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Nexen WinGuard looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.

Head-to-head Updated

Firestone Destination Winter SUV 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 1 + 0 road tests and 1 + 6 owner reviews. How we score

WinGuard leads, 65–62 Narrow edge

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Firestone Destination Winter SUV
Tire AFirestone

Destination Winter SUV

Winter

± 9Provisional

Tests 65 · 1 test Owners 60 · 1 review

Best test result: #3 of 10 in 2018 Auto Bild Winter SUV / 4x4 Tyre Test (noise)

Nexen WinGuard
Tire BNexen

WinGuard

Winter

± 8Provisional

Tests – · none yet Owners 64 · 6 reviews

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 59

    Dry

    WinGuard +1
    60
    Why this score
    SourceDestination Winter SUVWinGuard
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests58≈ 63 (est.)
    Reviews found online6156

    Destination Winter SUV: 60% × 57.5 + 40% × 60.9 = 59

    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).

  2. 65

    Wet

    Destination Winter SUV +1
    64
    Why this score
    SourceDestination Winter SUVWinGuard
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests65≈ 66 (est.)
    Reviews found online6462

    Destination Winter SUV: 60% × 65.2 + 40% × 63.8 = 65

    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).

  3. 65

    Snow

    WinGuard +9
    74
    Why this score
    SourceDestination Winter SUVWinGuard
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests69≈ 72 (est.)
    Reviews found online5976

    Destination Winter SUV: 60% × 69.1 + 40% × 58.9 = 65

    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).

  4. 60

    Comfort

    WinGuard +2
    62
    Why this score
    SourceDestination Winter SUVWinGuard
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 66 (est.)≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online5659

    Destination Winter SUV: 40% × 66.1 (est.) + 60% × 56.2 = 60

    WinGuard: 40% × 66.8 (est.) + 60% × 59.3 = 62

    No road tests of comfort for Destination Winter SUV. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

    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).

  5. 71

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceDestination Winter SUVWinGuard
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests74–
    Reviews found online≈ 66 (est.)–

    Destination Winter SUV: 60% × 74.4 + 40% × 66.4 (est.) = 71

    No owner ratings of noise for Destination Winter SUV. 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.

  6. 62

    Treadwear

    WinGuard +3
    65
    Why this score
    SourceDestination Winter SUVWinGuard
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 64 (est.)≈ 66 (est.)
    Reviews found online5965

    Destination Winter SUV: 60% × 63.9 (est.) + 40% × 59.2 = 62

    WinGuard: 60% × 65.9 (est.) + 40% × 64.8 = 65

    No road tests of treadwear for Destination Winter SUV. 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).

  7. 59

    Handling (owners)

    Destination Winter SUV +2
    57
    Why this score
    SourceDestination Winter SUVWinGuard
    Reviews found online5957
  8. 68

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceDestination Winter SUVWinGuard
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests68–
Scores at a glance
CategoryFirestone Destination Winter SUVNexen WinGuard
Relative Score 62 65
Dry 59 60
Wet 65 64
Snow 65 74
Comfort 60 62
Noise 71 –
Treadwear 62 65
Handling (owners) 59 57
Efficiency 68 –

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
± 9

Destination Winter SUV

± 8

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.

DisciplineCategoryDestination Winter SUVWinGuardΔHead-to-head
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #8/10 2018 Auto Bild Winter SUV / 4x4 Tyre Test #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 Destination Winter SUV

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
All owner themes in the WinGuard review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone Destination Winter SUV B · Nexen WinGuard
CategoryWinterWinter
Vehicle typeSUV and 4x4Passenger Car / Crossover

Which one should you actually buy?

Firestone Destination Winter SUV

Nexen WinGuard

Narrow edge: Nexen WinGuard — better snow and treadwear. Where the Firestone Destination Winter SUV is ahead, it is by less than 3 points. Firestone Destination Winter SUV rests on little evidence so far (1 test, 1 review), so read this result as provisional. 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 65 on snow.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Nexen WinGuard scores 65 vs 62 on treadwear.

Tire A · Firestone Destination Winter SUV
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Tire B · Nexen WinGuard
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Destination Winter SUV or WinGuard?

Which is better in the wet, Destination Winter SUV or WinGuard?

Neither, by our numbers: 65 vs 64 on the wet score, within 3 points.

Which grips better on dry roads, Destination Winter SUV or WinGuard?

Neither, by our numbers: 59 vs 60 on the dry score, within 3 points.

Which is better in snow, Destination Winter SUV or WinGuard?

Nexen WinGuard, 74 vs 65 on our snow score.

Which is more comfortable, Destination Winter SUV or WinGuard?

Neither, by our numbers: 60 vs 62 on the comfort score, within 3 points.

Which lasts longer, Destination Winter SUV or WinGuard?

Nexen WinGuard, 65 vs 62 on our treadwear score.

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