Winter tire Updated October 2026

Kumho Winter Craft WP51 review

Name: Kumho Winter Craft WP51
Brand: Kumho

Relative score 60% tests + 40% owners

Owners 68 · 15 reviews analysed Road tests 65 · 14 tests

How scores work

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The Kumho Winter Craft WP51 is widely regarded as a high-value winter tire that excels in deep snow and icy conditions, often outperforming more expensive competitors in severe weather. While users consistently praise its winter traction and affordability, some report compromises in dry-road handling, wet-weather braking, and increased cabin noise.

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

68/100

From 15 owner reviews analysed, scaled like the road tests: the average tested tire gets 70.

Would buy again 70%

Dry

Overall dry

62.7

Corner stability

Dry traction

68.5

Steering response

65.4

Wet

Overall wet

68.5

Wet traction

Snow & ice

Overall snow & ice

73.3

Ice

64.4

Comfort

Overall comfort

Treadwear

Overall treadwear

66.9

Handling

Overall handling

64.5

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By road tests

65/100

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

Dry

60.8

Wet

66.3

Snow

66.8

Noise

73.7

By discipline (% of best in test)

Dry Braking

64.6%

Dry Handling

64.6%

Subj. Dry Handling

64.6%

Wet Braking

47.9%

Wet Handling

47.9%

Straight Aquaplaning

47.9%

Curved Aquaplaning

47.9%

Side G-Force on Wet surface

47.9%

Snow Braking

60.4%

Snow Handling

60.4%

Snow Traction

60.4%

Ice Braking

91.7%

Ice Handling

91.7%

Inside Noise level

72.9%

Outside Noise

93.8%

Rolling Resistance

56.3%

Wear

85.4%

Kumho Winter Craft WP51 specs & sizes

Prices vary by size, so each one links out separately.

Size	Retailer
145/80 R13	Amazon
155/60 R15	Amazon
175/50 R15	Amazon
195/50 R15	Amazon

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What owners like and dislike

Themes extracted from 15 owner reviews found online.

Pros

Exceptional traction and reliability in deep snow and slush
High price-to-performance ratio compared to premium brands
Solid durability and tread life for the price point
Effective performance on icy surfaces

Cons

Noticeable increase in road noise
Mediocre wet-weather braking and traction
Lack of steering feedback and stability on dry pavement
Potential for tread block squirm during steering inputs

Worth knowing

Drivers of smaller, lighter vehicles (e.g., Yaris, Mazda 3) report high satisfaction with snow climbing capabilities.
Owners of heavier or higher-performance vehicles (e.g., Audi A4/A6, Mercedes E220D) noted concerns regarding wet-weather traction and handling precision.
Some users observed a 15-20% increase in fuel consumption, likely due to the tire's aggressive winter tread compound.

14 published test appearances

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

2021 ADAC 15 Inch Winter tire Test · 225/50 R17

16th of 16

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

Source: ADAC

2021 Winter tire Market Overview · 205/55 R16

31st of 49

Best: Snow Braking · 29th Weakest: Wet Braking · 32nd

Discipline	Placement	Field position
Wet Braking	32nd of 49
Snow Braking	29th of 49

Source: Auto Bild

2021 ADAC Winter Tire Test R15 · 195/65R15

16th of 16

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

Source: ADAC

2019 ADAC 185/65 R15 Winter tire Test · 185/65 R15

12th of 16

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

Source: ADAC

2018 AMS Winter tire Test · 205/55 R16

11th of 11

Best: Noise · 1st Weakest: Wet Braking · 11th

Discipline	Placement	Field position
Wet Braking	11th of 11
Wet Handling	11th of 11
Dry Braking	11th of 11
Dry Handling	10th of 11
Snow Braking	3rd of 11
Snow Handling	5th of 11
Rolling Resistance	11th of 11
Straight Aqua	7th of 11
Noise	1st of 11
Price	2nd of 11

Source: Auto Motor und Sport

2018 ACE All Season and Winter tire Test · 185/65 R15

7th of 12

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

Source: ACE

2018 ADAC Winter tire Test - 205/55 R16 · 205/55 R16

12th of 16

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

Source: ADAC

2018 51 Winter tire Shootout · 195/65 R15

23rd of 51

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

2017 AC Winter tire Test - 185/65 R15 · 185/65 R15

7th of 8

Best: Ice Traction · 3rd Weakest: Snow Braking · 8th

Discipline	Placement	Field position
Wet Braking	4th of 8
Wet Handling	6th of 8
Dry Braking	4th of 8
Snow Braking	8th of 8
Snow Traction	8th of 8
Ice Braking	4th of 8
Ice Handling	8th of 8
Rolling Resistance	6th of 8
Straight Aqua	5th of 8
Ice Traction	3rd of 8