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Head-to-head Updated

Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2 vs Michelin Alpin 5 — 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 0 + 3 road tests and 13 + 33 owner reviews. How we score

Alpin 5 is ahead, 76–47

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Michelin Alpin 5
Tire BMichelin

Alpin 5

Winter

± 6

Tests 74 · 3 tests Owners 81 · 33 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2018 Auto Bild Winter Tyre Test (wear)

Category by category

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

  1. 46

    Dry

    Alpin 5 +27
    73
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip Performance 2Alpin 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests≈ 54 (est.)70
    Reviews found online3577

    Ultra Grip Performance 2: 60% × 54.2 (est.) + 40% × 34.6 = 46

    Alpin 5: 60% × 70.3 + 40% × 76.5 = 73

    No road tests of dry for Ultra Grip Performance 2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 49

    Wet

    Alpin 5 +33
    82
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip Performance 2Alpin 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests≈ 55 (est.)80
    Reviews found online4187

    Ultra Grip Performance 2: 60% × 54.6 (est.) + 40% × 41.3 = 49

    Alpin 5: 60% × 79.5 + 40% × 86.7 = 82

    No road tests of wet for Ultra Grip Performance 2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 43

    Snow

    Alpin 5 +30
    73
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip Performance 2Alpin 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests≈ 56 (est.)69
    Reviews found online2479

    Ultra Grip Performance 2: 60% × 55.8 (est.) + 40% × 24.2 = 43

    Alpin 5: 60% × 68.7 + 40% × 78.6 = 73

    No road tests of snow for Ultra Grip Performance 2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).

  4. 51

    Comfort

    Alpin 5 +24
    75
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip Performance 2Alpin 5
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 63 (est.)≈ 71 (est.)
    Reviews found online4279

    Ultra Grip Performance 2: 40% × 63.3 (est.) + 60% × 42 = 51

    Alpin 5: 40% × 70.7 (est.) + 60% × 78.6 = 75

    No road tests of comfort for Ultra Grip Performance 2. 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 Alpin 5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  5. 57

    Noise

    Alpin 5 +5
    62
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip Performance 2Alpin 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests≈ 66 (est.)60
    Reviews found online44≈ 66 (est.)

    Ultra Grip Performance 2: 60% × 66.3 (est.) + 40% × 43.5 = 57

    Alpin 5: 60% × 59.6 + 40% × 66.3 (est.) = 62

    No road tests of noise for Ultra Grip Performance 2. The test half is the tested tires’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.

    No owner ratings of noise for Alpin 5. 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. 47

    Treadwear

    Alpin 5 +36
    83
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip Performance 2Alpin 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 2 tests≈ 55 (est.)83
    Reviews found online3583

    Ultra Grip Performance 2: 60% × 55.3 (est.) + 40% × 35 = 47

    Alpin 5: 60% × 83.2 + 40% × 83.1 = 83

    No road tests of treadwear for Ultra Grip Performance 2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  7. 41

    Handling (owners)

    Alpin 5 +36
    77
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip Performance 2Alpin 5
    Reviews found online4177
  8. –

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    59
    Why this score
    SourceUltra Grip Performance 2Alpin 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests–59
Scores at a glance
CategoryGoodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2Michelin Alpin 5
Relative Score 47 76
Dry 46 73
Wet 49 82
Snow 43 73
Comfort 51 75
Noise 57 62
Treadwear 47 83
Handling (owners) 41 77
Efficiency – 59

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
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
± 8

Ultra Grip Performance 2

± 6

Alpin 5

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.

DisciplineCategoryUltra Grip Performance 2Alpin 5ΔHead-to-head
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #4/12 2011 Auto Bild Winter Tyre Test #2/11 2019 Auto Zeitung Winter Tire Test R17 – Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Ultra Grip Performance 2

Pros

  • Quiet and comfortable ride quality on dry and wet tarmac
  • Agile handling and reliable grip in wet conditions and light-to-medium snow
  • Good directional tread design for effective water and slush evacuation

Cons

  • Severely lacking traction and grip on packed snow and ice according to dissatisfied users
  • Triggers frequent ABS activation and wheel spin during acceleration and braking in wintry precipitation
  • Vague handling feel on tarmac for certain drivers
All owner themes in the Ultra Grip Performance 2 review

Tire B Alpin 5

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and traction in deep snow and winter conditions
  • Outstanding wet-weather performance and aquaplaning resistance
  • High ride comfort and remarkably low noise levels for a winter tire

Cons

  • Soft rubber compound struggles in warm temperatures (above 20°C–25°C), causing cornering smear
  • Soft sidewalls reduce precision during aggressive dry handling
  • Potential increase in noise and hardening of the rubber compound after 3 years of use
All owner themes in the Alpin 5 review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2 B · Michelin Alpin 5
CategoryWinterWinter
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available617
Rim diameters16″ – 17″15″ – 20″
Tread depth8/32″—
SidewallBlackwall—
Max pressure51 psi—
Sizes in common33

Which one should you actually buy?

Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2

Michelin Alpin 5

Winner: Michelin Alpin 5 — better treadwear, handling and wet. It leads or ties in every category we score. Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2 rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 13 reviews), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Michelin Alpin 5 scores 83 vs 47 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Alpin 5 scores 77 vs 41 on handling.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Alpin 5 scores 82 vs 49 on wet.

Pick tire B You drive through snowy winters

Michelin Alpin 5 scores 73 vs 43 on snow.

Tire A · Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2
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Tire B · Michelin Alpin 5
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Ultra Grip Performance 2 or Alpin 5?

Which is better in the wet, Ultra Grip Performance 2 or Alpin 5?

Michelin Alpin 5, 82 vs 49 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Ultra Grip Performance 2 or Alpin 5?

Michelin Alpin 5, 73 vs 46 on our dry score.

Which is better in snow, Ultra Grip Performance 2 or Alpin 5?

Michelin Alpin 5, 73 vs 43 on our snow score.

Which is quieter, Ultra Grip Performance 2 or Alpin 5?

Michelin Alpin 5, 62 vs 57 on our noise score.

Which is more comfortable, Ultra Grip Performance 2 or Alpin 5?

Michelin Alpin 5, 75 vs 51 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Ultra Grip Performance 2 or Alpin 5?

Michelin Alpin 5, 83 vs 47 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