Tests 75 · 8 tests Owners 63 · 32 reviews
Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2020 Nordic and Studded Winter Tyre Test (snow braking)
Head-to-head
Updated
Continental VikingContact 7 vs Hankook Winter I cept iZ2 W616 — Compared
Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 8 + 5 road tests and 32 + 37 owner reviews. How we score
VikingContact 7 leads, 69–65 Narrow edge
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Tests 65 · 5 tests Owners 64 · 37 reviews
Best test result: #1 of 17 in 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 (exterior noise)
Category by category
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
Key facts
- In 3 tests that measured dry braking for both, VikingContact 7 won 0 and Winter I cept iZ2 W616 won 1 (average 89% vs 90% of the best).
- In 3 tests that measured wet braking for both, VikingContact 7 won 2 and Winter I cept iZ2 W616 won 0 (average 78% vs 74% of the best).
- In 3 tests that measured wet handling for both, VikingContact 7 won 1 and Winter I cept iZ2 W616 won 2 (average 90% vs 87% of the best).
- In 3 tests that measured ice braking for both, VikingContact 7 won 3 and Winter I cept iZ2 W616 won 0 (average 76% vs 69% of the best).
- In 3 tests that measured ice handling for both, VikingContact 7 won 2 and Winter I cept iZ2 W616 won 0 (average 82% vs 79% of the best).
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67
Dry
Level67Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 Winter I cept iZ2 W616 Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / 5 tests 77 71 Reviews found online 53 60 Dry Braking (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 0–1 89% 90% Dry Handling (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–0 70% 70% VikingContact 7: 60% × 76.6 + 40% × 52.8 = 67
Winter I cept iZ2 W616: 60% × 71.3 + 40% × 60.2 = 67
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68
Wet
VikingContact 7 +563Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 Winter I cept iZ2 W616 Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / 5 tests 68 59 Reviews found online 67 67 Wet Handling (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–0 70% 70% Wet Braking (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 2–0 78% 74% Wet Handling (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 1–2 90% 87% VikingContact 7: 60% × 68.4 + 40% × 66.5 = 68
Winter I cept iZ2 W616: 60% × 59.5 + 40% × 67.1 = 63
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76
Snow
VikingContact 7 +967Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 Winter I cept iZ2 W616 Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / 5 tests 79 58 Reviews found online 72 79 Ice Braking (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 3–0 76% 69% Ice Handling (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 2–0 82% 79% Ice Traction (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 3–0 66% 58% Snow Braking (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 3–0 93% 88% Snow Handling (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 3–0 100% 95% Snow Traction (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 2–0 93% 91% VikingContact 7: 60% × 79.1 + 40% × 72.4 = 76
Winter I cept iZ2 W616: 60% × 58.1 + 40% × 79.1 = 67
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71
Comfort
VikingContact 7 +566Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 Winter I cept iZ2 W616 Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests 70 ≈ 68 (est.) Reviews found online 71 64 VikingContact 7: 40% × 70 + 60% × 71.3 = 71
Winter I cept iZ2 W616: 40% × 68.2 (est.) + 60% × 64.2 = 66
No road tests of comfort for Winter I cept iZ2 W616. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
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81
Noise
VikingContact 7 +1071Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 Winter I cept iZ2 W616 Professional tests (TWG score) · 6 / 4 tests 89 83 Reviews found online 69 53 Exterior Noise (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–0 100% 100% Noise (tester's mark) (% of best) · 2 shared tests · wins 2–0 100% 89% VikingContact 7: 60% × 88.6 + 40% × 68.7 = 81
Winter I cept iZ2 W616: 60% × 82.8 + 40% × 52.8 = 71
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60
Treadwear
VikingContact 7 +159Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 Winter I cept iZ2 W616 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 62 (est.) ≈ 62 (est.) Reviews found online 56 54 VikingContact 7: 60% × 62.5 (est.) + 40% × 55.7 = 60
Winter I cept iZ2 W616: 60% × 61.9 (est.) + 40% × 54 = 59
No road tests of treadwear for VikingContact 7. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).
No road tests of treadwear for Winter I cept iZ2 W616. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).
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64
Handling (owners)
Winter I cept iZ2 W616 +367Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 Winter I cept iZ2 W616 Reviews found online 64 67 -
77
Efficiency
VikingContact 7 +176Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 Winter I cept iZ2 W616 Professional tests (TWG score) · 4 / 3 tests 77 76 Rolling Resistance (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 1–0 100% 90%
Scores at a glance
| Category | Continental VikingContact 7 | Hankook Winter I cept iZ2 W616 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 69 | 65 |
| Dry | 67 | 67 |
| Wet | 68 | 63 |
| Snow | 76 | 67 |
| Comfort | 71 | 66 |
| Noise | 81 | 71 |
| Treadwear | 60 | 59 |
| Handling (owners) | 64 | 67 |
| Efficiency | 77 | 76 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
Weight the categories that matter to you
Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Not important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score
69
/ 100
VikingContact 7
65
/ 100
Winter I cept iZ2 W616
The professional test results behind the scores
Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.
