Kumho Winter Craft WP51 review
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 on retailer and review sites; road-test scores come from instrumented tests. Where they disagree, it is usually a discipline owners rarely push to the limit.
By owner reviews
78%By road tests
72.8%What owners like and dislike
Themes extracted from 15 owner reviews across retailers and review sites.
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
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.
8 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
| Discipline | Placement | Field position |
|---|
2021 Winter tire Market Overview · 205/55 R16
31st of 49
| Discipline | Placement | Field position |
|---|---|---|
| Wet Braking | 32nd of 49 | |
| Snow Braking | 29th of 49 |
2019 ADAC 185/65 R15 Winter tire Test · 185/65 R15
12th of 16
| Discipline | Placement | Field position |
|---|
2018 AMS Winter tire Test · 205/55 R16
11th of 11
| 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 |
2018 ACE All Season and Winter tire Test · 185/65 R15
7th of 12
| Discipline | Placement | Field position |
|---|
2018 ADAC Winter tire Test - 205/55 R16 · 205/55 R16
12th of 16
| Discipline | Placement | Field position |
|---|
2018 51 Winter tire Shootout · 195/65 R15
23rd of 51
| Discipline | Placement | Field position |
|---|
2017 ADAC Winter tire Test - 195/65 R15
14th of 16
| Discipline | Placement | Field position |
|---|---|---|
| Dry Braking | 6th of 16 | |
| Straight Aquaplaning | 10th of 16 | |
| Curved Aquaplaning | 10th of 16 | |
| Wet Braking | 10th of 16 | |
| Wet Handling | 10th of 16 | |
| Side G-Force on Wet surface | 10th of 16 | |
| Snow Braking | 6th of 16 | |
| Snow Traction | 6th of 16 | |
| Snow Handling | 6th of 16 | |
| Ice Braking | 2nd of 16 | |
| Ice Handling | 2nd of 16 | |
| Rolling Resistance | 7th of 16 | |
| Inside Noise level | 7th of 16 | |
| Wear | 3rd of 16 | |
| Subj. Dry Handling | 6th of 16 | |
| Dry Handling | 6th of 16 |