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Head-to-head Updated

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P vs Goodyear UltraGrip 8 — 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 32 + 0 road tests and 33 + 59 owner reviews. How we score

WinterContact TS 870 P leads, 83–79 Narrow edge

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Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
Tire AContinental

WinterContact TS 870 P

Winter

± 4

Tests 83 · 32 tests Owners 81 · 33 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2026 Auto Bild Winter Tyre Test (dry handling)

Category by category

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

  1. 81

    Dry

    WinterContact TS 870 P +3
    78
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PUltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 25 / – tests83≈ 74 (est.)
    Reviews found online7983

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 83.3 + 40% × 78.5 = 81

    UltraGrip 8: 60% × 74.1 (est.) + 40% × 82.9 = 78

    No road tests of dry for UltraGrip 8. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 91

    Wet

    WinterContact TS 870 P +6
    85
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PUltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 32 / – tests95≈ 81 (est.)
    Reviews found online8690

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 94.6 + 40% × 86.1 = 91

    UltraGrip 8: 60% × 81.2 (est.) + 40% × 89.9 = 85

    No road tests of wet for UltraGrip 8. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 79

    Snow

    WinterContact TS 870 P +4
    75
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PUltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 31 / – tests80≈ 73 (est.)
    Reviews found online7678

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 80.2 + 40% × 76.4 = 79

    UltraGrip 8: 60% × 72.8 (est.) + 40% × 77.8 = 75

    No road tests of snow for UltraGrip 8. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).

  4. 88

    Comfort

    WinterContact TS 870 P +10
    78
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PUltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / – tests98≈ 71 (est.)
    Reviews found online8182

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 40% × 98.1 + 60% × 80.7 = 88

    UltraGrip 8: 40% × 71.3 (est.) + 60% × 81.9 = 78

    No road tests of comfort for UltraGrip 8. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  5. 73

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PUltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 22 / – tests78–
    Reviews found online≈ 66 (est.)–

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 78.1 + 40% × 66.4 (est.) = 73

    No owner ratings of noise for WinterContact TS 870 P. 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. 74

    Treadwear

    UltraGrip 8 +1
    75
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PUltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / – tests70≈ 72 (est.)
    Reviews found online8081

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 69.9 + 40% × 80.2 = 74

    UltraGrip 8: 60% × 71.8 (est.) + 40% × 81 = 75

    No road tests of treadwear for UltraGrip 8. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  7. 83

    Handling (owners)

    Level
    83
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PUltraGrip 8
    Reviews found online8383
  8. 86

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PUltraGrip 8
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 24 / – tests86–
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental WinterContact TS 870 PGoodyear UltraGrip 8
Relative Score 83 79
Dry 81 78
Wet 91 85
Snow 79 75
Comfort 88 78
Noise 73 –
Treadwear 74 75
Handling (owners) 83 83
Efficiency 86 –

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

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
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
± 4

WinterContact TS 870 P

± 8

UltraGrip 8

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.

DisciplineCategoryWinterContact TS 870 PUltraGrip 8ΔHead-to-head
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #1/20 2026 Auto Bild Winter Tyre Test #6/9 2013 ACE Winter Tyre Test – Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A WinterContact TS 870 P

Pros

  • Exceptionally low noise levels and high ride comfort
  • Outstanding wet weather and slush performance, cutting through heavy rain effortlessly
  • Balanced dry and cold-weather handling with impressive cornering stability

Cons

  • Higher price point compared to some competitors
  • Steering response and initial stiffness are slightly softer and less sporty than dedicated summer tires or some rivals
  • Snow and ice traction can feel less exceptional or borderline inadequate for a small subset of users
All owner themes in the WinterContact TS 870 P review

Tire B UltraGrip 8

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and traction in wet, slushy, and snowy conditions
  • High level of ride comfort and refinement
  • Low road noise compared to many winter tire competitors

Cons

  • Reports of excessive road noise for some specific vehicle applications
  • Tread wear can be faster than average under heavy usage or high-speed driving
  • Occasional reports of 'snappy' handling characteristics when pushed to the absolute limit
All owner themes in the UltraGrip 8 review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental WinterContact TS 870 P B · Goodyear UltraGrip 8
CategoryWinterWinter
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available12114
Rim diameters16″ – 23″13″ – 16″
Sizes in common11

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P

Goodyear UltraGrip 8

Narrow edge: Continental WinterContact TS 870 P — better comfort, wet and snow. Where the Goodyear UltraGrip 8 is ahead, it is by less than 3 points.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 88 vs 78 on comfort.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 91 vs 85 on wet.

Pick tire A You drive through snowy winters

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 79 vs 75 on snow.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 81 vs 78 on dry.

Tire A · Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
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Tire B · Goodyear UltraGrip 8
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WinterContact TS 870 P or UltraGrip 8?

Which is better in the wet, WinterContact TS 870 P or UltraGrip 8?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 91 vs 85 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, WinterContact TS 870 P or UltraGrip 8?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 81 vs 78 on our dry score.

Which is better in snow, WinterContact TS 870 P or UltraGrip 8?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 79 vs 75 on our snow score.

Which is more comfortable, WinterContact TS 870 P or UltraGrip 8?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 88 vs 78 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, WinterContact TS 870 P or UltraGrip 8?

Neither, by our numbers: 74 vs 75 on the treadwear 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