195/50 R16 - Best winter tyres 2026 - market overview, tests, reviews

#4

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#4 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Snow traction

100%

Snow cornering

100%

Comfort

100%

+10

Wet circle cornering

47%

Dry handling

42%

Aquaplaning - longitudal

26%

Test results

2025225/40 R18#1(-)

2025225/40 R18#2(Exemplary)

Price variants (1)

195/50 R16 88 H

C C 70dB

£124

mytyres.co.uk

£124

In stock · Free shipping

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£145

In stock · Free shipping

2

Premium

Blizzak 6

'25#1

'25#2

'25#3

9.2

Price from

£137

Price from£137

Expert summary

Blizzak has always been a winter tire focused on wet conditions, but with its sixth model, Bridgestone has promised improved snow performance and reduced rolling resistance. Early tests suggest they have delivered on these promises—Blizzak 6 is unmatched in wet conditions and excels on snow, making it ideal not just for city climates.

#8

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#8 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Snow safety

100%

Lateral guidance on snow

96%

Gravel traction

91%

+26

Exterior noise

52%

Price/value

34%

Interior noise

29%

Test results

2025235/50 R19#1(Test winner)

2025275/35 R19#2(Very good)

2025225/45 R17#3(-)

2025215/55 R17#3(Good)

2025225/40 R18#3(Exemplary)

2025225/40 R18#3(Good)

2025245/45 R19#4(Highly recommended)

2025225/40 R18#6(-)

2025215/55 R17#6(Very good)

2025215/55 R17#7(Good)

Price variants (1)

195/50 R16 88 H

B C 70dB

£137

mytyres.co.uk

£137

In stock · Free shipping

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£151

In stock · Free shipping

3

Premium

UltraGrip Performance+

'25#2

'23#3

9.0

Price from

£129

Price from£129

Expert summary

A typical premium tyre - very well balanced, great on all surfaces with low rolling resistance. Proven by many tests.

#9

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#9 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Fuel efficiency

100%

Snow handling - objective

95%

Aquaplaning - cross

91%

+22

Price/value

53%

Dry handling

52%

Dry lane changing

51%

Test results

2025215/55 R17#2(Outstanding)

2023225/45 R17#3(Good)

2023205/60 R16#3(Good)

2022215/60 R16#3(Good)

2022215/55 R17#3(Exemplary)

2022215/55 R17#4(-)

2021235/55 R18#1(Exemplary)

2021225/50 R17#3(Good)

2021225/45 R17#3(-)

2021225/40 R18#5(-)

Price variants (1)

195/50 R16 88 H

B D 71dB

£129

mytyres.co.uk

£129

In stock · Free shipping

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£181

In stock · Free shipping

4

Upper-middle

WinterCraft WP52+

'25#4

'25#5

8.7

Price from

£89

Price from£89

Expert summary

The Kumho WinterCraft WP52+ is a winter tyre from the established South Korean manufacturer, designed for use on passenger cars during cold weather conditions. Serving as an updated successor to the standard WinterCraft WP52, this model is engineered for winter driving. Its main focus is delivering traction on cold, snowy, and icy roads, though specific technical modifications over its predecessor are not detailed.

#11

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#11 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Dry braking

95%

Wet braking

93%

Wet handling

88%

+10

Snow traction

47%

Comfort

42%

Aquaplaning - cross

31%

Test results

2025225/40 R18#4(Good)

2025225/40 R18#4(-)

2025215/55 R17#5(Good)

Price variants (1)

195/50 R16 88 H

B D 72dB

£89

mytyres.co.uk

£89

In stock · Free shipping

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£115

In stock · Free shipping

5

Upper-middle

W462 Winter i*cept RS3

'25#2

'25#4

'24#4

8.2

Price from

£111

Price from£111

Expert summary

There aren’t many things to dislike about the Winter i*cept RS3, except perhaps for slightly lower mileage and higher rolling resistance. For its price, it performs well in all weather conditions.

