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Head-to-head Updated September 2026

Kumho Winter Craft WP51 vs Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme — 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 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.

VS
Tire B Vredestein

Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme

Winter Ultra High Performance tires

Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme tread pattern
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
77/100
64 owner reviews
Dry
83
Wet
86
Snow
50
Comfort
86
Noise
–
Treadwear
87
Handling
77
Check price on Amazon

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VerdictWinner: Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme — better wet, treadwear and handling. Pick the Kumho Winter Craft WP51 if snow and dry matter 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 4
A
87
B
83
Why this score
SourceWinter Craft WP51Wintrac Xtreme
Professional tests (TWG score) 94 –
Tyre Reviews owners 77 83

Wet

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Wintrac Xtreme leads by 12
A
74
B
86
Why this score
SourceWinter Craft WP51Wintrac Xtreme
Professional tests (TWG score) 74 –
Tyre Reviews owners 74 86

Snow

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Winter Craft WP51 leads by 27
A
77
B
50
Why this score
SourceWinter Craft WP51Wintrac Xtreme
Professional tests (TWG score) 68 –
Tyre Reviews owners 90 50

Comfort

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Wintrac Xtreme leads by 2
A
84
B
86
Why this score
SourceWinter Craft WP51Wintrac Xtreme
Tyre Reviews owners 84 86

Noise

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100)
A
100
B
–
Why this score
SourceWinter Craft WP51Wintrac Xtreme
Professional tests (TWG score) 100 –

Treadwear

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Wintrac Xtreme leads by 8
A
79
B
87
Why this score
SourceWinter Craft WP51Wintrac Xtreme
Tyre Reviews owners 79 87

Handling

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Wintrac Xtreme leads by 6
A
71
B
77
Why this score
SourceWinter Craft WP51Wintrac Xtreme
Tyre Reviews owners 71 77

Scores at a glance

CategoryKumho Winter Craft WP51Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme
Relative Score 78 80
Dry 87 83
Wet 74 86
Snow 77 50
Comfort 84 86
Noise 100 –
Treadwear 79 87
Handling 71 77

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 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.
Tire B Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme

The Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme is widely regarded as a high-performance winter tire that excels in deep snow, ice, and cold-weather traction. While the vast majority of users report exceptional confidence and reliability in severe conditions, a small subset of drivers—particularly those with high-horsepower rear-wheel-drive vehicles—report inconsistent wet-weather performance and a noticeable 'break-in' period.

Pros

  • Exceptional traction and control in deep snow and icy conditions.
  • High level of driver confidence and predictability in cold weather.
  • Impressive longevity and tread wear, with many users reporting high mileage.
  • Quiet and comfortable ride quality compared to other winter-specific tires.

Cons

  • Reported lack of grip in wet conditions, particularly for high-torque or high-performance vehicles.
  • Noticeable 'break-in' period where the tires may feel slippery or detached from the road.
  • Performance degradation in warmer temperatures (above 10°C) due to the softer compound.
  • Occasional reports of sidewall cracking or splitting after several years of use.

Observations

  • High-horsepower, rear-wheel-drive vehicles (e.g., Jaguar XFR, high-output BMWs) are more likely to experience traction issues in wet conditions compared to AWD or lighter vehicles.
  • Users with SUVs and 4x4s (e.g., Audi Q3, Land Rover Discovery, VW Touareg) consistently report excellent results, often noting the tires outperform standard M&S factory-fitted rubber.
  • Some users noted that downsizing wheel diameter for winter fitment significantly improved ride comfort and snow performance.
Specifications

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Kumho Winter Craft WP51 B · Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme
CategoryWinter Premium Touring tiresWinter Ultra High Performance tires
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Final verdict

Which one should you actually buy?

Kumho

Vredestein

Winner: Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme — better wet, treadwear and handling. Pick the Kumho Winter Craft WP51 if snow and dry matter most to you.

Pick tire A You drive through snowy winters

Kumho Winter Craft WP51 scores 77 vs 50 on snow.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme scores 86 vs 74 on wet.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme scores 87 vs 79 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme scores 77 vs 71 on handling.

Tire A · Kumho Winter Craft WP51
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Tire B · Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme
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.