205/45 R16 - Best winter tyres 2026 - market overview, tests, reviews

Winter

30

Tyres

We recommend

Premium

W462 Winter i*cept RS3

8.2

£115

Buy Details

Price / Value

KRISALP HP3

7.9

£106

Buy Details

Best deals

Upper-middle

Snowprox S954

205/45 R16 87 H XL

£89

Best price in last 6 months Lowest price among well rated tyres.

Upper-middle

KRISALP HP3

205/45 R16 87 H XL

£106

Best tyres in tests (2026)

Default order: highest overall test rating first. Ratings combine tests in different tyre sizes.

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1

Premium

WinterContact TS 870

'26#1

'26#1

'26#2

9.8

Price from

£152

Price from£152

Expert summary

Continental has been dominating the winter tyre segment for years, and the TS870 is no different. It is very well-balanced and offers great mileage, making the premium price point worthwhile in the long run.

Recommended

#3

2026

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#3 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Lateral guidance on snow

100%

Wet circle cornering

95%

Snow cornering

93%

+23

Snow handling - objective

64%

Price/value

63%

Snow traction

61%

Test results

2026185/65 R15#1(Good)

2026205/55 R16#1(-)

2026225/50 R17#2(Good)

2026225/45 R17#4(Highly recommended)

2025225/45 R17#1(Test winner)

2024205/55 R16#1(Good)

2024205/55 R16#1(Exemplary)

2024205/55 R16#8(-)

2023225/45 R17#1(Test winner)

2023225/45 R17#1(Good)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/45 R16 87 H EVc

B C 70dB

£152

mytyres.co.uk

£152

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£168

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

2

Premium

UltraGrip Performance 3

'26#2

'26#3

'26#3

9.0

Price from

£145

Price from£145

Expert summary

The UltraGrip Performance 3 is one of the best tyres we have seen in the tests and on top of that it's top discipline is snow performance while maintaining great properties on wet, which makes it a great candidate for snowy climates.

Recommended

#6

2026

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#6 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Dry driving behavior

100%

Wet side guide

100%

Wear

95%

+27

Interior noise

62%

Rolling resistance

59%

Price/value

53%

Test results

2026235/60 R18#2(-)

2026225/45 R18#3(Exemplary)

2026225/45 R17#3(Highly recommended)

2026205/45 R17#3(Very good)

2026225/50 R17#3(Good)

2026225/55 R18#4(Good)

2026245/45 R19#5(Good)

2026185/65 R15#6(Satisfactory)

2026205/55 R16#6(-)

2026235/45 R18#9(-)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/45 R16 83 H XL EVR

C D 69dB

£145

mytyres.co.uk

£145

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

3

Premium

Blizzak LM-005

'26#8

'24#1

'24#5

8.7

Expert summary

A great winter tyre with balanced handling characteristics. Great in the wet, but slightly less durable than newer models.

Recommended

#9

2026

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#9 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Wet side guide

100%

Wet braking

97%

Wet circle cornering

92%

+26

Mileage

40%

Snow safety

33%

Price/value

20%

Test results

2026185/65 R15#8(Sufficient)

2024215/55 R17#1(Test winner)

2024235/35 R19#5(Good)

2023235/55 R18#1(Highly recommended)

2023255/45 R20#1(Outstanding)

2023225/45 R18#1(Test winner)

2023225/45 R18#1(-)

2023225/40 R18#1(Very good)

2023225/45 R17#2(Recommended)

2023235/60 R18#3(Highly recommended)

View full review

4

Premium

Blizzak 6

'26#2

'26#4

'26#4

8.4

Price from

£143

Price from£143

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.

Recommended

#13

2026

theTyre Lab.comRecommended#13 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Snow safety

100%

Lateral guidance on snow

96%

Gravel traction

91%

+26

Dry braking

46%

Exterior noise

39%

Price/value

34%

Test results

2026225/45 R18#2(Exemplary)

2026205/55 R16#4(-)

2026205/45 R17#4(Good)

2026225/50 R17#5(Satisfactory)

2026235/60 R18#5(-)

2026245/45 R19#5(-)

2026225/55 R18#5(Good)

2026225/45 R17#5(Highly recommended)

2026245/45 R19#5(Good)

2026235/45 R18#14(-)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/45 R16 87 H

B C 70dB

£143

mytyres.co.uk

£143

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£165

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

5

Upper-middle

W462 Winter i*cept RS3

'26#3

'26#6

8.2

Price from

£109

Price from£109

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

Rolling resistance

36%

Wet safety

33%

Interior noise

31%

Test results

2026185/65 R15#3(Satisfactory)

2026205/55 R16#3(-)

2026225/50 R17#6(Satisfactory)

2026205/45 R17#6(Good)

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)

