Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 vs Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV: We have covered the studded tire segment quite with a top 2 titan clash in the form of Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10 vs Michelin X Ice North 4 with Hakkapeliitta showing great performances in ice & snow. This time we would like to introduce another premium competitor in the form of Goodyear’s UltraGrip Arctic 2.
This new studded tire from Goodyear was launched in 2021 replacing UltraGrip Ice Arctic after a 9 year gap. UltraGrip Arctic 2 covers all tire sizes from 14″ all the way to 20″. On the other corner, we have Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV which convincingly beat Michelin X Ice North 4 in the previous duel. The Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV was launched in 2021 with high hopes to conquer its former glory. Let’s put them head to head and see who will come out on top !
The graph above shows the comparison between Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 vs Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV based on the relevant performance category. The UltraGrip Arctic 2 was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark. The handling criteria shown in the test are evaluated objectively through lap times except for dry handling. Note that for subjective evaluation, we equate 1 point as 5%. Hence for example if tire A is graded 5 while tire B is graded 4, A is better than B by 5%.
The tire size of interest is 235/55 R18 which is a common tire size for Volkswagen Tiguan and the Audi Q3. The test vehicle of choice is a Volkswagen Tiguan. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information. The testing vehicle of choice is a Volvo XC40 SUV.
Table of Contents
Ice
Ice forms a key requirement when it comes to driving in a Nordic country during winter. As the usage conditions are usually lower than -10°C, tricky ice conditions are widely present outside of the cities. UltraGrip Arctic 2 was promoted heavily via Goodyear’s MultiControl Ice Technology, which states it provides ” revolutionary stud technology that increases stud contact with the road surface, for highly effective ice grip and handling”.
True to its word, UltraGrip Arctic 2 was dominating in ice braking as it stopped 0.48m (1.6 feet) earlier compared to Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV. UltraGrip Arctic 2 was the best tire in the competition for ice braking. The trend continued in ice traction as UltraGrip Arctic 2 was 0.02 seconds faster accelerating from 5km/h (3 mph) to 15 km/h (9 mph).
While in ice handling, Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV was the front runner as it has a 0.5 seconds advantage over UltraGrip Arctic 2. It is clear in this comparison that UltraGrip Arctic 2 dominated in objective ice while Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV is the better ice handling performing tire.
Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV :
- -4.1% in ice braking
- -0.8% in ice traction
- +4.5% in ice handling
Snow
With a clear differentiation in ice, snow was partially dominated by Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV. In snow braking, Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV managed to stop 0.22m (0.7 feet) earlier against UltraGrip Arctic 2 from a speed of 35 km/h (22 mph) to 5km/h (3 mph). While in snow traction, UltraGrip Arctic 2 beat UltraGrip Arctic 2 by just 0.13 seconds from an acceleration of 5-25 km/h (3-15 mph).
Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV is also the better snow handling tire with a lap time of 77.65 seconds which top the charts among the competition. UltraGrip Arctic 2 finished in the mid pack with a lap time of 79.41 seconds which is 1.76s slower. Overall it is clear that Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV has a slight advantage in snow over UltraGrip Arctic 2 especially in snow braking & handling.
Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV :
- +1.4% in snow braking
- -2.3% in snow traction
- +2.3% in snow handling
Wet
As studded tires are exempted from providing an EU label, the only way to compare them is through testing. UltraGrip Arctic 2 managed to out brake Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV by 0.23 meters (0.75 feet) from a speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) to 5km/h (3 mph). UltraGrip Arctic 2 managed to get some pride back by beating UltraGrip Arctic 2 in wet handling by finishing 0.29 seconds faster per lap compared to Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV.
Aquaplaning was worst for Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV as it finished with a slip speed of 54.6 km/h (34 mph) compared to 55.7 km/h (34.6 mph) of UltraGrip Arctic 2. Overall UltraGrip Arctic 2 was the better wet tire as it has a clear advantage in wet braking & aquaplaning.
Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV :
- -3.1% in wet braking
- +0.7% in wet handling
- -2% in aquaplaning
Dry
Unlike wet, dry performances heavily favored Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV as it managed to brake 0.13m earlier compared to UltraGrip Arctic 2. While in subjective dry handling, both tires were rated poorly with a rating of 3/5.
Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV :
- +1.1% in dry braking
- 0% in subjective dry handling
Noise
UltraGrip Arctic 2 clocked a lower interior noise of 76.4 dB compared to the higher 77.1 dB of Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV.
Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV :
- -0.9% in interior noise (+1.6 dB)
Fuel Consumption
When it comes to studless/studded tires, rolling resistance is definitely not at the highest priority as the engineer has to handle the most important winter vs summer target conflict. However with the sustainability topic being more prevalent, rolling resistance has been widely used as a competitive marketing tool as it could be easily seen in the label values.
Being a studded tire, rolling resistance is greatly hampered as the studs do create more resistance in rolling. Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV had the 2nd lowest fuel consumption value of 5.73 liter/100km compared to the higher 5.96 liter /100 km of UltraGrip Arctic 2.
Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV :
- +4% in fuel consumption
Price
Based on the test report, the prices of the tires were also noted down.
Tire size: 235/55 R18
UltraGrip Arctic 2 : 3079 kr // €284
Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV : 3179 kr // € 291
Difference: +3% more expensive for Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV.
Summary
Based on the test results, both tires took turns to excel in various performance fields. UltraGrip Arctic 2 showed clear strengths in ice, wet & noise while Hakkapeliitta 10 SUV was good in snow, dry, & fuel consumption. As the results were really close together, there is no clear winner in this duel ! Enjoy!