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Head-to-head Updated May 2026

Firestone Winterhawk vs Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV — 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 Firestone

Firestone Winterhawk

Winter Touring tires

Firestone Winterhawk tread pattern
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
89/100
1 owner review
Dry
80
Wet
80
Snow
–
Comfort
90
Noise
–
Treadwear
90
Handling
90

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VS
Tire B Nexen

Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV

Winter Ultra High Performance tires

Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV tread pattern
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
88/100
29 owner reviews
Dry
92
Wet
91
Snow
89
Comfort
92
Noise
85
Treadwear
86
Handling
75

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VerdictWinner: Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV — better dry and wet. Pick the Firestone Winterhawk if handling and treadwear matter most to you.
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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) Winguard Sport 2 SUV leads by 12
A — Firestone Winterhawk
80
B — Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV
92
Why this score
SourceWinterhawkWinguard Sport 2 SUV
Tyre Reviews owners 80 85

Wet

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Winguard Sport 2 SUV leads by 11
A — Firestone Winterhawk
80
B — Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV
91
Why this score
SourceWinterhawkWinguard Sport 2 SUV
Tyre Reviews owners 80 83

Snow

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100)
A — Firestone Winterhawk
–
B — Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV
89
Why this score
SourceWinterhawkWinguard Sport 2 SUV
Tyre Reviews owners – 88

Comfort

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Winguard Sport 2 SUV leads by 2
A — Firestone Winterhawk
90
B — Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV
92
Why this score
SourceWinterhawkWinguard Sport 2 SUV
Tyre Reviews owners 90 90

Noise

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100)
A — Firestone Winterhawk
–
B — Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV
85

Treadwear

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Winterhawk leads by 4
A — Firestone Winterhawk
90
B — Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV
86
Why this score
SourceWinterhawkWinguard Sport 2 SUV
Tyre Reviews owners 90 75

Handling

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Winterhawk leads by 15
A — Firestone Winterhawk
90
B — Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV
75
Why this score
SourceWinterhawkWinguard Sport 2 SUV
Tyre Reviews owners 90 75

Scores at a glance

Firestone Winterhawk vs Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryFirestone WinterhawkNexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV
Relative Score 86 88
Dry 80 92
Wet 80 91
Snow – 89
Comfort 90 92
Noise – 85
Treadwear 90 86
Handling 90 75

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

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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.

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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 Firestone Winterhawk

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

Tire B Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV

The Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV is widely regarded as a high-value winter tire that offers a compelling balance of comfort, wet-weather performance, and snow traction. While most users praise its quiet ride and affordability compared to premium competitors, a small subset of users reports inconsistent traction in severe winter conditions.

Pros

  • Excellent price-to-performance ratio
  • Superior ride comfort and low road noise
  • Strong traction in wet and slushy conditions
  • Reliable performance in light to moderate snow
  • Good tread longevity for a winter-compound tire

Cons

  • Handling can feel 'soft' or less precise during spirited cornering
  • Performance may decline as the tire ages over several seasons
  • Polarizing traction results in extreme ice or deep snow for some users
  • Potential for uneven tread wear reported by some owners

Observations

  • BMW owners (550i, 128, X5) frequently report the tire as a comfortable, quieter alternative to premium brands like Blizzaks.
  • Performance-oriented vehicles (WRX, Lancer Ralliart) note the tire provides significant improvements over summer tires in cold climates, though some find the sidewall too soft for aggressive driving.
Specifications

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone Winterhawk B · Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV
CategoryWinter Touring tiresWinter Ultra High Performance tires
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverSUV and 4x4
Final verdict

Which one should you actually buy?

Firestone

Nexen

Winner: Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV — better dry and wet. Pick the Firestone Winterhawk if handling and treadwear matter most to you.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Firestone Winterhawk scores 90 vs 75 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV scores 92 vs 80 on dry.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV scores 91 vs 80 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Firestone Winterhawk scores 90 vs 86 on treadwear.

Tire A · Firestone Winterhawk
Tire B · Nexen Winguard Sport 2 SUV

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.