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Head-to-head Updated

Continental VikingContact 7 vs Pirelli Cinturato Winter — 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 33 + 7 owner reviews. How we score

Too close to call: VikingContact 7 69, Cinturato Winter 68.

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Continental VikingContact 7
Tire AContinental

VikingContact 7

Winter

± 5

Tests 75 · 8 tests Owners 62 · 33 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2020 Nordic and Studded Winter Tyre Test (snow braking)

Pirelli Cinturato Winter
Tire BPirelli

Cinturato Winter

Winter

± 7

Tests 66 · 5 tests Owners 68 · 7 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 10 in 2021 AMS Winter Tyre Test (straight aquaplaning)

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 66

    Dry

    VikingContact 7 +7
    59
    Why this score
    SourceVikingContact 7Cinturato Winter
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / 4 tests7756
    Reviews found online5163

    VikingContact 7: 60% × 76.6 + 40% × 50.7 = 66

    Cinturato Winter: 60% × 56.2 + 40% × 63.4 = 59

  2. 68

    Wet

    Cinturato Winter +11
    79
    Why this score
    SourceVikingContact 7Cinturato Winter
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / 5 tests6981
    Reviews found online6676

    VikingContact 7: 60% × 68.7 + 40% × 65.7 = 68

    Cinturato Winter: 60% × 80.7 + 40% × 75.5 = 79

  3. 76

    Snow

    VikingContact 7 +1
    75
    Why this score
    SourceVikingContact 7Cinturato Winter
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / 5 tests7976
    Reviews found online7273

    VikingContact 7: 60% × 79 + 40% × 72.2 = 76

    Cinturato Winter: 60% × 75.7 + 40% × 73.1 = 75

  4. 70

    Comfort

    VikingContact 7 +4
    66
    Why this score
    SourceVikingContact 7Cinturato Winter
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / 1 tests7064
    Reviews found online7167

    VikingContact 7: 40% × 70 + 60% × 70.6 = 70

    Cinturato Winter: 40% × 64.2 + 60% × 67.1 = 66

  5. 80

    Noise

    VikingContact 7 +9
    71
    Why this score
    SourceVikingContact 7Cinturato Winter
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 6 / 3 tests8874
    Reviews found online68≈ 66 (est.)

    VikingContact 7: 60% × 87.6 + 40% × 68.4 = 80

    Cinturato Winter: 60% × 74 + 40% × 66.4 (est.) = 71

    No owner ratings of noise for Cinturato Winter. The owner half is the owners’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.

  6. 60

    Treadwear

    VikingContact 7 +6
    54
    Why this score
    SourceVikingContact 7Cinturato Winter
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 63 (est.)48
    Reviews found online5662

    VikingContact 7: 60% × 62.6 (est.) + 40% × 55.8 = 60

    Cinturato Winter: 60% × 47.7 + 40% × 62.3 = 54

    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 0.36).

  7. 64

    Handling (owners)

    Cinturato Winter +3
    67
    Why this score
    SourceVikingContact 7Cinturato Winter
    Reviews found online6467
  8. 77

    Efficiency

    VikingContact 7 +18
    59
    Why this score
    SourceVikingContact 7Cinturato Winter
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 4 / 4 tests7759
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental VikingContact 7Pirelli Cinturato Winter
Relative Score 69 68
Dry 66 59
Wet 68 79
Snow 76 75
Comfort 70 66
Noise 80 71
Treadwear 60 54
Handling (owners) 64 67
Efficiency 77 59

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
± 5

VikingContact 7

± 7

Cinturato Winter

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.

DisciplineCategoryVikingContact 7Cinturato WinterΔHead-to-head
Dry Braking Dry 100% #1/5 · 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 96% #6/10 · 2021 AMS Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Dry Handling (tester's mark) Dry 70% #9/17 · 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 40% #13/14 · 2020 Auto Zeitung Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Straight Aquaplaning Wet 80% #2/5 · 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 100% #1/10 · 2021 AMS Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Wet Braking Wet 80% #2/5 · 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 86% #25/49 · 2021 Winter Tyre Market Overview – Different tests
Wet Handling Wet 80% #3/17 · 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 96% #8/10 · 2021 AMS Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Wet Handling (tester's mark) Wet 70% #5/17 · 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 40% #8/14 · 2020 Auto Zeitung Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Snow Braking Snow 100% #1/5 · 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 93% #23/35 · 2021 Winter Tyre Market Overview – Different tests
Snow Handling Snow 90% #3/5 · 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 96% #5/10 · 2021 AMS Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Snow Traction Snow 100% #1/5 · 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 100% #1/10 · 2021 AMS Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Comfort (tester's mark) Comfort 100% #1/5 · 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 50% #12/14 · 2020 Auto Zeitung Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Noise Noise 100% #3/8 · 2023 Studless Friction Winter Tyre Test 99% #5/10 · 2021 AMS Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Rolling Resistance Efficiency 100% #1/17 · 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 90% #6/10 · 2021 AMS Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Price Cost 69% #5/8 · 2022 ViBilagare Nordic SUV Winter Tyre Test 59% #10/10 · 2021 AMS Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Overall Ranking Overall #2/15 2025 Teknikens Värld Winter Tire Test R17 #27/49 2021 Winter Tyre Market Overview – Different tests

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
All owner themes in the VikingContact 7 review

Tire B Cinturato Winter

Pros

  • Amazing snow and ice grip
  • Strong and reliable wet weather performance
  • Good initial noise levels and overall ride comfort

Cons

  • Average to deteriorating dry grip and emergency braking performance
  • Increases significantly in noise as the tire ages
  • Soft sidewalls affect handling precision
All owner themes in the Cinturato Winter review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental VikingContact 7 B · Pirelli Cinturato Winter
CategoryWinterWinter
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available13433
Rim diameters14″ – 22″14″ – 17″
Tread depth10 - 11/32″—
SidewallBlack Side Wall—
Max pressure44 - 51 psi—
Sizes in common1919

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental VikingContact 7

Pirelli Cinturato Winter

Too close to call: Continental VikingContact 7 and Pirelli Cinturato Winter are within 2 points overall. Continental VikingContact 7 is stronger on efficiency, noise and dry. Pirelli Cinturato Winter is stronger on wet.

Pick tire A You want lower fuel or energy use

Continental VikingContact 7 scores 77 vs 59 on efficiency.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Pirelli Cinturato Winter scores 79 vs 68 on wet.

Pick tire A You want a quieter cabin

Continental VikingContact 7 scores 80 vs 71 on noise.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Continental VikingContact 7 scores 66 vs 59 on dry.

Tire A · Continental VikingContact 7
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Tire B · Pirelli Cinturato Winter
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VikingContact 7 or Cinturato Winter?

Which is better in the wet, VikingContact 7 or Cinturato Winter?

Pirelli Cinturato Winter, 79 vs 68 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, VikingContact 7 or Cinturato Winter?

Continental VikingContact 7, 66 vs 59 on our dry score.

Which is better in snow, VikingContact 7 or Cinturato Winter?

Neither, by our numbers: 76 vs 75 on the snow score, within 3 points.

Which is quieter, VikingContact 7 or Cinturato Winter?

Continental VikingContact 7, 80 vs 71 on our noise score.

Which is more comfortable, VikingContact 7 or Cinturato Winter?

Continental VikingContact 7, 70 vs 66 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, VikingContact 7 or Cinturato Winter?

Continental VikingContact 7, 60 vs 54 on our treadwear score.

Which rolls more easily, VikingContact 7 or Cinturato Winter?

Continental VikingContact 7, 77 vs 59 on our efficiency score.

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