It's that time of year again when I prepare for winter in the Scottish Highlands. I need to buy a new set of tyres, so I am looking for advice from you about what you prefer to use. I have a spare set of wheels, so I want full winter tyres rather than 'all seasons' that can be swapped out when the season changes.

I need tyres that will cope with cold wet conditions and temperatures close to freezing. We often get periods lasting up to a couple of weeks with lying snow on side streets, although the main roads do (eventually) get ploughed. I have the 265PS AWD engine, so there is plenty of power to control. My priority is for safe and comfortable handling rather than performance.

Given those requirements, my shortlist is Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 or Pirelli P Zero Winter 2 based on online reviews. Do you have any experience with these or any alternative recommendations? What have you been pleased with, or are there any tyres that you have regretted buying?

@Coral-C We live in the Scottish Borders but we take our Superb to the Austrian Tyrol for skiing each year - two good reasons for the winter tyre swap out. I researched the most appropriate tyre for our use, which included choosing a tyre which wasn't truly performance biased because we prefer a comfortable ride and only do the 'pedal to the metal' thing for a short overtaking burst or when we are rarely late for something while travelling along the twisty Scottish country roads.

ChatGPT recommended the Goodyear Ultragrip 3 and, as you can see, this is what we have bought. I always research any AI recommendations independently myself when it concerns anything of significance or importance - my own research confirmed that these are award-winning tyres and come highly recommended. However, they will not be mounted until late-November which means I cannot give you feedback yet. Nonetheless, tyres are tyres and if they are this highly reviewed by ADAS etc. then my experience over the years is that they will be good on the white stuff.

I was tempted by the Michelin tyre (I cannot remember the name) because they claim to have developed a tread block which reveals fresh sipes as the tyre wears down. You will know that winter tyres are hopeless once the tread depth falls below 4mm - both straight line grip / braking and lateral cornering. Michelin is my usual 'go-to' brand and has served me well. But these tyres haven't been around long enough for this long-term claim to have been independently tested and, in Austria at least, the legal requirement for winter tyres is that they must have more than 4mm tread depth anyway. So I went with the Goodyear Ultragrip 3 in the end.

I sourced them from MyTyres, the trading name of Delticom, a huge German tyre supplier that ships across the EU and UK. They were offering the best price, delivery was at no extra cost and they arrived within the week via Andy, our DPD delivery guy. DPD are the best in our area. I haven't checked the dot code for year of manufacture but will do so later today when I pop into our garage where they are currently stored.

Our Superb is the 265PS TSI 4x4, like yours. However, we have the 17" rims for the winter tyres so that we can mount snow chains if needed. The 18" and 19" rims, with their wider tyres, have insufficient clearance to accept the chain links without fouling some of the running gear.

Hope this helps. I prefer running dedicated winter tyres in colder weather because the standard UK tyre, effectively a summer tyre as the Northern Europeans would classify it, stiffens up and is less effective at braking below 7deg. Most winters one could get away with it here in the Borders but, when it does snow, there is no comparison between the winter and summer rubber. 4x4 is hopeless without the right tyres and keeps us mobile and safe when others are completely stuck and have abandoned their vehicles.

Best wishes

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by Arianne

Thanks for your thoughts, @Arianne

I ran Goodyear All-Season Vectors all year round on my Mk3 Superb. They were ok and coped adequately with most conditions, albeit with a much lower powered car than I now have. However, two of the set developed a nasty habit of losing pressure and needed frequent top-ups. By the time I got rid of them, it was at least weekly. My garage checked them but could not find any damage or mis-fitting to explain the problem. So I've got a (probably irrational) bias against Goodyears.

At the moment, all the UK dealers seem to be out-of-stock of all brands of winter tyres except Continental. Presumably, they will bring new stock in this month as drivers decide it's time to switch over. Like many, I use the summer time clock changes as my cue to swap tyres and consequently late October/early November is when dealers typically aim to have their new stock in. That gives me another few weeks to make my mind up. I don't need snow chains, so I will be on 18" winter rims to give a little bit more width in contact with the road.

I saw that a few online dealers do have a good range of tyres available now. Digging further, quite a few seem to be trading names for Delticom, so I appreciate your observations on their service. I'll keep that in my back pocket if nothing turns up here in the meantime. I assume they take care of all the import and tax issues from the EU source, so there are no additional costs or hassle beyond the purchase price.

@Coral-C . Yes, the whole experience is no different than a UK supplier like Black Circles, but cheaper. Credit card, GBP, no delivery charges (unsure about Highlands but Scottish Borders is free delivery) and about a week lead time. The choice, as you would expect, is huge. Note that where the listing shows two identical tyres but one includes a DOT in the title, the rubber is for an older year of manufacture and therefore the discounted price. Some aren't bothered if the tyre is older but has been stored correctly if they are saving a few pennies. I buy the fresh rubber if possible because tyres are our only contact points with the road! A well worn cliche but so true.

As for the slow loss of pressure, I had a similar experience with our SLC200 and Michelin Cross Climate 2. Drove me insane. The local Volvo dealer who used to do my tyre swaps couldn't identify it and so tried to re-seat it on the rim. Nope! The KwikFit garage, once they had picked themselves up off the floor at seeing a pampered SLC200 pull in (no joking, they said that they only ever see battered runabouts as a general rule), told me that the edges of the rims needed refinishing because this is where the air was escaping. Nope! In the end, a local tyre shop with an excellent reputation (Ostles in Galashiels) examined the wheel and..... who'd have thought it..... a defective valve. £10. Why oh why didn't the Volvo dealer or KwikFit start with that?

Anyway, whichever tyre you choose I wish you well. I think we can safely say that neither you nor I will be choosing some brand from China or India, not yet anyway! Speaking of which, Pirelli now have a Chinese company as their major shareholder. Just saying 😉.

Best wishes.

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by Arianne

Michelin Own ATS Euromaster & BlackCircles & various Tyre Brands. Online Ordering can be cheaper than at a ATS Euromaste Center, not always though. Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 is a good choice. But best get on sooner in your chosen size rather than later, so getting them while prices are as they are. Very likely to be increasing. I had Alpin 6,s on my Corsa electric but wrecked sidewalls on 2 on potholes on the A93. I put on Riken Snow tyres. A brand Michelin own. This winter CrossClimate 3 on my MG EV and BF Goodrich KM3 AT,s on my pickup. I get Michelin discounts. There are good BF Goodrich Snow Tyres for cars..EG g-Force Winter 2,s. Plenty winter or AS threads in thd tyre section. (I had TIGAR Snow tyres on my Volvo S60, another brand Michelin Own). Maxxis AP2,s on my Fabia vRS & Maxxis AP3,s on my MINI Cooper S ev replacing the Vredestein Quatrac Pro + that were hopeless on the snow.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by Evolution13

DOT manufacturing date is July 2026 for my order that has just been delivered. Week and year, shown to the right of the photo. Perfect. Pretty well fresh out of the box!

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by Arianne