175/50 R15 - Best winter tyres 2026 - market overview, tests, reviews

Winter

3

Tyres

We recommend

Premium

W462 Winter i*cept RS3

7.4

£99

Buy Details

Price / Value

W462 Winter i*cept RS3

8.7

£77

Buy Details

Best deals

Best tyres in tests (2026)

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1

Upper-middle

W462 Winter i*cept RS3

'25#2

'25#4

'24#4

8.2

Price from

£76

Price from£76

Expert summary

There aren’t many things to dislike about the Winter i*cept RS3, except perhaps for slightly lower mileage and higher rolling resistance. For its price, it performs well in all weather conditions.

Performance

Aquaplaning - longitudal

87%

Aquaplaning - cross

84%

Dry handling

83%

+6

Exterior noise

53%

Interior noise

41%

Dry braking

38%

Test results

2025215/55 R17#2(Exemplary)

2025215/55 R17#4(Very good)

2024205/55 R16#4(Satisfactory)

2024215/55 R17#4(Recommended)

2024215/55 R17#5(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#6(Good)

2024205/55 R16#14(-)

2023225/45 R17#4(-)

2023205/60 R16#5(Good)

2023225/45 R17#7(Satisfactory)

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Price variants (2)

175/50 R15 79 H

B D 71dB

£76

mytyres.co.uk

£76

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

175/50 R15 79 H mfs XL

B D 71dB

£99

mytyres.co.uk

£99

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

2

Budget

Polaris 6

'25#2

'25#9

'25#10

8.3

Price from

£70

Price from£70

Expert summary

Barum unveils the Polaris 6, a budget-friendly winter tyre from the Czech Republic that adopts design elements from Continental’s TS series, including a V-shaped tread for better snow performance. The Polaris 6 improves on the Polaris 5 with enhanced durability, reduced rolling resistance, and quieter operation, while maintaining solid wet and dry performance. Priced about 20% higher, it leverages Continental’s technology to offer greater value and reliable winter traction for cost-conscious drivers.

Recommended

#14

2026

theTire Lab.comRecommended#14 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Comfort

100%

Exterior noise

100%

Snow traction

79%

+5

Dry handling

51%

Aquaplaning - cross

38%

Aquaplaning - longitudal

36%

Test results

2025215/65 R17#2(Good)

2025225/40 R18#9(Good)

2025225/40 R18#10(-)

View full review

Price variants (1)

175/50 R15 75 H EVc

C D 71dB

£70

mytyres.co.uk

£70

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£86

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

175/50 R15 tyre test

Personalize →

Best tyres in your size

Dry

1. Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3

68%

2. Barum Polaris 6

62%

Wet

1. Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3

73%

2. Barum Polaris 6

51%

Snow

1. Barum Polaris 6

74%

2. Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3

67%

This is a preview of our comprehensive tyre test. The full test includes:

Detailed breakdowns

Interactive sorting

Side-by-side comparisons

View Full Test Results

Price vs Quality

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I'm looking for ...

Best snow tyres

Best tyres for EVs

Best ice tyres

Best dry-handling tyres

Best rain tyres

Quietest tyres

Most economical tyres

Best anti-aquaplaning tyres

Other popular sizes

215/65 R16151 Tyres 205/55 R16137 Tyres 225/55 R17123 Tyres 215/60 R17122 Tyres 225/45 R17119 Tyres 0/0 R0118 Tyres 225/50 R17112 Tyres 215/60 R16109 Tyres

175/50 R15 — Also available in

Summer(10)

Top brands in 175/50 R15

Barum(1)

Hankook(1)

Did you know ...?

175/50 R15 doesn't belong to the most popular dimensions for winter tyres - there are 1 tyre models available, which can be compared to 155/60 R15, 170/60 R17, 160/60 R14. Let's break down the sizing - 50 is height of the tyre, which is calculated as 50% of the tyre width (175mm), which means the sidewall height has 87.5 mm. The wheel diameter is R15, which means it fits to a 15 inch/381mm diameter wheel. The total circumference of the tyre is 1746.73 mm, which is very similar to 195/45 R15(1748.3 mm), 155/65 R14(1750.18 mm), 175/65 R13(1752.07 mm), 165/60 R14(1739.19 mm), 185/55 R14(1756.46 mm), 165/70 R13(1763.06 mm), 160/60 R14(1720.34 mm). There are multiple speed indexes available for winter tyres in 175/50 R15: H(210km/h). The same goes for weight indexes: 75, 79.