Tests 60 · 5 tests Owners 66 · 3 reviews
Best test result: #1 of 17 in 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 (exterior noise)
Nexen WinGuard looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.
Head-to-head
Updated
Bridgestone Blizzak Ice vs Nexen WinGuard — Compared
Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 5 + 0 road tests and 3 + 6 owner reviews. How we score
WinGuard leads, 65–62 Narrow edge
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Category by category
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
-
65
Dry
Blizzak Ice +560Why this score
Source Blizzak Ice WinGuard Professional tests (TWG score) · 5 / – tests 64 ≈ 63 (est.) Reviews found online 67 56 Blizzak Ice: 60% × 63.6 + 40% × 66.8 = 65
WinGuard: 60% × 62.9 (est.) + 40% × 55.8 = 60
No road tests of dry for WinGuard. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).
-
54
Wet
WinGuard +1064Why this score
Source Blizzak Ice WinGuard Professional tests (TWG score) · 5 / – tests 44 ≈ 66 (est.) Reviews found online 70 62 Blizzak Ice: 60% × 43.6 + 40% × 69.6 = 54
WinGuard: 60% × 65.9 (est.) + 40% × 61.9 = 64
No road tests of wet for WinGuard. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
-
62
Snow
WinGuard +1274Why this score
Source Blizzak Ice WinGuard Professional tests (TWG score) · 5 / – tests 63 ≈ 72 (est.) Reviews found online 62 76 Blizzak Ice: 60% × 62.6 + 40% × 61.9 = 62
WinGuard: 60% × 72.2 (est.) + 40% × 75.7 = 74
No road tests of snow for WinGuard. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).
-
67
Comfort
Blizzak Ice +562Why this score
Source Blizzak Ice WinGuard Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests 70 ≈ 67 (est.) Reviews found online 65 59 Blizzak Ice: 40% × 70 + 60% × 65.3 = 67
WinGuard: 40% × 66.8 (est.) + 60% × 59.3 = 62
No road tests of comfort for WinGuard. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).
-
76
Noise
No comparison–Why this score
Source Blizzak Ice WinGuard Professional tests (TWG score) · 4 / – tests 83 – Reviews found online ≈ 66 (est.) – Blizzak Ice: 60% × 82.9 + 40% × 66.4 (est.) = 76
No owner ratings of noise for Blizzak Ice. The owner half is the owners’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.
-
67
Treadwear
Blizzak Ice +265Why this score
Source Blizzak Ice WinGuard Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 67 (est.) ≈ 66 (est.) Reviews found online 67 65 Blizzak Ice: 60% × 66.7 (est.) + 40% × 67.1 = 67
WinGuard: 60% × 65.9 (est.) + 40% × 64.8 = 65
No road tests of treadwear for Blizzak Ice. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).
No road tests of treadwear for WinGuard. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).
-
65
Handling (owners)
Blizzak Ice +857Why this score
Source Blizzak Ice WinGuard Reviews found online 65 57 -
48
Efficiency
No comparison–Why this score
Source Blizzak Ice WinGuard Professional tests (TWG score) · 3 / – tests 48 –
Scores at a glance
| Category | Bridgestone Blizzak Ice | Nexen WinGuard |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 62 | 65 |
| Dry | 65 | 60 |
| Wet | 54 | 64 |
| Snow | 62 | 74 |
| Comfort | 67 | 62 |
| Noise | 76 | – |
| Treadwear | 67 | 65 |
| Handling (owners) | 65 | 57 |
| Efficiency | 48 | – |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
Weight the categories that matter to you
Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Not important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Recomputed
Headline score
62
/ 100
Blizzak Ice
65
/ 100
WinGuard
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
The professional test results behind the scores
Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.
| Discipline | Category | Blizzak Ice | WinGuard | Δ | Head-to-head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Also published by the testers (not in the score) | |||||
| Overall Ranking | Overall | #5/7 2025 Moottori Studless Winter Tire Test R16 | #26/50 2013 Winter Tyre Overview - Braking | – | Different tests |
Pros, cons & observations
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
Tire A Blizzak Ice
Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.
Tire B WinGuard
Pros
- Strong traction and handling in snow-covered conditions
- Noticeable improvement in grip over summer tires in cold weather
- Confidence-inspiring braking performance on mountain passes
Cons
- Mediocre performance on ice
- Poor dry-weather handling when temperatures exceed 10°C
- Occasional difficulty with uphill starts in deep snow
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Bridgestone Blizzak Ice | B · Nexen WinGuard |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Winter | Winter |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 60 | — |
| Rim diameters | 13″ – 19″ | — |
Which one should you actually buy?
62
/ 100
Bridgestone Blizzak Ice
65
/ 100
Nexen WinGuard
Narrow edge: Nexen WinGuard — better snow and wet. Pick the Bridgestone Blizzak Ice if handling, dry and comfort matter most to you. Nexen WinGuard rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 6 reviews), so read this result as provisional.
Pick tire B
You drive through snowy winters
Nexen WinGuard scores 74 vs 62 on snow.
Pick tire B
Your priority is wet-weather safety
Nexen WinGuard scores 64 vs 54 on wet.
Pick tire A
You enjoy sharp, responsive handling
Bridgestone Blizzak Ice scores 65 vs 57 on handling.
Pick tire A
You want the most grip on dry roads
Bridgestone Blizzak Ice scores 65 vs 60 on dry.
Tire A · Bridgestone Blizzak Ice
Tire B · Nexen WinGuard
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Blizzak Ice or WinGuard?
Which is better in the wet, Blizzak Ice or WinGuard?
Nexen WinGuard, 64 vs 54 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, Blizzak Ice or WinGuard?
Bridgestone Blizzak Ice, 65 vs 60 on our dry score.
Which is better in snow, Blizzak Ice or WinGuard?
Nexen WinGuard, 74 vs 62 on our snow score.
Which is more comfortable, Blizzak Ice or WinGuard?
Bridgestone Blizzak Ice, 67 vs 62 on our comfort score.
Which lasts longer, Blizzak Ice or WinGuard?
Neither, by our numbers: 67 vs 65 on the treadwear score, within 3 points.
How do we compare tires?
Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.
Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.
Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology