Best Winter Tires for 2023

Specialized products are built to perform specific functions, and so, no matter how good your all-terrain or all-weather tire is, you will always feel more assured in the cold with winter tires. Available as studded, non-studded, and studdable tires for coupes, sedans, minivans, CUVs, SUVs, trucks, and cargo vans, these often have multiple sipes for consistent traction and angled tread blocks for maximum road contact. The special rubber compound is designed to be flexible at low temperatures for consistent traction. Since wet, ice, and snow traction go hand in hand, wide circumferential grooves are also helpful in evacuating water and ensuring grip on wet surfaces. While most tires are able to handle light snow, the best winter tires are suitable for severe cold conditions.

Winter tires are great for vehicles where heavy snow is experienced for three to four months a year, but which tires are the best. Using SimpleScore, here are the best winter tires for 2023.

Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow - Best Overall Winter Tire

The Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow is our pick for the best overall winter tire, as it features multi-edge tread blocks to increase snow traction and additional biting edges which ensure constant road contact by putting maximum rubber on the road. Expect tremendous wet traction and high hydroplaning resistance due to the presence of four circumferential grooves that constantly remove water as the tire moves. As a result, we believe these best-rated winter tires fully deserve an excellent average traction SimpleScore of 9.9.

A robust casing and a reinforced sidewall ensure high strength and durability, while also enabling your vehicle to handle well, leading to a reasonable average longevity SimpleScore of 8.0. The asymmetric tread pattern and angled tread blocks make it easy for drivers to control your vehicle in harsh weather conditions. In total, the above features enable us to give an excellent average handling SimpleScore of 9.0.

These tires are meant to be driven at temperatures below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. You’ll love the comfortable, quiet, and vibration-free ride due to a specialized tread pattern here, leading to an excellent overall average SimpleScore of 9.1. Finally, the Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow is available with a Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification, making it an excellent tire for reliable handling and comfort in severe winter conditions.

Nokian Nordman 7 SUV Studded - Best Winter Tire for SUVs

The Nokian Nordman 7 SUV Studded is one of the most reliable and durable tires that also ensures comfortable drives in extreme winter weather. The special, eco-friendly rubber compound here allows the tire to remain flexible at very low temperatures, providing consistent grip. Often regarded as the gold standard among winter tires, the Nordman 7 SUV Studded features a slush edge that evacuates snow and slush from the tread to prevent slushplaning. Pre-pinned with studs, the tire is able to generate tremendous traction on snow, slush, and ice, and also features a Three Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol. After testing these best-rated winter tires on the most treacherous snow and ice-covered surfaces, we were convinced to award a phenomenal 9.9 as the average traction SimpleScore.

Wet handling is the best on this tire, followed by ice and snow. It brakes quicker on ice than on dry surfaces, with snow-covered surfaces third. 8.9 is the average handling SimpleScore we have given the Nordman 7 SUV Studded. The aggressive tread pattern makes these directional tires look neat on SUVs and crossovers. Known for their durability, we feel this tire is good enough for a healthy average longevity SimpleScore of 9.2. On the whole, an average SimpleScore of 9.3 makes Nokian Nordman 7 SUV one of the best winter tires in the market for SUVs and CUVs.

GT Radial WinterPro 2 - Best Budget Friendly Winter Tire

The GT Radial WinterPro 2 is a great choice for a studless winter tire, and is designed to provide enhanced stability and traction on sedans, coupes, and CUVs. This affordable tire is made with an innovative tread compound that provides consistent traction and enhances tread life by delivering low rolling resistance. A directional tread pattern and a large contact patch also boost traction and stability significantly, resulting in an average traction SimpleScore of 8.0.

Great performance is not limited to just wet, ice, and snow-covered surfaces, but it also extends to dry surfaces due to alternating sipe depths in these good winter tires. These sipe depths and the innovative rubber compound are directly linked to long tire life, enabling us to award 8.5 as the average longevity score. Drivers feel more confident with a Three Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol on this T-rated tire, leading to an average handling SimpleScore of 8.3. We’re certain that this tire will be a great budget-friendly buy for the upcoming winter, enabling your vehicle to handle confidently. Our reliable ratings award the GT Radial WinterPro 2 an 8.2 as the average score.

Buying winter tires online

While these are the best winter tires for 2023, there are plenty of other options available. If you need help deciding which winter tire is best for you, give one of our tire experts a call; they’ll be more than happy to find the that matches your ride, needs, and budget.