Tests 74 · 8 tests Owners 79 · 12 reviews
Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tyre Test (snow handling (tester's mark))
Head-to-head
Updated
Continental VikingContact 8 vs Hankook Winter i cept IZ3 — 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 + 1 road tests and 12 + 0 owner reviews. How we score
VikingContact 8 leads, 76–73 Narrow edge
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Tests 75 · 1 test Owners – · none yet
Best test result: #2 of 14 in 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test (wet braking)
Category by category
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
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75
Dry
VikingContact 8 +273Why this score
Source VikingContact 8 Winter i cept IZ3 Professional tests (TWG score) · 6 / 1 tests 75 74 Reviews found online 75 ≈ 71 (est.) Dry Braking (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–1 98% 98% Dry Handling (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 1–0 100% 89% VikingContact 8: 60% × 74.6 + 40% × 75.3 = 75
Winter i cept IZ3: 60% × 74.3 + 40% × 70.6 (est.) = 73
No owner ratings of dry for Winter i cept IZ3. The owner half is estimated from its road-test score, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).
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72
Wet
No comparison–Why this score
Source VikingContact 8 Winter i cept IZ3 Professional tests (TWG score) · 7 / – tests 63 – Reviews found online 85 – Wet Handling (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–0 89% 89% Wet Braking (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–1 87% 92% Wet Handling (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–1 99% 100% VikingContact 8: 60% × 62.9 + 40% × 84.9 = 72
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78
Snow
No comparison–Why this score
Source VikingContact 8 Winter i cept IZ3 Professional tests (TWG score) · 6 / – tests 77 – Reviews found online 80 – Ice Braking (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–1 88% 100% Ice Traction (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–1 77% 93% Snow Braking (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 1–0 100% 98% Snow Traction (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 1–0 100% 97% VikingContact 8: 60% × 77.4 + 40% × 80.1 = 78
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85
Comfort
No comparison–Why this score
Source VikingContact 8 Winter i cept IZ3 Professional tests (TWG score) · 4 / – tests 90 – Reviews found online 82 – VikingContact 8: 40% × 90.4 + 60% × 81.7 = 85
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80
Noise
VikingContact 8 +872Why this score
Source VikingContact 8 Winter i cept IZ3 Professional tests (TWG score) · 5 / 1 tests 79 76 Reviews found online 81 ≈ 66 (est.) Noise (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–0 90% 90% VikingContact 8: 60% × 78.5 + 40% × 81.1 = 80
Winter i cept IZ3: 60% × 75.5 + 40% × 66.3 (est.) = 72
No owner ratings of noise for Winter i cept IZ3. 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.
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73
Treadwear
No comparison–Why this score
Source VikingContact 8 Winter i cept IZ3 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 70 (est.) – Reviews found online 77 – VikingContact 8: 60% × 70.3 (est.) + 40% × 77.1 = 73
No road tests of treadwear for VikingContact 8. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).
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76
Handling (owners)
No comparison–Why this score
Source VikingContact 8 Winter i cept IZ3 Reviews found online 76 – -
78
Efficiency
No comparison–Why this score
Source VikingContact 8 Winter i cept IZ3 Professional tests (TWG score) · 4 / – tests 78 –
Scores at a glance
| Category | Continental VikingContact 8 | Hankook Winter i cept IZ3 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 76 | 73 |
| Dry | 75 | 73 |
| Wet | 72 | – |
| Snow | 78 | – |
| Comfort | 85 | – |
| Noise | 80 | 72 |
| Treadwear | 73 | – |
| Handling (owners) | 76 | – |
| Efficiency | 78 | – |
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
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Not important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Recomputed
Headline score
76
/ 100
VikingContact 8
73
/ 100
Winter i cept IZ3
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
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 1 tests that ran both, Continental VikingContact 8 finished ahead 1 times and Hankook Winter i cept IZ3 0 times.
| Discipline | Category | VikingContact 8 | Winter i cept IZ3 | Δ | Head-to-head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Braking | Dry | 98% | 98% | −0.3 | 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Dry Handling (tester's mark) | Dry | 100% | 89% | +11.1 | 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Wet Braking | Wet | 87% | 92% | −4.7 | 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Wet Handling | Wet | 99% | 100% | −0.8 | 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Wet Handling (tester's mark) | Wet | 89% | 89% | 0.0 | 0–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Ice Braking | Snow | 88% | 100% | −12.0 | 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Ice Traction | Snow | 77% | 93% | −15.9 | 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Snow Braking | Snow | 100% | 98% | +1.6 | 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Snow Traction | Snow | 100% | 97% | +3.3 | 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Noise (tester's mark) | Noise | 90% | 90% | 0.0 | 0–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Also published by the testers (not in the score) | |||||
| Overall Ranking | Overall | #1/14 | #4/14 | – | 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
Pros, cons & observations
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
Tire A VikingContact 8
Pros
- Exceptional traction and grip on ice and hard-packed snow
- High level of ride comfort, effectively soaking up potholes and rough roads
- Remarkably quiet operation with minimal tread noise
Cons
- Slightly soft cornering feel
- Noticeable gap in steering response and lack of feel on straightaways
- Occasional slip reported on really dry roads at low speeds
Tire B Winter i cept IZ3
Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Continental VikingContact 8 | B · Hankook Winter i cept IZ3 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Winter | Winter |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 123 | 33 |
| Rim diameters | 15″ – 22″ | 15″ – 20″ |
| Tread depth | 10 - 11/32″ | — |
| Sidewall | Black Side Wall | — |
| Max pressure | 50 - 51 psi | — |
| Sizes in common | 28 | 28 |
Which one should you actually buy?
76
/ 100
Continental VikingContact 8
73
/ 100
Hankook Winter i cept IZ3
Narrow edge: Continental VikingContact 8 — better noise. It leads or ties in every category we score. Hankook Winter i cept IZ3 rests on little evidence so far (1 test, 0 reviews), so read this result as provisional.
Pick tire A
You want a quieter cabin
Continental VikingContact 8 scores 80 vs 72 on noise.
Tire A · Continental VikingContact 8
Tire B · Hankook Winter i cept IZ3
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VikingContact 8 or Winter i cept IZ3?
Which grips better on dry roads, VikingContact 8 or Winter i cept IZ3?
Neither, by our numbers: 75 vs 73 on the dry score, within 3 points.
Which is quieter, VikingContact 8 or Winter i cept IZ3?
Continental VikingContact 8, 80 vs 72 on our noise 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