Hakkapeliitta 9 STUDDED

I have had these Nokians on both my Honda and my Mercedes, and I don't think I would get them again. I do live in the woods of Quebec Canada, so we put snow tires through their paces here. If there is any snow build up at all, the Honda can't make it up hills, and we need to have the 4matic Mercedes to get to work. Now with that car having these tires it's clear that the tire lacks grip on heavy snow or any ice. The Hankooks I had previously on the Mercedes were better in almost all situations.

I have run Hakkapeliitta 9s on heavier cars with little discernable impact during dry weather. The Mazda MX-5 is particularly affected by these tires compared to its summer tires. I had these tires installed in southeastern USA before driving the car to Alaska in December. They were almost frighteningly loose in the 15 - 20 deg C temperatures of the southeast. As I drove north into Canada and the temperature dropped below freezing, the tires were much better behaved even on dry roads.
I elected not to get the studded versions to minimize noise. I will probably go studded next time or go with a studless design like the Nokian R5 or a Michelin X-Ice. These tires make the MX-5 a decent winter commuter that my wife is comfortable driving year-round.

Tyres lasted for 3 winters, best durability so far.
Tyres driven down to legal limit (3mm).
In the end, over 3cm layer of wet snow became the problem, other surfaces still ok.

I have gone through 4 sets of studded winter tires (Hakka2, Hakka5, Hakka7, Hakka9). Tried non studded Nokia WR (useless) and Michelin Pilot Alpin ( not great ). BUT....when the winter in Canada turns nasty and -25C or below turns rubber to hockey pucks, there's only one tire I turn to: Nokian Studded Hakkapelita! NOTHING stops on ice as good as these tires. My Range Rover turns into a Caterpillar snow plow . They give you such confidence, you think you're driving on dry. The studs are noisy but you don't hear them on the snow or ice covered roads. Good trade off for the sure grip they provide. Dry or wet grip is excellent also, considering I drive an SUV ( you can only get so much roll, going fast) . Only in the spring when the snow melts and the roads are dry you realize you are driving on "tank tracks",........and it's time to switch to All terrain tires ( and take the summer car out of storage as most Canadians do) ;) Not recommended for more moderate climates however, only the Northern American states and Nordic countries will benefit from these beauties.

If you drive on a lot of ice studs are the way to go. I absolutely hate the noise of studs and these are a little better than average.