Performance

Lateral guidance on snow

100%

Wet side guide

100%

Dry steering response

100%

+21

Dry braking

38%

Rolling resistance

35%

Wet safety

33%

Test results

2025215/55 R17#2(Exemplary)

2025215/55 R17#4(Very good)

2024205/55 R16#4(Satisfactory)

2024215/55 R17#4(Recommended)

2024215/55 R17#5(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#6(Good)

2024205/55 R16#14(-)

2023225/45 R17#4(-)

2023205/60 R16#5(Good)

2023225/45 R17#7(Satisfactory)

Price variants (3)

195/50 R16 88 H

B C 72dB

£111

mytyres.co.uk

£111

In stock · Free shipping

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£134

In stock · Free shipping

195/50 R16 88 H

B C 72dB

£121

mytyres.co.uk

£121

In stock · Free shipping

6

Budget

Polaris 6

'25#2

'25#9

'25#10

8.3

Price from

£103

Price from£103

Expert summary

Barum unveils the Polaris 6, a budget-friendly winter tyre from the Czech Republic that adopts design elements from Continental’s TS series, including a V-shaped tread for better snow performance. The Polaris 6 improves on the Polaris 5 with enhanced durability, reduced rolling resistance, and quieter operation, while maintaining solid wet and dry performance. Priced about 20% higher, it leverages Continental’s technology to offer greater value and reliable winter traction for cost-conscious drivers.

Performance

Exterior noise

100%

Price/value

100%

Snow acceleration

100%

+12

Aquaplaning - cross

38%

Aquaplaning - longitudal

36%

Snow cornering

21%

Test results

2025215/65 R17#2(Good)

2025225/40 R18#9(Good)

2025225/40 R18#10(-)

Price variants (1)

195/50 R16 88 H

C D 72dB

£103

mytyres.co.uk

£103

In stock · Free shipping

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£123

In stock · Free shipping

7

Upper-middle

WinterExpert

'25#5

'25#8

'25#12

8.1

Price from

£99

Price from£99

Expert summary

Very good traction on snow for a nice price in a wide range of dimensions. Could use shorter braking distance on dry and better traction on the wet.

Performance

Rolling resistance

93%

Dry handling - objective

86%

Ice braking

78%

+21

Safety

19%

Wet side guide

0%

Wet handling - objective

0%

Test results

2025225/40 R18#5(-)

2025225/40 R18#8(Good)

2025225/40 R18#12(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#7(-)

2024205/55 R16#9(Good)

2023225/45 R18#11(-)

2023225/45 R18#12(Satisfactory)

2023205/60 R16#14(Satisfactory)

2022245/45 R19#7(Sufficient)

2022215/60 R16#14(Satisfactory)

Price variants (1)

195/50 R16 88 H £99

mytyres.co.uk

£99

In stock · Free shipping

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£134

In stock · Free shipping

8

Upper-middle

Eurowinter HS02

'25#9

'24#7

'24#22

7.2

Price from

£109

Price from£109

Expert summary

The EuroWinter HS02 is one of the few affordable winter tires with good mileage and low rolling resistance. It offers strong driving characteristics, with only slight weaknesses on snow.

Performance

Dry steering response

75%

Comfort

75%

Wet circle cornering

73%

+14

Snow braking

5%

Lateral guidance on snow

0%

Snow handling - objective

0%

Test results

2025215/55 R17#9(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#7(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#22(-)

2023205/60 R16#11(Satisfactory)

Price variants (1)

195/50 R16 88 V £109

mytyres.co.uk

£109

In stock · Free shipping

9

Upper-middle

Krisalp HP3

'25#7

'25#12

'25#14

8.0

Price from

£116

Price from£116

Expert summary

Old but gold, that is how we can pretty much describe the Krisalp HP3. It's a winter tyre that is great on snow for a good price, which is what the average driver is looking for. It's not a premium tyre, but you get a lot of bang for your buck.

Performance

Snow braking

96%

Ice lateral guidance

90%

Snow traction

88%

+19

Dry handling

31%

Dry handling - objective

25%

Wet handling - objective

13%

Test results

2025225/40 R18#7(Satisfactory)

2025225/40 R18#12(-)

2025225/40 R18#14(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#8(Good)

2024205/55 R16#16(-)

2023225/45 R18#4(-)

2023205/60 R16#10(Satisfactory)

2023225/45 R18#11(Satisfactory)

2022215/60 R16#7(Satisfactory)

2022225/45 R17#8(-)

Price variants (1)

195/50 R16 88 H XL £116

mytyres.co.uk

£116

In stock · Free shipping

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£142

In stock · Free shipping

10

Upper-middle

G-FORCE WINTER 2

'25#11

'25#12

'24#10

8.2

Price from

£109

Price from£109

Expert summary

G-Force Winter 2 is our favorite budget winter tyre. It's great on snow and offers good safety on all surfaces, which is no surprise as BFGoodrich is a part of the Michelin group.