View full review

Price variants (2)

205/45 R16 87 H

B D 72dB

£109

mytyres.co.uk

£109

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

205/45 R16 87 H mfs XL

B D 72dB

£115

mytyres.co.uk

£115

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

6

Upper-middle

G-FORCE WINTER 2

'26#10

'26#11

'25#11

8.2

Price from

£133

Price from£133

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 braking

99%

Snow traction

94%

+23

Dry handling - objective

35%

Dry handling

35%

Wet handling - objective

28%

Test results

2026245/45 R19#10(-)

2026245/45 R19#11(Good)

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)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/45 R16 87 H £133

mytyres.co.uk

£133

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

7

Upper-middle

WinterCraft WP52+

'26#6

'26#8

'26#11

8.0

Price from

£85

Price from£85

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.

Performance

Dry braking

97%

Wet braking

88%

Price/value

84%

+14

Aquaplaning - longitudal

46%

Exterior noise

42%

Aquaplaning - cross

31%

Test results

2026225/45 R17#6(Recommended)

2026245/45 R19#8(Good)

2026245/45 R19#11(-)

2026185/65 R15#12(Sufficient)

2025225/40 R18#4(Good)

2025225/40 R18#4(-)

2025215/55 R17#5(Good)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/45 R16 87 H

B C 72dB

£85

mytyres.co.uk

£85

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£114

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

8

Upper-middle

KRISALP HP3

'26#5

'26#8

7.9

Price from

£106

Price from£106

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%

Snow handling - objective

94%

Ice lateral guidance

90%

+19

Dry handling

31%

Dry handling - objective

29%

Wet handling - objective

29%

Test results

2026245/45 R19#5(Good)

2026245/45 R19#8(-)

2026205/45 R17#8(Sufficient)

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)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/45 R16 87 H XL £106

mytyres.co.uk

£106

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£128

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

9

Budget

Speed-Grip 5

'26#12

'26#13

'25#11

7.9

Price from

£130

Price from£130

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%

Aquaplaning - longitudal

84%

Aquaplaning - cross

82%

+17

Wet handling

36%

Snow handling - objective

35%

Wet handling - objective

21%

Test results

2026245/45 R19#12(Good)

2026245/45 R19#13(-)

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)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/45 R16 87 H

C D 72dB

£130

mytyres.co.uk

£130

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

10

Premium

Winter

'26#6

'26#8

7.6

Price from

£109

Price from£109

Performance

Mileage

95%

Exterior noise

89%

Snow traction

88%

+14

Interior noise

30%

Wet handling - objective

27%

Dry handling

26%

Test results

2026225/45 R18#6(Good)

2026205/55 R16#8(-)

2026225/50 R17#8(Satisfactory)

2025225/40 R18#1(-)

2025225/40 R18#2(Exemplary)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/45 R16 87 H

C D 71dB

£109

mytyres.co.uk

£109

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

11

Upper-middle

EuroWinter HS02

'26#7

'25#9

6.8

Price from

£97

Price from£97

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

Interior noise

90%

Dry braking

75%

Dry steering response

75%

+16

Snow braking

6%

Lateral guidance on snow

0%

Snow handling - objective

0%

Test results

2026205/45 R17#7(Satisfactory)

2026205/55 R16#7(-)

2025215/55 R17#9(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#7(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#22(-)

2023205/60 R16#11(Satisfactory)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/45 R16 87 H

B D 68dB

£97

mytyres.co.uk

£97

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

12

Upper-middle

BluEarth winter V906

'26#9

'25#8

'25#28

5.9

Price from

£134

Price from£134

Performance

Dry lane changing

89%

Dry handling

86%

Comfort

82%

+20

Snow traction

14%

Snow safety

11%

Lateral guidance on snow

0%

Test results

2026225/50 R17#9(Satisfactory)

2025245/45 R19#8(-)

2025225/40 R18#28(-)

2024215/55 R17#8(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#19(-)

2024205/55 R16#20(Satisfactory)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/45 R16 87 H £134

mytyres.co.uk

£134

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

13

Budget

Sport Master Winter

'26#4

'26#7

'26#9

5.6

Performance

Dry driving behavior

67%

Price/value

63%

Dry handling - objective

62%

+22

Wet side guide

13%

Dry steering response

13%

Wet safety

11%

Test results

2026185/65 R15#4(Satisfactory)

2026225/55 R18#7(Satisfactory)

2026225/45 R17#9(Recommended)

2026205/55 R16#9(-)

2026205/45 R17#9(Poor)

2026245/45 R19#21(-)

2025225/45 R17#5(-)

2025215/55 R17#8(Good)

2025245/45 R19#9(-)

2025215/55 R17#10(Satisfactory)

