The Alenza AS isn’t a winter tire, but it does a good impression of one.
When it comes to braving the very worst that mother nature has to offer during the colder months, you simply cannot beat a dedicated winter tire. That said, not all of us are faced with deep snow or ice on a regular basis. For many drivers, swapping tires twice a year simply isn’t necessary. And while it’s still tough to match the capability of a proper winter tire compound when things get slick, Bridgestone believes its latest crop of all-seasons comes awfully close. So the tire company invited Road & Track and other journalists to snowy Colorado to sample the new Alenza AS Ultra, an all-season tire for SUVs, crossovers, and light trucks—and compare them against Bridgestone’s serious winter tire, the Blizzak DM-V2, at the Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs.
Bridgestone delved deep into its winter tire expertise to develop the all-new Alenza AS Ultra. The Alenza is unquestionably an all-season offering, but Bridgestone admits that innovations from Continental and other competitors required a rethink of what “all season” means. Customers have started to demand better performance from these tires in cold weather and snow. The Alenza AS Ultra features a high silica compound for wet weather grip in low temperatures, as well as carefully placed snow vices to further improve snow traction.
These tweaks result in a tire that, according to Bridgestone, offers 10 percent better braking performance in snow and 13 percent better wet-weather acceleration compared to the company’s Dueler H/L Alenza Plus. The new Alenza AS Ultra also features an 80,000-mile warranty, the longest of any Bridgestone product.
Located in the mountains above an idyllic ski town, the Bridgestone Winter Driving School offers a variety of classes for folks of all skill levels, ranging from first-time winter drivers to full-blown ice racers. Bridgestone provided attendees with a fleet of 2022 Acura MDX crossovers wearing either the new Alenza all-season or the winter-only Blizzak. Our test day started on the Blizzaks, to get participants comfortable on the slick surface, though the program quickly moved into a direct comparison.
As anyone who has driven on a set of Blizzaks knows, Bridgestone has already figured out how to make a confidence-inspiring winter tire. The amount of grip the Blizzaks offered under acceleration and braking in the snow was genuinely impressive, only overshadowed by the level of lateral grip I was able to find on the test track. The Blizzaks aren’t faultless—for one thing, they make a fair amount of noise, even driving through a layer of snow—but there’s a reason why Bridgestone chose them as the benchmark for this comparison. Surprisingly, the Alenza AS Ultra didn’t feel miles behind in terms of winter capability.
While the MDX on Alenzas had noticeably less grip overall, it didn’t feel ill-equipped—in fact, it didn’t even necessarily feel like it was on all-seasons. The new tires provide plenty of confidence in the snow, and as long as you respect the fact they aren’t Blizzaks, they behave predictably at all times. I certainly got around the course much faster on proper winter tires, but the all-seasons didn’t show any signs of struggle. Impressive stuff, especially after we were told that Bridgestone had never allowed an all-season tire on its icy tracks prior to the debut of the new Alenza AS Ultra.
If you live in a place where the white stuff bombards you for months on end, the Blizzak is most likely the best Bridgestone for you. As good as the Alenza AS Ultras proved to be in a winter mix, the Blizzak’s winter braking performance alone is worth the price of admission. That said, not everyone lives in a place as dreary as the rest of us. For those folks, the Alenza AS Ultra is a great all-season tire that won’t let you down should a surprise snowfall come through.
Keyword: Bridgestone's New All-Season Tire Can Tackle Real Snow