Performance

Lateral guidance on snow

100%

Snow handling - objective

100%

Snow braking

100%

+23

Dry lane changing

39%

Dry handling

35%

Wet handling - objective

22%

Test results

2025225/40 R18#11(-)

2025225/40 R18#12(Good)

2024205/55 R16#10(Good)

2024205/55 R16#13(-)

2023225/45 R18#4(Good)

2023225/45 R18#5(-)

2023205/60 R16#8(Satisfactory)

2022185/65 R15#5(Satisfactory)

2022215/55 R17#6(-)

2022215/55 R17#9(Good)

Price variants (1)

195/50 R16 88 H £109

mytyres.co.uk

£109

In stock · Free shipping

11

Budget

Speed-Grip 5

'25#11

'25#14

'25#15

8.0

Price from

£97

Price from£97

Expert summary

We really like the new Speed-Grip 5 - it's not expensive, it's very good on snow and on top of that, it's got very low rolling resistance. What it lacks compared to the premium tyres is better wet performance, but given it's price it's definitely recommendable.

Performance

Interior noise

100%

Dry handling - objective

88%

Aquaplaning - cross

84%

+17

Wet handling

36%

Wet handling - objective

25%

Snow handling - objective

25%

Test results

2025225/40 R18#11(Good)

2025225/40 R18#14(Satisfactory)

2025225/40 R18#15(-)

2024205/55 R16#3(Exemplary)

2024215/55 R17#4(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#6(-)

2023225/45 R17#6(Satisfactory)

2023225/45 R18#16(Satisfactory)

2023225/45 R18#19(-)

2022185/65 R15#3(Good)

Price variants (1)

195/50 R16 88 H XL

C D 72dB

£97

mytyres.co.uk

£97

In stock · Free shipping

12

Upper-middle

Winterhawk 4

'25#7

'25#16

'25#18

6.3

Price from

£115

Price from£115

Expert summary

The Winterhawk 4 is a tyre with mixed ratings as there are tests where the tyre was not recommended. Common criticisms include longer braking distances and significant understeer

Performance

Lateral guidance on snow

95%

Ice braking

92%

Ice lateral guidance

82%

+24

Safety

19%

Dry braking

15%

Dry lane changing

14%

Test results

2025225/40 R18#7(-)

2025225/40 R18#16(Satisfactory)

2025225/40 R18#18(Sufficient)

2024205/55 R16#10(-)

2024215/55 R17#10(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#18(Satisfactory)

2023225/45 R18#6(-)

2023205/60 R16#7(Good)

2023225/60 R18#9(Not recommended)

2023225/45 R18#20(Not recommended)

Price variants (1)

195/50 R16 88 H

B D 71dB

£115

mytyres.co.uk

£115

In stock · Free shipping

13

Budget

Kristall Control HP2

'25#13

'25#18

6.8

Price from

£96

Price from£96

Expert summary

Kristall Control HP2 is an affordable snow specialist with some compromises in the wet and dry handling and braking.

Performance

Ice lateral guidance

97%

Aquaplaning - cross

91%

Lateral guidance on snow

86%

+20

Wet handling

18%

Wet circle cornering

16%

Dry lane changing

0%

Test results

2025225/40 R18#13(Satisfactory)

2025225/40 R18#18(Satisfactory)

2025225/40 R18#18(-)

2024205/55 R16#19(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#20(-)

2023205/60 R16#9(Satisfactory)

2023225/45 R18#23(-)

2022225/45 R17#6(-)

2022215/55 R17#18(-)

2021225/50 R17#11(Satisfactory)

Price variants (1)

195/50 R16 88 H

C C 71dB

£96

mytyres.co.uk

£96

In stock · Free shipping