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Do you really need an SUV this winter? We find out, with Yokohama
10/10/2024
Just how effective are winter tyres? We took to the Swedish tundra in everyday, front-wheel drive hatchbacks, to learn more.
As temperatures drop and the nights lengthen, it can mean only one thing: winter is coming. But rather than reaching for the keys to a high-riding SUV, we found out why it might make more sense to simply swap your tyres instead.
Playing host to many of the world’s leading automakers, each year thousands of new models are stress tested in Lulea’s bitterly cold arctic climate. Afterall, if a car or tyre can cope with these perpetually bleak, sub-zero conditions, it should be able to handle a dusting of sleet on the A452 near Sutton Coldfield.
Nonetheless, the models we tested seemed like unlikely challengers for such wintry climbs: VW’s Golf 8 and Audi’s latest A3. While both machines are commensurate all-rounders — offering an admirable blend of comfort, practicality, fuel economy, and performance — unlike Ford’s indomitable Ranger Raptor and BMW’s versatile X3 that we tested at the same location, neither were built with this type of driving in mind.
Image credit: Blackcircles.com
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Four-wheel drive, a raised ride height, locking differentials: these are just some of the features absent from our common-or-garden test models. However, while off-road exploration wasn’t top of either car’s original design brief, they both had a secret weapon: Yokohama BluEarth Winter V906 tyres.
Designed to offer ‘outstanding snow traction’ and confident handling on cold, icy roads, the BluEarth Winter V906 is a 3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake (3PMSF) rated tyre, tailored to regular road cars. As we found out, swapping to winter rubber has a truly transformative effect, regardless of the vehicle.
Snow handling test
Vehicle: VW Golf 8
Our first test of Yokohama’s winter tyre was designed to replicate driving the Golf on compacted snowy backroads — not an uncommon scenario in British winters, especially in the north of Scotland. With cones marking out chicanes and tighter hairpin bends, we assessed how the diesel hatchback dealt with fast direction changes — as if we were dodging an obstacle in the road — as well as the tyre’s initial bite on turn-in.
The results were impressive. Despite the front-wheel drive platform, the Golf handled confidently, holding its line and pushing into a controllable and progressive understeer when its limit was reached. Surprisingly, it never scrambled for traction when accelerating up to speed, either; the car’s stability control systems rarely even activated.
Image credit: Blackcircles.com
Ice braking test
Vehicle: Audi A3 (front-wheel drive)
It was under braking that the winter tyres had the most profound effect. Switching cars and tracks, we jumped into a front-wheel drive, base model A3 (there was no traction-enhancing Quattro system to rely on here), and headed down a strip of sheet ice runway. Stamping on the brakes as hard as possible, we were stunned at how quickly the little Audi was able wipe off speed — especially considering the surface had been prepared to provide almost no grip whatsoever. In fact, it was only when we got out of the car and nearly fell over, that we realised just how much work Yokohama’s 3D sipes and Advanced Polymer Compound had been doing.
Ultimately then, our time testing in the arctic circle taught us three things. One: two-wheels gripping are always better than four-wheels spinning — a hatchback with winter tyres is safer in icy weather than a four-wheel drive on summer tyres. Two: four-wheel drive doesn’t help when stopping in the snow; it’s the winter rubber that wins in this scenario. Three: there’s a good reason why SUVs aren’t mandatory in Swedish winters, but winter tyres are.
When the temperature drops, should winter tyres also be a legal requirement in the UK? Let us know if you’ll be fitting dedicated winter rubber this snowy season.
Hero image: Blackcircles.com