Best Reviewed
Snow Tires
- Best winter tire Michelin X-Ice Xi2 *Est. $100
- Budget snow tire General Altimax Arctic *Est. $80
- Studded snow tire Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 *Est. $140
- Mild-winter performance tire Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 *Est. $155
- SUV/Light truck winter tire Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 *Est. $130
Get info about new reports and updates
- Competence on all road conditions
- Good durability
- Inexpensive
- Doesn't perform as well as top tires
For a budget tire that feels secure on winter roads, reviews point to the Dunlop Graspic DS2. It grips icy, snowy surfaces well in tests, while handling competently on wet and dry roads. Consumers who own the Graspic DS2 report similarly reliable all-around performance. This tire is also particularly durable, reviews note. However, both expert tests and user experience show that the Graspic DS2 doesn't perform quite as well on any measure as some more expensive winter tires, including the Michelin X-Ice Xi2 (*Est. $100) and Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 (*Est. $105).
The Tire Rack has the most thorough road test of the Dunlop Graspic DS2, ranking it against three of its competitors. The rankings at the nonprofit Automobile Protection Association (APA) are unbiased and include 71 different tire models, but the write-up for each tire is limited to a sentence or two. Owner reviews at TireRack.com are extensive, but the Dunlop Graspic DS2 has accumulated just a handful of owner reviews at Epinions.com.
Our Sources
1. Tire Rack
This test pits three often-recommended studless tires (the Bridgestone Blizzak WS60, Dunlop Graspic DS2 and Michelin X-Ice) against a studdable tire (the Firestone Winterforce M+S). TireRack.com ranks the tires according to how they perform on ice and snow, and the Dunlop Graspic DS2 takes third behind the Blizzak and X-Ice.
Review: Tire Test Results: Technological or Traditional Traction for Ice and Packed Snow?, Editors of TireRack.com, Oct. 25, 2007
2. Automobile Protection AssociationDetails/Subscribe
This Canadian nonprofit gets its funding from individual membership fees, not manufacturers. Out of 29 winter tires rated here, the Dunlop Graspic DS2 earns one of the highest rankings, with 4 stars.
Review: Winter Tires for Passenger Vehicles 2008-2009, Editors of Automobile Protection Association
3. Tire RackDetails/Subscribe
Nearly 400 owners rate the Dunlop Graspic DS2 at this retail site. This page includes written reviews, as well as a chart showing the average score consumers give the Graspic DS2 on 12 measures (tread wear, ice traction, etc.). It's ranked fourth in the Winter category based on this feedback. A link leads to another chart that shows how the Graspic DS2's consumer ratings stack up against other tires' ratings.
Review: Graspic DS2, Contributors to TireRack.com
4. Epinions.com
Epinions.com's user reviews are often longer than user reviews at retail sites, and they include helpful pro-and-con lists. However, only four users had written reviews for the Dunlop Graspic DS2 when we checked, and some of those were a few years old. Of those, however, its average score is 4 stars out of 5.
Review: Dunlop Graspic DS2 Tire, Contributors to Epinions.com
Snow Tires Runners Up:
3 picks by top review sites.
2 picks including: Auto Motor & Sport, Automobile Protection Association…
2 picks including: Aftonbladet.se…
2 picks including: Automobile Protection Association…
2 picks including: Automobile Protection Association…
2 picks including: Automobile Protection Association, 1010Tires.com…