In the overall rankings of 10 tests that ran both, Continental VikingContact 7 finished ahead 10 times and Hankook Winter I cept iZ2 W616 0 times.
| Discipline | Category | VikingContact 7 | Winter I cept iZ2 W616 | Δ | Head-to-head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Braking | Dry | 89% | 90% | −0.3 | 0–1 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Dry Handling (tester's mark) | Dry | 70% | 70% | 0.0 | 0–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Straight Aquaplaning | Wet | 80% #2/5 · 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 | 73% #4/7 · 2025 NAF Motor Studless Winter Tire Test R17 | – | Different tests |
| Wet Braking | Wet | 78% | 74% | +3.8 | 2–0 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Wet Handling | Wet | 90% | 87% | +3.0 | 1–2 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Wet Handling (tester's mark) | Wet | 70% | 70% | 0.0 | 0–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Ice Braking | Snow | 76% | 69% | +6.4 | 3–0 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Ice Handling | Snow | 82% | 79% | +3.5 | 2–0 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Ice Traction | Snow | 66% | 58% | +8.4 | 3–0 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Snow Braking | Snow | 93% | 88% | +4.7 | 3–0 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Snow Handling | Snow | 100% | 95% | +4.4 | 3–0 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Snow Traction | Snow | 93% | 91% | +1.7 | 2–0 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Exterior Noise | Noise | 100% | 100% | 0.0 | 0–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Noise | Noise | 100% #3/8 · 2023 Studless Friction Winter Tyre Test | 100% #2/8 · 2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tyre Test | – | Different tests |
| Noise (tester's mark) | Noise | 100% | 89% | +10.6 | 2–0 in 2 shared tests Newest: 2021 Studless and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Fuel Consumption | Efficiency | 96% #4/8 · 2023 Studless Friction Winter Tyre Test | 97% #4/8 · 2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tyre Test | – | Different tests |
| Rolling Resistance | Efficiency | 100% | 90% | +10.0 | 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Also published by the testers (not in the score) | |||||
| Price | Cost | 50% | 67% | −16.7 | 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2021 Studless and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Overall Ranking | Overall | #4/15 | #12/15 | – | 10–0 in 10 shared tests Newest: 2024 Aftonbladet Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
Pros, cons & observations
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
Tire A VikingContact 7
Pros
- Exceptionally quiet and comfortable ride quality
- Strong performance in slush and deep snow
- Stable and predictable handling at highway speeds
Cons
- Mixed reports regarding tread life and longevity
- Noticeable decline in ice-braking performance compared to top-tier ice specialists
- Compound may harden or performance may degrade after multiple seasons
Tire B Winter I cept iZ2 W616
Pros
- Exceptional grip and traction in deep snow, slush, and severe winter conditions
- Low road noise, offering a much quieter ride than typical winter tires
- High comfort levels and stable, predictable handling on cold dry or wet roads
Cons
- Subpar performance or reduced traction on wet roads and heavy rain
- Faster tread wear, particularly during aggressive driving or when used in warmer weather
- Softer sidewalls can feel slightly edgy or less precise when pushed to the limit
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Continental VikingContact 7 | B · Hankook Winter I cept iZ2 W616 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Winter | Winter |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 134 | 2 |
| Rim diameters | 14″ – 22″ | 16″ – 18″ |
| Tread depth | 10 - 11/32″ | 10.5/32″ |
| Treadwear warranty | — | 40,000 mi |
| Sidewall | Black Side Wall | Blackwall |
| Max pressure | 44 - 51 psi | 50 psi |
Which one should you actually buy?
69
/ 100
Continental VikingContact 7
65
/ 100
Hankook Winter I cept iZ2 W616
Narrow edge: Continental VikingContact 7 — better noise, snow and wet. Where the Hankook Winter I cept iZ2 W616 is ahead, it is by less than 3 points.
Pick tire A
You want a quieter cabin
Continental VikingContact 7 scores 81 vs 71 on noise.
Pick tire A
You drive through snowy winters
Continental VikingContact 7 scores 76 vs 67 on snow.
Pick tire A
Your priority is wet-weather safety
Continental VikingContact 7 scores 68 vs 63 on wet.
Pick tire A
You want the most comfortable ride
Continental VikingContact 7 scores 71 vs 66 on comfort.
Pick tire B
Your priority is wet handling
Hankook Winter I cept iZ2 W616 won 2 of 3 shared wet handling tests.
Tire A · Continental VikingContact 7
Tire B · Hankook Winter I cept iZ2 W616
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VikingContact 7 or Winter I cept iZ2 W616?
Which is better in the wet, VikingContact 7 or Winter I cept iZ2 W616?
Continental VikingContact 7, 68 vs 63 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, VikingContact 7 or Winter I cept iZ2 W616?
Neither, by our numbers: 67 vs 67 on the dry score, within 3 points.
Which is better in snow, VikingContact 7 or Winter I cept iZ2 W616?
Continental VikingContact 7, 76 vs 67 on our snow score.
Which is quieter, VikingContact 7 or Winter I cept iZ2 W616?
Continental VikingContact 7, 81 vs 71 on our noise score.
Which is more comfortable, VikingContact 7 or Winter I cept iZ2 W616?
Continental VikingContact 7, 71 vs 66 on our comfort score.
Which lasts longer, VikingContact 7 or Winter I cept iZ2 W616?
Neither, by our numbers: 60 vs 59 on the treadwear score, within 3 points.
Which rolls more easily, VikingContact 7 or Winter I cept iZ2 W616?
Neither, by our numbers: 77 vs 76 on the efficiency score, within 3 points.
How do we compare tires?
Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.
Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.
Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology