Nokian is a Finland-based tire manufacturer and considering where they’re from, you’d expect any tire company from Finland to have decades of experience in designing and making tires that can easily navigate a harsh Scandinavian winter. You’d be right in assuming that; Nokian developed some of the first-ever winter tires for trucks, and they’re still at the top of the game when it comes to durable, innovative designs for winter performance in heavy snow and slush.

The Nokian Remedy WRG5 differs a bit; it’s technically an all-weather tire and not a dedicated winter tire. All-weather tires are a departure from the popular all-season tires that are everywhere; they are designed for the great wear properties, quiet and refined ride, capable handling, and composed road manners of an all-season tire, except with an emphasis on enhanced winter traction (the kind of road conditions where most all-season tires fall short of being able to get the job done).

Durable and versatile, the Nokian tire has a lot to offer for drivers who need that kind of year-round performance. But there’s no reason to just take us at our word on that – let’s go in for a closer look with this Nokain Remedy WRG5 review.

Features and Benefits

Here are some of the features and innovations that make the Nokian Remedy WRG5 a strong performer and a great value:

• The specialized rubber compound is designed to stay flexible for traction at subfreezing temperatures
• Reinforced casing and low rolling resistance make the Nokian Remedy WRG5 suitable for EVs and hybrids
• Asymmetric all-weather tread with deep circumferential grooves that efficiently divert water from the tire’s contact patch to resist hydroplaning
• A dense network of sipes multiply tread surface area and traction with hundreds of extra biting edges to slice through snow, slush, and standing water
• Support blocks link tread elements together for enhanced stiffness, durability, handling
• Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rated for severe winter service
• Snow Claw Blocks, Snow Boosters, and Dual Performance Siping incorporated into tread design
• The outboard half of the Remedy WRG5 is designed for enhanced handling, with the inboard side designed for snow traction
• Tread pitch randomized and computer-tuned to negate certain frequencies, keeping road noise low
• Shoulder reinforced to resist deformation and tread squirm during hard cornering

Pros and Cons

When it comes to the Nokian Remedy WRG5, this is a tire where the pros outweigh the cons:

PROS:

• Generous limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty coverage
• Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certified for winter performance
• Tread compound designed for all temperatures and year-round performance
• Reinforced and designed for the heavier weight and lower center of gravity of EVs and hybrids

CONS:

• Can be noisy on some pavement surfaces

SimpleTire’s view on Nokian Remedy WRG5 tires

Statistics show that of all the traffic accidents in the United States, fully 11 percent of them are due to bad weather and bad road conditions. Anyone who’s ever had to try to get through several inches of snow with all-season tires has likely found out (maybe the hard way) that snow and winter driving isn’t really what those tires are good at. Winter tires have the disadvantage of not being suitable for warmer weather – their softer, stickier tread compound will wear quickly when temperatures are above 40-45 degrees F, which is when tire makers recommend switching them to all-season tires. Still, all it takes is one time out in the snow and slush with an inadequate set of tires and you could end up with a mashed-up fender, crumpled hood, bent-up quarter panel, or worse. Nokian was first-to-market with an all-weather tire decades ago, and the Remedy WRG5 is the latest in that evolution.

Are you familiar with SimpleScore? SimpleScore is the method that the SimpleTire team devised to give you a quick at-a-glance look at a tire’s performance and strengths. We look at a lot of data points and distill that down to a 1-10 numerical score for the categories of traction, handling, and longevity, as well as an overall average SimpleScore number. For the Nokian Remedy WRG5, our SimpleScores come out as:

Traction: 8.5 Handling: 8.6 Longevity: 9.0 Overall average SimpleScore: 8.7

First off, let’s just note that the tire industry sets the bar fairly high for any tire to have the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service, but the Nokian Remedy WRG5 passes that test with flying colors. Nokian designed this tire with tread features like their Lightning Grooves and Venturi Grooves for wet-weather traction, along with Dual Performance Sipes, Snow Boosters, and Snow Claw Blocks for grip in snow, ice, and slush. The result is confident traction and performance in some of the worst kind of winter weather imaginable.

Nokian keeps up with the times with the Remedy WRG5; it’s designed around the weight, horsepower/torque, and center of gravity of modern EVs and hybrids, while still offering great performance for conventional ICE vehicles. Its reinforced sidewalls and tie bar-reinforced tread give it good stability and capable handling, if not quite as nimble as a high-performance tire, and the Triple-Performance Compound is designed to stay flexible for traction at subfreezing weather without becoming too soft or wearing prematurely in the hottest temperatures. Ride quality is refined and compliant, with the Nokian soaking up most roughness and vibrations before they make it to the passengers, and road manners are composed even on rough, irregular pavement surfaces.

A 60,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty is a real value-added plus for any tire, and the Nokian gives you the kind of year-round versatility that drivers need in harsh winter climates. All in all, the Nokian Remedy WRG5 is a great candidate for drivers of sedans, minivans, crossovers, and SUVs who need dependable winter (and year-round) performance without the hassle of dedicated winter tires.

Vehicles the Nokian Remedy WRG5 is a good replacement tire for

While the Nokian Remedy WRG5 isn’t factory equipment on any vehicles, it would be a great choice as an all-weather replacement tire on sedans, minivans, crossovers, and SUVs such as these:

• Buick Envision
• Kia Forte
• Hyundai Tucson
• Honda Pilot
• Chevrolet Traverse
• GMC Acadia
• Jeep Cherokee
• Dodge Caravan
• Chrysler Pacifica
• Ford Escape
• Mazda CX-5
• Nissan Murano
• Volkswagen Touareg
• Subaru Forester