Goodyear and Dunlop win first place in winter tire test review

Brussels, Belgium – ADAC, TCS and ÖAMTC have published their annual winter tire tests in the German, Swiss and Austrian markets respectively, awarding Goodyear and Dunlop the joint first place in a test of 16 tire brands. 

The test compared the tires across seventeen demanding criteria. This year, the test focused on the popular 195/65R15 size, as fitted to many top-selling family cars such as the Volkswagen Golf. 

The Goodyear UltraGrip 9+ was praised by testers as being a very balanced tire that was good on dry and wet roads as well as snow. It also scored impressively on wear and fuel consumption as well as taking first place in the ice driving test. The UltraGrip 9+ features two Goodyear innovations that contributed to this winning result. Mileage Plus technology protects the tire on rough roads to give a better mileage performance, and Winter Grip Technology gives it outstanding grip on snow and ice.

For Dunlop, the top score for Winter Response 2 was a repeat of a test win from the same publication in 2018. Testers again noted the Dunlop tire’s very strong performance across dry, wet, snow and icy surfaces. This result is aided by a distinctive angle arrangement of the sipes on the tire shoulder. This allows the Dunlop Winter Response 2 to manage the centrifugal forces to give better grip on snow and ice when cornering. 

The same publication also tested 225/50R17 tires, as fitted to many larger cars such as the Volvo V60, Skoda Octavia, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C Class. In this size, the Dunlop Winter Sport 5 earned the joint highest score. The Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ was also one of only three tires to earn a top ‘good’ rating from the testers.

The Dunlop WinterSport 5 was the top-performing tire on snow with the Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ being rated as a very balanced tire in all conditions.

“To take four of the seven top positions in one of the industry’s most respected test publications, is testimony to the technology in the latest tires in Goodyear’s brand portfolio,” said Laurent Colantonio, regional Technology Director EMEA at Goodyear. “Innovations such as Winter Grip Technology have kept Goodyear’s UltraGrip 9+ and Performance+ at the top of a sector where the UltraGrip family has been winning for decades. With the Dunlop Winter Response 2 and Winter Sport 5 both taking the highest score in their sectors, we are proud of the breadth and ability of our winter tire portfolio.”