It's not worth saving money on winter tyres, says the ADAC
24/9/2025
Translation: machine translated
Expensive tyres are good, mid-priced tyres are so-so and cheap tyres, well, they are dangerous. This is the conclusion of the test of 31 winter tyres by the ADAC.
Four winter tyres made it into the green zone in two test categories. The ADAC awarded a score for driving safety as well as for environmental performance. They contribute 70 and 30 per cent respectively to the overall score. Tyres of the dimension 225/40 R18 H/V were tested. These tyres fit many mid-range models, such as the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series, Mercedes A-Class, Opel Astra, Škoda Octavia, Toyota Camry and VW Golf.
The overall winner was the Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 3 tyre with a score of 2.0 (according to German school grades), which received the best rating for both driving safety and environmental performance. The ADAC writes about the winning tyre: «It offers good driving performance, especially on wet surfaces, and also impresses with a predicted mileage of over 76,000 kilometres.»
Ranks 2 to 4 are followed by tyres that also come from well-known manufacturers: Michelin, Bridgestone and Dunlop. They all also achieve a round «good» score and are only three tenths apart.
15 tyres are «not recommended»
Below a broad midfield with «satisfactory» tyres, the ADAC has classified 15 tyres as not recommended. Almost all tyres in the «budget category», i.e. very inexpensive specimens, fail to resolve the conflict of objectives between dry, wet and winter conditions, according to the ADAC.
Eleven of the low-cost tyres tested performed at least one driving task so poorly that they were classified as «inadequate». According to the ADAC, this poses an absolute safety risk for the driver. The braking test in particular showed some glaring differences between the recommended models from established manufacturers and the cheap tyres.
At least there are two one-eyed riders among the blind, i.e. two budget tyres that achieved satisfactory performance. They are the Momo W-20 North Pole (not in the Galaxus range) and the Matador MP93 Nordicca.
The ADAC has documented the tire test very extensively on its own website. You can read the detailed test reports for each tyre there and also study detailed tables.
Header image: ADAC
Martin Jungfer
Head of Content
Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.chJournalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.
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