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Hankook Icebear W440 looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.

Head-to-head Updated

Hankook Icebear W440 vs Continental WinterContact TS 870 P — 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 0 + 27 road tests and 5 + 31 owner reviews. How we score

WinterContact TS 870 P is ahead, 83–72

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Hankook Icebear W440
Tire AHankook

Icebear W440

Winter

± 8Provisional

Tests – · none yet Owners 73 · 5 reviews

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
Tire BContinental

WinterContact TS 870 P

Winter

± 4

Tests 81 · 27 tests Owners 81 · 31 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2023 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. 70

    Dry

    WinterContact TS 870 P +11
    81
    Why this score
    SourceIcebear W440WinterContact TS 870 P
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 22 tests≈ 70 (est.)82
    Reviews found online7279

    Icebear W440: 60% × 69.6 (est.) + 40% × 71.7 = 70

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 82.4 + 40% × 79 = 81

    No road tests of dry for Icebear W440. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).

  2. 76

    Wet

    WinterContact TS 870 P +14
    90
    Why this score
    SourceIcebear W440WinterContact TS 870 P
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 27 tests≈ 74 (est.)93
    Reviews found online7886

    Icebear W440: 60% × 74.5 (est.) + 40% × 77.5 = 76

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 92.8 + 40% × 86.2 = 90

    No road tests of wet for Icebear W440. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. –

    Snow

    No comparison
    78
    Why this score
    SourceIcebear W440WinterContact TS 870 P
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 26 tests–79
    Reviews found online–76

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 78.7 + 40% × 76.3 = 78

  4. 72

    Comfort

    WinterContact TS 870 P +10
    82
    Why this score
    SourceIcebear W440WinterContact TS 870 P
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 5 tests≈ 70 (est.)84
    Reviews found online7381

    Icebear W440: 40% × 69.9 (est.) + 60% × 73.1 = 72

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 40% × 83.9 + 60% × 81.2 = 82

    No road tests of comfort for Icebear W440. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.

  5. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    74
    Why this score
    SourceIcebear W440WinterContact TS 870 P
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 19 tests–78
    Reviews found online–≈ 67 (est.)

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 78.3 + 40% × 66.6 (est.) = 74

    No owner ratings of noise for WinterContact TS 870 P. The owner half is the owners’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.

  6. 68

    Treadwear

    WinterContact TS 870 P +6
    74
    Why this score
    SourceIcebear W440WinterContact TS 870 P
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 7 tests≈ 67 (est.)71
    Reviews found online7080

    Icebear W440: 60% × 67.5 (est.) + 40% × 70 = 68

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 70.6 + 40% × 79.9 = 74

    No road tests of treadwear for Icebear W440. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).

  7. 72

    Handling (owners)

    WinterContact TS 870 P +11
    83
    Why this score
    SourceIcebear W440WinterContact TS 870 P
    Reviews found online7283
  8. –

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    86
    Why this score
    SourceIcebear W440WinterContact TS 870 P
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 21 tests–86
Scores at a glance
CategoryHankook Icebear W440Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
Relative Score 72 83
Dry 70 81
Wet 76 90
Snow – 78
Comfort 72 82
Noise – 74
Treadwear 68 74
Handling (owners) 72 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

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

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
± 8

Icebear W440

± 4

WinterContact TS 870 P

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A Icebear W440

Pros

  • Excellent traction and confidence on snow and ice
  • High value-for-money proposition compared to premium brands
  • Noticeable performance improvement for rear-wheel-drive vehicles

Cons

  • Noticeable 'slippery' sensation during the initial 100-mile break-in period
  • Performance is strictly categorized as a budget-friendly option rather than a top-tier premium performer
  • Mixed feedback on overall refinement compared to more expensive alternatives
All owner themes in the Icebear W440 review

Tire B 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

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Hankook Icebear W440 B · Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
CategoryWinterWinter
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—121
Rim diameters—16″ – 23″

Which one should you actually buy?

Hankook Icebear W440

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P

Winner: Continental WinterContact TS 870 P — better wet, dry and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score. Hankook Icebear W440 rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 5 reviews), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 90 vs 76 on wet.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 81 vs 70 on dry.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 83 vs 72 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 82 vs 72 on comfort.

Tire A · Hankook Icebear W440
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Tire B · Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
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Icebear W440 or WinterContact TS 870 P?

Which is better in the wet, Icebear W440 or WinterContact TS 870 P?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 90 vs 76 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Icebear W440 or WinterContact TS 870 P?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 81 vs 70 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, Icebear W440 or WinterContact TS 870 P?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 82 vs 72 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Icebear W440 or WinterContact TS 870 P?

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