Winter Tyres

The vehicle is lined up at the edge of the 50-metre circle, applied a fixed amount of lock and accelerated until the car deviates from the line. The result is taken from an average of several laps. This is a crucial measurement of lateral grip on ice.

Avoiding that dreaded moment when you hit the brakes on ice and the car barely slows is a key draw of winter tyres. Our test measures the distance taken to slow from 50-5kph (16-3mph), removing the variations ABS can create in the final few yards.

On the high speed, snow covered test track the gloves are off. A series of corners of varied speeds and angles break up long straights, testing traction, braking performance and steering accuracy. This narrow and complex track demands the best from both the driver and the tyres.

The 1,300-metre track at Ivalo is fast and flowing and really tests the tyres. There’s a mix of tightening turns and hairpins, and with all the electronic driver aids off it’s a real challenge. The track is graded between runs and the result is an average of lap times.

Getting up hills is the second big factor in buying winter tyres. For this we got the car moving, changed to second below 25kph then accelerated as hard as possible. Our test measures the distance from 25-50kph (16-31mph). As in the braking test, the result is from an average of eight runs.