulda Montero 3, Continental WinterContact TS 800,Bridgestone Blizzak LM 30, Goodyear UltraGrip 7+and Dunlop SP Winter Response.Ratings for Firestone Winterhawk 2 and Pneumant PN 150 Wintec were lowered due to their poor snow performance.Marangoni 4 Winter and Sava Eskimo S3 performed disastrously on wet, while Federal Himalaya WS-1 failed in all tests, except for tread wear.

Below you will find the characteristic pros and cons of the individual models, while the table gives detailed scores given in specific categories.Original scoring was kept, so the lower the score the better.The results that lowered the final ADAC recommendation are highlighted in red.

If you decide to buy inexpensive tyres, prepare to be disappointed.It is always better to compare both performance and price, and choose an optimal product for the conditions you will be using you tyres in.Good size 185/60 R14 (T speed index) tyres are not much more expensive than the bad ones, provided you can find a good offer – both in Germany and in Poland.

Pros and cons of products:

Vredestein Snowtrac 3

Pros:a versatile tyre, best results on snow and ice, good on wet surfaces, low tread wear
cons:(none)

Fulda Kristall Montero 3

Pros:a versatile tyre, especially good on dry, wet and snow-covered roads, lowest fuel consumption of all tested
cons:(none)

Continental WinterContact TS800

Pros:a versatile tyre, lowest tread wear of all tested, good on wet surfaces and snow
Cons:(none)

Bridgestone Blizzak LM30

Pros:a versatile tyre, especially good on wet and ice surfaces, good on dry surfaces
Cons:(none)

Goodyear UltraGrip 7+

Pros:a versatile tyre, best score for (low) noise level, good on dry and wet surfaces
Cons:(none)

Dunlop SP Winter Response

Pros:a versatile tyre, highest score for wet surfaces performance
Cons:high tread wear

Kleber Krisalp HP2

Pros:highest score for dry surfaces performance, relatively low tread wear and fuel consumption
Cons:poor performance on snow and ice surfaces compared to the best ones

Semperit Master-Grip

Pros:balanced performance on dry and wet surfaces
Cons:relatively low ice grip

Uniroyal MS Plus 6

Pros:highest score for (low) noise level, especially good dry surfaces performance
Cons:lower performance on wet surfaces and, especially, on ice, relatively high fuel consumption

Kumho KW23

Pros:good performance on dry and wet surfaces
Cons:relatively low snow performance, high tread wear

Lassa Snoways Era

Pros:(none)
Cons:relatively poor wet performance, high fuel consumption

Firestone Winterhawk 2

Pros:especially good dry surfaces performance
Cons:very poor on snow

Pneumant PN 150 Wintec

Pros:especially good dry surfaces performance
Cons:very low snow performance, relatively low wet surfaces performance, high tread wear

Marangoni 4 Winter

Pros:good on snow-covered surfaces
Cons:very poor wet surfaces performance (especially braking)

Sava Ekimo S3

Pros:especially good on snow
cons:extremely bad on wet surfaces (especially braking)

Federal Himalaya WS-1

Pros:low tread wear
cons:extremely bad on wet surfaces (especially braking), dry and ice