Skip to content
Head-to-head Updated May 2026

Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 vs Hankook Winter i*cept evo — Compared (May 2026)

Our Relative Score blends 60% objective test data with 40% owner-review signal — so any two tires can be compared even if they were never tested on the same day.

Tire A Bridgestone

Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2

Premium Touring Winter  tire

Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 tread pattern
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
90/100
33 owner reviews
Dry
90
Wet
90
Snow
99
Comfort
90
Noise
88
Treadwear
82
Handling
80

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VS
Tire B Hankook

Hankook Winter i*cept evo

Ultra High Performance Winter tire

Hankook Winter i*cept evo tread pattern
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
83/100
28 owner reviews
Dry
80
Wet
79
Snow
100
Comfort
79
Noise
–
Treadwear
80
Handling
72

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VerdictWinner: Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 — better wet, comfort and dry. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Read full

TireWheelGuide may earn a commission from purchases made via links on this page.

Category breakdown

7 categories, side by side

Each bar is the Relative Score for that category. Expand a tile to see the test results and owner ratings behind it.

Dry

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Blizzak DM-V2 leads by 10
A — Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2
90
B — Hankook Winter i*cept evo
80
Why this score
SourceBlizzak DM-V2Winter i*cept evo
Tire Rack owners 90 –
Tyre Reviews owners 82 80
SimpleTire owners 91 –

Wet

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Blizzak DM-V2 leads by 11
A — Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2
90
B — Hankook Winter i*cept evo
79
Why this score
SourceBlizzak DM-V2Winter i*cept evo
Tire Rack owners 92 –
Tyre Reviews owners 76 79
SimpleTire owners 93 –

Snow

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Winter i*cept evo leads by 1
A — Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2
99
B — Hankook Winter i*cept evo
100
Why this score
SourceBlizzak DM-V2Winter i*cept evo
Tire Rack owners 94 –
Tyre Reviews owners 98 100
SimpleTire owners 99 –

Comfort

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Blizzak DM-V2 leads by 11
A — Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2
90
B — Hankook Winter i*cept evo
79
Why this score
SourceBlizzak DM-V2Winter i*cept evo
Tire Rack owners 88 –
Tyre Reviews owners 76 79
SimpleTire owners 92 –

Noise

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100)
A — Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2
88
B — Hankook Winter i*cept evo
–
Why this score
SourceBlizzak DM-V2Winter i*cept evo
SimpleTire owners 88 –

Treadwear

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Blizzak DM-V2 leads by 2
A — Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2
82
B — Hankook Winter i*cept evo
80
Why this score
SourceBlizzak DM-V2Winter i*cept evo
Tire Rack owners 84 –
Tyre Reviews owners 58 80
SimpleTire owners 86 –

Handling

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Blizzak DM-V2 leads by 8
A — Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2
80
B — Hankook Winter i*cept evo
72
Why this score
SourceBlizzak DM-V2Winter i*cept evo
Tyre Reviews owners 80 72

Scores at a glance

Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 vs Hankook Winter i*cept evo: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryBridgestone Blizzak DM-V2Hankook Winter i*cept evo
Relative Score 88 81
Dry 90 80
Wet 90 79
Snow 99 100
Comfort 90 79
Noise 88 –
Treadwear 82 80
Handling 80 72

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Personalize

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Neutral
NoneLessNeutralMoreMost
Important
NoneLessNeutralMoreMost
Neutral
NoneLessNeutralMoreMost
Neutral
NoneLessNeutralMoreMost
Neutral
NoneLessNeutralMoreMost
Important
NoneLessNeutralMoreMost
Neutral
NoneLessNeutralMoreMost
Recomputed
Headline score

Tire A

Tire B

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

From owners

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews across retailers and review sites — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2

The Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 is widely regarded as a premier dedicated winter tire, consistently praised for its exceptional traction and braking performance on snow and ice. While users acknowledge that the soft rubber compound leads to faster tread wear if used in warmer temperatures, the consensus is that the safety and handling benefits in harsh winter conditions far outweigh these longevity concerns.

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and braking performance on snow and ice
  • High level of driver confidence in severe winter weather
  • Surprisingly quiet and comfortable ride quality
  • Significant improvement over all-season tires for winter handling

Cons

  • Faster tread wear compared to all-season tires
  • Performance degrades if left on the vehicle during warmer spring/summer months
  • Potential for reduced wet-weather grip as the tire wears down

Observations

  • Users report excellent performance across a variety of vehicle types, including heavy SUVs like the BMW X5 and VW Touareg, as well as light trucks like the Ford F-150.
  • Owners of hybrid vehicles noted that the tire's soft compound may wear more quickly under the specific torque characteristics of their vehicles.
  • Some users successfully utilize oversized tire diameters for increased ground clearance in deep snow without sacrificing ride quality.
Tire B Hankook Winter i*cept evo

The Hankook Winter i cept evo is a polarizing winter tire that receives high praise for its exceptional snow and ice traction, particularly on heavier or AWD vehicles. However, user experiences regarding wet-weather grip and high-speed stability are inconsistent, with some drivers reporting significant issues with wheelspin and braking confidence in damp or wet conditions.

Pros

  • Outstanding traction and confidence in deep snow and on icy inclines
  • Excellent value-for-money proposition compared to premium competitors
  • Strong resistance to aquaplaning in heavy rain
  • Good tread wear longevity for many users

Cons

  • Inconsistent wet-weather grip leading to reports of wheelspin and ABS activation
  • Lack of high-speed stability and precision on certain vehicle chassis
  • Increased noise levels and reduced comfort compared to summer tires
  • Performance degradation in warmer temperatures (squirmy handling)

Observations

  • AWD and heavier vehicles (e.g., VW Touareg, Land Rover Discovery) report superior snow performance, often outperforming expectations.
  • Users with high-torque FWD or RWD vehicles (e.g., BMW 1-series, tuned hatchbacks) frequently report issues with wheelspin and lack of wet-weather traction.
  • Downsizing wheel diameter (e.g., moving from 17-inch to 16-inch) was noted to significantly improve snow and ice performance on some vehicles.
Specifications

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 B · Hankook Winter i*cept evo
CategoryPremium Touring Winter  tireUltra High Performance Winter tire
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available48—
Rim diameters15″ – 22″—
Tread depth13/32″—
SidewallBlackwall—
Max pressure44 psi—
Final verdict

Which one should you actually buy?

Bridgestone

Hankook

Winner: Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 — better wet, comfort and dry. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 scores 90 vs 79 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 scores 90 vs 79 on comfort.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 scores 90 vs 80 on dry.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 scores 80 vs 72 on handling.

Tire A · Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2
Tire B · Hankook Winter i*cept evo

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements) normalized against the best tire in each test and weighted toward recent tests. 40% comes from thousands of owner reviews collected from retailers and review sites. When a tire has only one of the two, we use what exists and say so.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.