Best crossover winter tires - Michelin, Nokian or Bridgestone?

In the studded Hakka 9, there are pointed hooks in the center. They give phenomenal accelerating dynamics on ice. In the shoulder area there are already hexagons with a trihedral core. Spring-loaded bars (Eco Stud technology) actively prevent side skidding, and together give the tire excellent grip for high-speed maneuvering in winter. We believe that this is the best solution among the participants.

The X-Ice North studs have a reduced area at the point of contact with the surface. Because of this, they do not make noise, do not interfere with the control on the pavement and confidently "bite" into the ice and snow. In addition, Michelin has more studs than other participants - tires deservedly receive 2nd place in the nomination.

Continental installed lightweight studs. At the same time, the arrangement of the rods with an offset allows the wheel to always stick into the untouched ice edge. By the number of steel “claws”, the tire boldly takes 3rd place.

On the Pirelli Scorpion Ice Zero, the studs are truncated in the form of a trapezoid and terminate in an indelible tungsten carbide core. They also do not follow each other, covering a much larger capture area. Bridgestone tires feature high-strength lugs with a reinforced and protruding center insert on the tread.The oval flange increased the stability of the “claw” in rubber, and the sharp tip easily bites into the ice. These two participants fairly shared the fourth place in the nomination.

The question for a studded tire is relevant - steel lugs and an aggressive tread during rotation create acoustic noise. The monotony of vibrations has a bad effect on the reaction speed of the driver, so the noise level is not only comfort, but also safety. Michelin, despite the advantage in the number of studs, turned out to be the most comfortable tire among all participants. The secret is in the combination of tread features and lug design. Nokian, like Bridgestone, work quite quietly, but with increasing speed they pick up a rumble. The assessment of noise experts gives Continental the 4th place in the ranking - already at 90 km / h the tire decently makes itself felt. As for winter studded tires from Pirelli, Scorpion Ice Zero is far behind all participants in terms of acoustic comfort. Here she is an obvious outsider.

According to tests by popular auto publications, Michelin studded tires boast the best grip on ice.Her model X-Ice North 4 SUV passed the test lap on ice a couple of seconds faster than the Nokian Hakka 9. The third in the standings was expectedly Continental. Thus, the trinity showed the best braking results on ice from a speed of 25 km/h - 10.1, 10.2 and 10.5 m, respectively. The difference is at the level of error, especially since the studded tires produced similar results in cornering stability. And their overclocking dynamics are, in general, identical. But Pirelli tires will need almost 1.8 m more to stop. Bridgestone tires have the same results.

This comparison shows a slightly different picture. Braking on a snowy track was recorded from a speed of 40 km/h. The best result in the race was at the Continental - their stopping distance was 17.3 m. And Michelin managed to give way to the leader of the race quite a bit - 17.32 m! Nokian are next with a score of 17.4 m. The Pirellis were able to stop in the snow at around 17.6 m. Bridgestone indicators close the list of participants with the weakest result at 17.7 m. positions in which the tires behaved almost on an equal footing.

Nokian Hakka 9 and tires from Bridgestone shared the first place in this nomination. The length of the braking distance needed to reduce the speed from 60 to 5 km / h, for both participants was 20.3 m. As expected, Michelin did not become the leader (due to the large number of spikes): he managed to slow down in a segment of 28.46 m and take third place.

The Pirelli Scorpion Ice Zero in this comparison showed a result of 30.88 m. But the Continental took already 31.43 m to slow down on a wet road - the worst test result.

The tread of all participants in the rating has a pronounced directional character, which gives them good directional stability in straight sections. According to the results of testing by Moottori, MICHELIN tires with their hyper-studded tread behave like summer tires on smooth asphalt on icy and snowy surfaces. They pick up speed perfectly, brake confidently and maneuver. Good stability was also achieved thanks to separately integrated tread blocks in the central part.

The Hakka 9 uses Snow Grip and Deep Snow Boosters in the tread, which also makes this tire the most responsive on winter roads. The model from Continental, thanks to the asymmetric arrangement of tread blocks and Snow Grip technology, does an excellent job with lateral drift.When maneuvering at high speed on winter roads, it definitely has other advantages: the performance does not depend on either the quality of the surface or the ambient temperature.

The grip of the Bridgestones with the road is extremely confident and controlled - the tread is easily self-cleaning. Pirelli has excellent handling characteristics on snow and ice due to the combination of tread solutions such as pockets for ice slush, asymmetric stud placement and powerful lugs in the shoulder area.

Thus, all participants showed high obedience in management and directional stability. Changeovers and entry into turns are performed confidently by all models. Objective differences are negligible in comparison, so all participants in this nomination receive the maximum score.

The participants in our comparison belong to the premium class of rubber of high quality and durability, so you should not count on an affordable price tag. The most "budget" tire turned out to be IceContact 2 from Continental - the price of one cylinder will cost the owner a little less than 12 thousand rubles.

The average price indicator was fixed at Bridgestone and Nokian, and the price tag for Pirelli exceeded the psychological mark of 15 thousand rubles. The most expensive, as expected, were tires from MICHELIN. To put the tenacious and durable X-Ice North 4 SUV on your crossover, you have to pay a little more than 16,500 rubles. for one tire.

Let's summarize. All studded tires that took part in the comparison are worthy of choice. In terms of grip characteristics, Hakka 9 winter tires showed excellent results, which are favorably emphasized by a balanced cost. Next comes the Continental, which showed confident handling and predictable braking on both snow and ice. The tire also behaves tenaciously on asphalt, but it costs less than all participants. Bridgestone tires have bright characteristics in individual categories, and, in general, showed the most balanced driving characteristics and a fair price.

Michelin tires deserve special words. The X-Ice North 4 performed fairly well in most of the tests. At the same time, they were not always among the leaders, and in the “Price” nomination they took the last place due to the high cost. This led to the participant dropping to the end of the list.Pirelli showed excellent obedience in handling, however, against the background of other participants in most comparative tests, they did not look the best.

According to the results of the table, Nokian Tires Hakkapeliitta 9 SUV is the leader in crossover tire comparison. However, the winner is only slightly ahead of the competition. In particular, from Continental, which earned first place in more comparison criteria.