205/45 R16 - Best winter tyres 2025 - market overview, tests, reviews
Table of contents:
Best winter tyres in tests (2025)
Max. price
£165
Options
Continental WinterContact TS 870
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.
| Rank | Year | Organization | Size | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
8 | 2024 | AUTOBILD | 205/55 R16 | - |
1 | 2024 | AUTOBILD | 205/55 R16 | Exemplary |
1 | 2024 | ADAC | 205/55 R16 | Good |
1 | 2023 | Autoexpress | 225/45 R17 | Test winner |
1 | 2023 | ADAC | 225/45 R17 | Good |
| Shop | Product | Stock | Availability | Shipping | Price | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
WinterContact TS 870 FR XL
- In stock
£159
|
WinterContact TS 870 FR XL | In stock | Free shipping | £159 |
Buy
tyres.pneus.online.uk
|
|
|
Continental WinterContact TS 870 ( 205/45 R16 87H XL EVc )
- In stock
£166
|
Continental WinterContact TS 870 ( 205/45 R16 87H XL EVc ) | In stock | Free shipping | £166 |
Buy
mytyres.co.uk
|
Semperit Speed-Grip 5
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.
| Rank | Year | Organization | Size | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 2024 | AUTOBILD | 205/55 R16 | Exemplary |
6 | 2024 | AUTOBILD | 205/55 R16 | - |
4 | 2024 | ADAC | 215/55 R17 | Satisfactory |
6 | 2023 | ADAC | 225/45 R17 | Satisfactory |
16 | 2023 | Autobild | 225/45 R18 | Satisfactory |
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005
A great winter tyre with balanced handling characteristics. Great in the wet, but slightly less durable than newer models.
| Rank | Year | Organization | Size | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2024 | Autozeitung | 215/55 R17 | Test winner |
5 | 2024 | AUTOBILD | 235/35 R19 | Good |
1 | 2023 | Tyre Reviews | 225/45 R18 | Test winner |
8 | 2023 | Autobild | 225/60 R18 | Conditionally recommended |
1 | 2023 | Autobild | 225/45 R18 | - |
Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3
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.
| Rank | Year | Organization | Size | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | 2024 | ADAC | 215/55 R17 | Satisfactory |
4 | 2024 | Autozeitung | 215/55 R17 | Recommended |
14 | 2024 | AUTOBILD | 205/55 R16 | - |
6 | 2024 | AUTOBILD | 205/55 R16 | Good |
4 | 2024 | ADAC | 205/55 R16 | Satisfactory |
Kleber Krisalp HP3
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.
| Rank | Year | Organization | Size | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
16 | 2024 | AUTOBILD | 205/55 R16 | - |
8 | 2024 | AUTOBILD | 205/55 R16 | Good |
11 | 2023 | Autobild | 225/45 R18 | Satisfactory |
10 | 2023 | ADAC | 205/60 R16 | Satisfactory |
4 | 2023 | Autobild | 225/45 R18 | - |
| Rank | Year | Organization | Size | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
19 | 2024 | AUTOBILD | 205/55 R16 | - |
20 | 2024 | AUTOBILD | 205/55 R16 | Satisfactory |
8 | 2024 | ADAC | 215/55 R17 | Satisfactory |
30 | 2022 | Autobild | 215/55 R17 | - |
Falken Eurowinter HS02
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.
| Rank | Year | Organization | Size | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
7 | 2024 | ADAC | 205/55 R16 | Satisfactory |
22 | 2024 | AUTOBILD | 205/55 R16 | - |
11 | 2023 | ADAC | 205/60 R16 | Satisfactory |
Cars with 205/45 R16 tyres
205/45 R16 tyre test Personalize
Best tyres in your size
Dry
1.
FALKEN EUROWINTER HS02
92%
2.
GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3
81%
3.
Continental WinterContact TS 870
81%
4.
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005
77%
5.
Yokohama BluEarth-Winter V906
76%
6.
Michelin Alpin 6
74%
7.
Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3
65%
8.
Semperit Speed-Grip 5
61%
9.
Kleber Krisalp HP3
51%
10.
BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2
46%
Wet
1.
Continental WinterContact TS 870
88%
2.
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005
87%
3.
Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3
81%
4.
Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3
72%
5.
Michelin Alpin 6
70%
6.
Kleber Krisalp HP3
63%
7.
Semperit Speed-Grip 5
61%
8.
Yokohama BluEarth-Winter V906
60%
9.
BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2
60%
10.
FALKEN EUROWINTER HS02
55%
Snow
1.
BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2
90%
2.
Kleber Krisalp HP3
84%
3.
Continental WinterContact TS 870
82%
4.
GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3
72%
5.
Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3
67%
6.
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005
66%
7.
Michelin Alpin 6
63%
8.
Semperit Speed-Grip 5
58%
9.
Yokohama BluEarth-Winter V906
35%
10.
FALKEN EUROWINTER HS02
24%
Comfort
1.
BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2
84%
2.
Continental WinterContact TS 870
82%
3.
Kleber Krisalp HP3
78%
4.
Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3
76%
5.
FALKEN EUROWINTER HS02
69%
6.
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005
61%
7.
Michelin Alpin 6
60%
8.
Semperit Speed-Grip 5
52%
9.
Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3
48%
Economy
1.
Semperit Speed-Grip 5
91%
2.
Continental WinterContact TS 870
88%
3.
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005
85%
4.
GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3
69%
5.
Michelin Alpin 6
59%
6.
Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3
58%
7.
BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2
57%
8.
Kleber KRISALP HP3
47%
This is a preview of our comprehensive tyre test. The full test includes:
Detailed property breakdowns
Interactive sorting and filtering
Side-by-side comparisons
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 Rover, Skoda, Volkswagen, Alfa Romeo, Alpine.
