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I'm here in Sweden to show you the difference between two types of winter tyres.
Behind me are two identical cars, front wheel drive, lightweight cars.
..and what I'm going to do is show you stopping distances, cornering and also handling tests.
This one is fitted with the budget winter tyres whereas this one is fitted with the premium winter tyres.
They both look very similar.
They're black, they've got similar tread pattern and they've got similar sipes.
But, there is a massive difference in the way that the car handles.
...and not for a lot of extra cost, either.
You can see in this slalom test, or moose test as they call it here, how much more control the car fitted with premium winter tyres has around these cones.
Budget tyres perform OK and far better than summer tyres would..
....but that small amount of understeer means having to take a much wider line, even at slow speed.
Next up we see the difference in braking performance at 30kph..
..both cars hit the brakes at exactly the same time but the budget takes an extra car length to stop.
Both cars negotiate the same bend, again at 30kph...
..you can see the budget loses grip slightly on the exit...not much, but again it shows the extra safety of the premium tyre.
Well..what a difference in performance and, ultimately, safety..
A premium branded tyre has outperformed the budget in every single test we've done.
..and the reason for that is because premium brands focus a lot more effort into developing their products.
..and the result is a better tyre overall. You get better lateral grip, shorter stopping distances and better cornering.