View full review

14

Bluewin UHP2

'26#29

'23#37

3.5

Test results

2026245/45 R19#29(-)

2023225/45 R18#37(-)

View full review

205/45 R16 tyre test

Personalize →

Best tyres in your size

Dry

1. Continental WinterContact TS 870

78%

2. Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005

77%

3. Michelin Alpin 6

74%

4. Kumho WinterCraft WP52+

73%

5. GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3

71%

6. Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3

69%

7. Yokohama BluEarth-Winter V906

67%

8. Bridgestone Blizzak 6

66%

9. Semperit Speed-Grip 5

65%

10. Linglong Sport Master Winter

64%

11. Falken Eurowinter HS02

57%

12. Dunlop Winter

52%

13. Kleber KRISALP HP3

48%

14. BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2

46%

Wet

1. Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005

87%

2. Continental WinterContact TS 870

84%

3. GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3

77%

4. Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3

73%

5. Bridgestone Blizzak 6

72%

6. Michelin Alpin 6

70%

7. Kumho WinterCraft WP52+

67%

8. Kleber Krisalp HP3

62%

9. BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2

60%

10. Semperit Speed-Grip 5

60%

11. Yokohama BluEarth-Winter V906

58%

12. Falken Eurowinter HS02

57%

13. Dunlop Winter

56%

14. Linglong Sport Master Winter

39%

Snow

1. BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2

91%

2. Kleber Krisalp HP3

85%

3. Dunlop Winter

79%

4. Continental WinterContact TS 870

77%

5. Bridgestone Blizzak 6

72%

6. GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3

70%

7. Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3

70%

8. Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005

66%

9. Michelin Alpin 6

63%

10. Kumho WinterCraft WP52+

62%

11. Semperit Speed-Grip 5

57%

12. Falken Eurowinter HS02

45%

13. Yokohama BluEarth-Winter V906

44%

14. Linglong Sport Master Winter

43%

Comfort

1. Dunlop Winter

92%

2. Continental WinterContact TS 870

79%

3. BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2

79%

4. Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3

78%

5. Kleber Krisalp HP3

73%

6. FALKEN EUROWINTER HS02

68%

7. Michelin Alpin 6

62%

8. Semperit Speed-Grip 5

61%

9. Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005

60%

10. Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3

60%

11. Kumho WinterCraft WP52+

51%

12. Bridgestone Blizzak 6

44%

13. Linglong Sport Master Winter

43%

This is a preview of our comprehensive tyre test. The full test includes:

Detailed breakdowns

Interactive sorting

Side-by-side comparisons

View Full Test Results

Price vs Quality

See how tyre price relates to test performance at a glance

Compare tyres

I'm looking for ...

Best snow tyres

Best tyres for EVs

Best ice tyres

Best dry-handling tyres

Best rain tyres

Quietest tyres

Most economical tyres

Best anti-aquaplaning tyres

Customer reviews

196 customer reviews for tyres in this size

Continental WinterContact TS 860 3.6/5 (47)

Michelin ALPIN 6 3.9/5 (34)

Kleber KRISALP HP3 3.5/5 (28)

Michelin Alpin 5 3.7/5 (28)

Continental WinterContact TS 870 3.7/5 (24)

GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3 3.9/5 (14)

Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2.8/5 (9)

Yokohama BluEarth winter V906 1.9/5 (4)

Toyo Snowprox S954 1.5/5 (4)

Imperial Snowdragon 3 1.5/5 (4)

Other popular sizes

215/65 R16158 Tyres 205/55 R16141 Tyres 225/55 R17128 Tyres 215/60 R17126 Tyres 225/45 R17123 Tyres 0/0 R0118 Tyres 225/50 R17115 Tyres 215/60 R16113 Tyres

205/45 R16 — Also available in

Summer(94)All season(20)

Top brands in 205/45 R16

Did you know ...?

205/45 R16 doesn't belong to the most popular dimensions for winter tyres - there are 10 tyre models available, which can be compared to 165/60 R15, 165/60 R14, 165/65 R15. Let's break down the sizing - 45 is height of the tyre, which is calculated as 45% of the tyre width (205mm), which means the sidewall height has 92.25 mm. The wheel diameter is R16, which means it fits to a 16 inch/406.4mm diameter wheel. The total circumference of the tyre is 1856.37 mm, which is very similar to 175/60 R15(1856.68 mm), 185/50 R16(1857.94 mm), 195/60 R14(1852.28 mm), 195/40 R17(1846.63 mm), 165/80 R13(1866.73 mm), 165/70 R14(1842.86 mm), 165/65 R15(1870.82 mm). There are multiple speed indexes available for winter tyres in 205/45 R16: H(210km/h), T(190km/h), V(240km/h). The same goes for weight indexes: 83, 87. You can find 205/45 R16 on 17 car models - mainly .