Winter tire Updated October 2026

Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV review

Relative score 60% tests + 40% owners

Owners 71 · 5 reviews analysed Road tests 73 · 8 tests

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The Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV elicits polarized user experiences, with some praising its dependable handling and traction in cold, snowy, and wet conditions, while others report disappointing grip and susceptibility to wheel spin. Overall, the tire serves as a balanced performer across various winter weather scenarios, though performance consistency varies notably among different drivers.

Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV

Two scoring systems, side by side

Owner scores come from reviews found online; road-test scores come from instrumented tests. Where they disagree, it is usually a discipline owners rarely push to the limit.

How scores work
Relative score
0–100. Blends road tests (60%) and owner reviews (40%) category by category, the same way on every TireWheelGuide page. With only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from it, so the score stays closer to average. It needs at least one road test or five owner reviews.
Road tests
0–100 per score, from published tests, newer tests counting more. Each result is compared with every other tire in the same test, so a win against a strong field counts for more. The average tested tire gets 70, the best 100; with only one or two tests a tire stays nearer 70. The discipline rows show % of the best tire in that test.
Owner reviews
0–100 from the owner reviews we found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates and scaled like the road tests: the average tested tire gets 70. With only a few reviews a tire stays near the average.

By owner reviews

71/100

From 5 owner reviews analysed, scaled like the road tests: the average tested tire gets 70.

Would buy again 84%
Dry
Overall dry
74.3
Corner stability
70.1
Dry traction
72.9
Steering response
72.1
Wet
Overall wet
73
Wet traction
72.4
Snow & ice
Overall snow & ice
61.7
Ice
47.3
Comfort
Overall comfort
76
Treadwear
Overall treadwear
71.6
Handling
Overall handling
73.4

Own these tires? Write a review →

By road tests

73/100

Scaled across every tested tire: the average gets 70, the best 100.

Dry
68
Wet
76.4
Snow
76.1
Noise
61.7
By discipline (% of best in test)
Dry Braking
75%
Dry Handling
75%
Subj. Dry Handling
75%
Wet Braking
93.8%
Wet Handling
93.8%
Straight Aquaplaning
93.8%
Curved Aquaplaning
93.8%
Side G-Force on Wet surface
93.8%
Snow Braking
87.5%
Snow Handling
87.5%
Snow Traction
87.5%
Ice Braking
81.3%
Ice Handling
81.3%
Inside Noise level
81.3%
Rolling Resistance
56.3%
Wear
93.8%

What owners like and dislike

Themes extracted from 5 owner reviews found online.

The Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV elicits polarized user experiences, with some praising its dependable handling and traction in cold, snowy, and wet conditions, while others report disappointing grip and susceptibility to wheel spin. Overall, the tire serves as a balanced performer across various winter weather scenarios, though performance consistency varies notably among different drivers.

Pros

  • Balanced performance across dry and wet conditions
  • Secure handling and positive steering feedback on snow and ice
  • Good overall traction in cold weather environments

Cons

  • Subpar aquaplaning resistance reported by some users
  • Inconsistent grip leading to rear-wheel spin in non-dry conditions
  • Mixed snow and winter slush performance depending on severity

Worth knowing

  • Utilized successfully on high-powered SUVs across multiple dimensions including 235/65/17 and 265/55/19 XL sizes.

Reviews from our readers

Drivers who have these tires on their car, in their own words. We check every review before it goes live.

No reviews from our readers yet

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8 published test appearances

Placement within each field. Open a test for the discipline-by-discipline result.

2021 AZ SUV Winter tire Test · 235/55 R18

3rd of 10
Best: Rolling Resistance · 1st Weakest: Snow Traction · 9th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Braking3rd of 10
Wet Handling3rd of 10
Dry Braking7th of 10
Dry Handling3rd of 10
Snow Braking3rd of 10
Snow Traction9th of 10
Snow Handling2nd of 10
Rolling Resistance1st of 10
Straight Aqua8th of 10
Noise8th of 10
Price9th of 10

Source: Auto Zeitung

2018 AZ SUV Winter tire Test · 235/60 R18

2nd of 9
Best: Rolling Resistance · 1st Weakest: Dry Handling · 9th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Braking3rd of 9
Wet Handling4th of 9
Dry Braking6th of 9
Dry Handling9th of 9
Snow Braking6th of 9
Snow Handling4th of 9
Rolling Resistance1st of 9
Straight Aqua2nd of 9
Noise5th of 9
Price9th of 9

2018 Auto Bild Winter SUV / 4x4 tire Test · 235/60 R18

3rd of 10
Best: Wet Braking · 1st Weakest: Straight Aqua · 10th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Braking1st of 10
Wet Handling2nd of 10
Dry Braking8th of 10
Dry Handling7th of 10
Snow Braking1st of 10
Snow Handling3rd of 10
Rolling Resistance2nd of 10
Straight Aqua10th of 10
Noise6th of 10
Price6th of 10

Source: Auto Bild

2017 235/55 R17 SUV Winter tire Test · 235/55 R17

3rd of 8

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

2017 ADAC SUV Winter tire Test - 215/65 R16 · 215/65 R16

7th of 16

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: ADAC

2016 AMS Winter SUV tire Test · 215/60 R17

1st of 10

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Auto Motor und Sport

2016 AutoBild 4x4 Winter tire Test · 255/55 R18

2nd of 8

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Auto Bild

2015 Auto Bild SUV Winter tire Test · 215/65 R16

3rd of 8

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Auto Bild

Continental Winter Contact TS 850 P SUV compared

Compare any two

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