AutoBild big winter tire test braking 245/45 R19 2026

German magazine AUTO BILD has launched the biggest winter tire test of the year. In the 245/45 R19 size for more powerful mid-size and upper-class cars, as many as 50 tires went through the first round. Only one thing mattered: braking on wet and on snow. Only 20 best tires advanced to the final test, and 12 performed so poorly that testers didn't even let them onto the snow.

How the "qualification" works

The test car was a BMW 5 Series. Each tire underwent two decisive tests:

• wet braking from 80 km/h to a stop,
• snow braking from 50 km/h to a stop.

Both braking distances were added together. The twenty tires with the shortest combined distance advanced to the full test, where further disciplines await them. AUTO BILD will publish its results soon.

The shortest combined braking distance was achieved by the Pirelli P Zero Winter 2. It was also the best on wet, stopping after 33 meters from 80 km/h. Second place went to the Continental WinterContact TS 870 P and third to the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5.

The best braking on snow was achieved by the Vredestein Wintrac Pro+, which stopped after 28.9 meters from 50 km/h. Overall, it finished sixth.

20 tires advanced to the full test:

Pirelli P Zero Winter 2, Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, Michelin Pilot Alpin 5, Hankook Winter i*cept evo 4, Bridgestone Blizzak 6, Vredestein Wintrac Pro+, Barum Polaris 6, Kleber Krisalp HP3, Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3, BFGoodrich g-Force Winter 2, Kumho WinterCraft WP52+, Viking WinTech NewGen, Semperit Speed-Grip 5, GT Radial WinterPro 2 Sport, Lassa Competus Winter 2+, Petlas Snowmaster 2 Sport, Matador MP93 Nordicca, Giti GitiWinter W2, Firestone Winterhawk 4, and Maxxis Premitra Snow WP6.

Among those that advanced are also more affordable brands, such as Barum, Kumho, Viking, or Semperit.

18 tires that were average but not good enough did not make it to the finals. These include Falken, Fulda, and Linglong, as well as Landsail, Wanli, Crosswind, Gripmax, Ceat, Superia, Nankang, Radar, Milever, Fortuna, Marshal, Goodride, Sunny, Davanti, and Westlake.

Twelve tires braked so poorly on wet that testers didn't even let them onto the snow. AUTO BILD labeled them as not recommended:

Tourador, Star Performer, Starmaxx, Tracmax, Minerva, Leao, Tristar, Imperial, Rotalla, Windforce, Royal Black, and Triangle.

The worst was the Triangle Snowlink PL02, which needed 50.6 meters on wet, that is more than 17 meters more than the Pirelli. In practice, this means that at the point where a car with the best tire has already stopped, a car with the Triangle tire is still moving at a fairly high speed.

• The differences are huge. Between the best and the worst tire, there is almost 18 meters on wet.
• The risk is greatest with ultra-cheap tires. Most of the not-recommended tires come from little-known cheap brands.
• Good doesn't mean only premium. More affordable brands such as Barum, Kumho, or Viking also made it to the finals.