Testing on Snowy Royu

Later, when we heard snow had piled up on the Royu Driveway, my husband immediately went to drive the Cayenne on the snowy road.

The temperature was about -3.5°C to -4°C. The snow wasn’t very deep, but the road surface was packed down and the base was somewhat icy.
My husband said,

I just drove normally, and there was absolutely no feeling of slipping. If you really stomp the accelerator, the wheels spin and traction control kicks in, but with gentle acceleration like when starting from a stoplight, nothing happens.
I think the tire provides very strong longitudinal traction.

Since it was the Royu Driveway, he also took the curves without holding back, and said there was almost no understeer or oversteer sensation.

If you ask if it’s zero, there might be a little slip, but as a driver, it never felt like “slipping.” Even at a somewhat high pace on the snowy Royu curves, the grip was solid and driving was trouble-free. I think the tires are also very strong laterally.

Then, deliberately choosing icy patches, he tested further and found that compared to Japanese studless tires, the ABS intervention during braking was somewhat earlier, and traction on ice seemed lower.

He described the feeling as not quite half the performance, but about 20-30% lower.

However, he said the impression of slipping during acceleration or cornering was not very different from Japanese studless tires.

When braking downhill with normal pressure, the car stops firmly, so there’s no particular concern. But if you brake a bit harder, the car sways slightly left and right, but I guess that’s normal for any tire on snow.

When braking hard enough to trigger ABS strongly, vibrations occurred and the stopping distance seemed longer.

In Conclusion

After driving the Cayenne with winter tires on snowy roads, my husband said this:

Overall, I think winter tires are not recommended for extremely icy mirror-like surfaces like in Hokkaido for safety reasons, but for people living in Kansai or urban areas who drive to nearby ski resorts, they are more than sufficient.

Especially on snowy roads, their performance is outstanding, and above all, their stability on highways, straight-line stability, and cornering on winding roads are at a level that will definitely satisfy.

For those who mostly drive on cleared roads, dry roads, or wet roads with rain or sleet in winter, and only occasionally on snow, I strongly recommend winter tires.