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Head-to-head Updated September 2026

Continental WinterContact TS 790 vs Kumho Winter Craft WP51 — Compared (September 2026)

Our Relative Score blends 60% objective test data with 40% owner-review signal — so any two tires can be compared even if they were never tested on the same day.

Tire A Continental

Continental WinterContact TS 790

Winter High Performance tires

Continental WinterContact TS 790 tread pattern
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
85/100
5 owner reviews
Dry
82
Wet
92
Snow
–
Comfort
86
Noise
–
Treadwear
90
Handling
88
Check price on Amazon

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VS
Tire B Kumho

Kumho Winter Craft WP51

Winter Premium Touring tires

Kumho Winter Craft WP51 tread pattern
Objective (60%)
73/100
2 professional tests
User signal (40%)
78/100
15 owner reviews
Dry
87
Wet
74
Snow
77
Comfort
84
Noise
100
Treadwear
79
Handling
71
Check price on Amazon

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VerdictWinner: Continental WinterContact TS 790 — better wet, handling and treadwear. Pick the Kumho Winter Craft WP51 if dry matters most to you.
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Category breakdown

7 categories, side by side

Each bar is the Relative Score for that category. Expand a tile to see the test results and owner ratings behind it.

Dry

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Winter Craft WP51 leads by 5
A
82
B
87
Why this score
SourceWinterContact TS 790Winter Craft WP51
Professional tests (TWG score) – 94
Tyre Reviews owners 82 77

Wet

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) WinterContact TS 790 leads by 18
A
92
B
74
Why this score
SourceWinterContact TS 790Winter Craft WP51
Professional tests (TWG score) – 74
Tyre Reviews owners 92 74

Snow

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100)
A
–
B
77
Why this score
SourceWinterContact TS 790Winter Craft WP51
Professional tests (TWG score) – 68
Tyre Reviews owners – 90

Comfort

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) WinterContact TS 790 leads by 2
A
86
B
84
Why this score
SourceWinterContact TS 790Winter Craft WP51
Tyre Reviews owners 86 84

Noise

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100)
A
–
B
100
Why this score
SourceWinterContact TS 790Winter Craft WP51
Professional tests (TWG score) – 100

Treadwear

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) WinterContact TS 790 leads by 11
A
90
B
79
Why this score
SourceWinterContact TS 790Winter Craft WP51
Tyre Reviews owners 90 79

Handling

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) WinterContact TS 790 leads by 17
A
88
B
71
Why this score
SourceWinterContact TS 790Winter Craft WP51
Tyre Reviews owners 88 71

Scores at a glance

CategoryContinental WinterContact TS 790Kumho Winter Craft WP51
Relative Score 88 78
Dry 82 87
Wet 92 74
Snow – 77
Comfort 86 84
Noise – 100
Treadwear 90 79
Handling 88 71

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

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Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Neutral
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Recomputed
Headline score

Tire A

Tire B

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

From owners

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews across retailers and review sites — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Continental WinterContact TS 790

The Continental WinterContact TS 790 is regarded as a reliable and durable winter tire, particularly well-suited for regions with mild winter conditions. Users consistently praise its longevity and wet-weather performance, though its capability in deep snow is viewed as adequate rather than class-leading.

Pros

  • Exceptional tread longevity and durability
  • Strong grip and stability in wet conditions
  • High level of ride comfort
  • Consistent performance in mild, slushy, or light snow environments

Cons

  • Limited performance in heavy or deep snow conditions
  • Not optimized for severe winter climates

Observations

  • Demonstrates excellent versatility and reliability on compact city vehicles like the Skoda Citigo
  • Maintains high tread depth even after significant mileage (40,000km)
Tire B Kumho Winter Craft WP51

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.

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

Observations

  • 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.
Specifications

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental WinterContact TS 790 B · Kumho Winter Craft WP51
CategoryWinter High Performance tiresWinter Premium Touring tires
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Final verdict

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental

Kumho

Winner: Continental WinterContact TS 790 — better wet, handling and treadwear. Pick the Kumho Winter Craft WP51 if dry matters most to you.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Continental WinterContact TS 790 scores 92 vs 74 on wet.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Continental WinterContact TS 790 scores 88 vs 71 on handling.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Continental WinterContact TS 790 scores 90 vs 79 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Kumho Winter Craft WP51 scores 87 vs 82 on dry.

Tire A · Continental WinterContact TS 790
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Tire B · Kumho Winter Craft WP51
Check price on Amazon

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements) normalized against the best tire in each test and weighted toward recent tests. 40% comes from thousands of owner reviews collected from retailers and review sites. When a tire has only one of the two, we use what exists and say so.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.