Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV Winter 235/50R18 101R XL SUV/Crossover Tire

I've had the Nokian R3 SUV on my F-Pace S for a couple thousand miles so far and they've been great in all conditions. Dry handling isn't UHP summer level but it's good, noise is minimal with just a very mild rumble - not bad for such an aggressive tread. I went with a 20" winter setup and the ride is noticeably more comfortable than my stock 22" summer tires. The real reason we buy winter tires is to get us from A to B when the weather gets nasty, and these perform great in show/ice. We just had a 4-5" snowstorm with temps in the teens, so there was quite a bit of ice. I drove in fresh snow, slush, and packed snow/ice for a couple of days and have zero complaints. These tires clawed their way up the long, icy hill to my house with no drama all. My wife drove up the same hill on new Michelin Defender LTX but with more spinning and effort needed. The Nokians definitely seem to have an edge when it comes to grip vs a pretty good all-season tire with good snow traction ratings. I also tested turning and braking performance of the R3 in an empty icy parking lot, and I was impressed by their performance. This is my first set of dedicated winter tires, but I can say they're better in snow/ice than the 3PMSF rated all-seasons I've had in the past.

Living in Upstate New York for the last ten years taught me about the importance of a good set of snow tires. I had them on my 1997 Honda Civic and when I bought a 2019 Honda CR-V there was no doubt in my mind I was going to buy another set. Some people will say with all wheel drive you don't need snow tires but that is false security, especially if you deal with snow covered roads on a consistent basis. These tires came highly recommended in a review and Nokian has a track record of making excellent snow tires so I decided to give them a try (and the price was very good on Simple Tire). I was not disappointed. Traction on snow covered roads was excellent and I can't remember any instance of sliding or slipping. Since they are snow tires they are a bit noisy but it is tolerable. Would buy another set in a heartbeat. If you are still in doubt Google winter or snow tires versus all seasons on snow with an all wheel drive vehicle; the results will be eye opening.