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Head-to-head Updated

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P vs Riken Snow — 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 + 4 road tests and 33 + 9 owner reviews. How we score

WinterContact TS 870 P is ahead, 83–68

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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)

Riken Snow
Tire BRiken

Snow

Winter

± 7

Tests 64 · 4 tests Owners 68 · 9 reviews

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 +15
    66
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PSnow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 25 / – tests83≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online7965

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

    Snow: 60% × 66.9 (est.) + 40% × 65.4 = 66

    No road tests of dry for Snow. 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 +24
    67
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PSnow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 32 / 4 tests9564
    Reviews found online8671
    Wet Braking (% of best) · 2 shared tests · wins 2–092%82%

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

    Snow: 60% × 64.4 + 40% × 70.6 = 67

  3. 79

    Snow

    WinterContact TS 870 P +8
    71
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PSnow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 31 / – tests80≈ 71 (est.)
    Reviews found online7671

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

    Snow: 60% × 70.5 (est.) + 40% × 70.5 = 71

    No road tests of snow for Snow. 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 +24
    64
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PSnow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / – tests98≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online8163

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

    Snow: 40% × 67.4 (est.) + 60% × 62.5 = 64

    No road tests of comfort for Snow. 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 PSnow
    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

    WinterContact TS 870 P +6
    68
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PSnow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / – tests70≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online8069

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

    Snow: 60% × 67.3 (est.) + 40% × 68.7 = 68

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

  7. 83

    Handling (owners)

    WinterContact TS 870 P +17
    66
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PSnow
    Reviews found online8366
  8. 86

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PSnow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 24 / – tests86–
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental WinterContact TS 870 PRiken Snow
Relative Score 83 68
Dry 81 66
Wet 91 67
Snow 79 71
Comfort 88 64
Noise 73 –
Treadwear 74 68
Handling (owners) 83 66
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

± 7

Snow

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 2 tests that ran both, Continental WinterContact TS 870 P finished ahead 2 times and Riken Snow 0 times.

DisciplineCategoryWinterContact TS 870 PSnowΔHead-to-head
Wet Braking Wet 92% 82% +10.2 2–0 in 2 shared tests Newest: 2023 Winter Tyre Test 54 Set Braking Test · 225/45 R18
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #7/54 #40/54 – 2–0 in 2 shared tests Newest: 2023 Winter Tyre Test 54 Set Braking Test · 225/45 R18

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 Snow

Pros

  • Exceptional snow, ice, and winter traction
  • High value for the money in the budget tire category
  • Low road noise compared to standard winter tires

Cons

  • Reduced wet-weather braking performance during spirited driving
  • Lower-tier classification compared to premium flagship winter tires
All owner themes in the Snow review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental WinterContact TS 870 P B · Riken Snow
CategoryWinterWinter
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available12141
Rim diameters16″ – 23″15″ – 18″
Sizes in common2323

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P

Riken Snow

Winner: Continental WinterContact TS 870 P — better wet, comfort and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 91 vs 67 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 88 vs 64 on comfort.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 83 vs 66 on handling.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 81 vs 66 on dry.

Tire A · Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
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Tire B · Riken Snow
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WinterContact TS 870 P or Snow?

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

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 91 vs 67 on our wet score.

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

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 81 vs 66 on our dry score.

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

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 79 vs 71 on our snow score.

Which is more comfortable, WinterContact TS 870 P or Snow?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 88 vs 64 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, WinterContact TS 870 P or Snow?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 74 vs 68 on our treadwear 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