205/45 R16 - Best winter tyres 2025 - market overview, tests, reviews
Table of contents:
Best winter tyres in tests (2025)
Tests from 2024
Blizzak has always been a winter tire focused on wet conditions, but with its sixth model, Bridgestone has promised improved snow performance and reduced rolling resistance. Early tests suggest they have delivered on these promises—Blizzak 6 is unmatched in wet conditions and excels on snow, making it ideal not just for city climates.
Tests from 2024
Tests from 2023
The UltraGrip Performance 3 is one of the best tyres we have seen in the tests and on top of that it's top discipline is snow performance while maintaining great properties on wet, which makes it a great candidate for snowy climates.
Tests from 2024
Tests from 2023
Tests from 2022
Continental has been dominating the winter tyre segment for years, and the TS870 is no different. It is very well-balanced and offers great mileage, making the premium price point worthwhile in the long run.
| Shop | Product | Stock | Availability | Shipping | Price | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Continental WinterContact TS 870 ( 205/45 R16 87H XL EVc )
- In stock
£146
|
Continental WinterContact TS 870 ( 205/45 R16 87H XL EVc ) | In stock | Free shipping | £146 |
Buy
mytyres.co.uk
|
|
|
WinterContact TS 870 FR XL
- In stock
£163
|
WinterContact TS 870 FR XL | In stock | Free shipping | £163 |
Buy
tyres.pneus.online.uk
|
Tests from 2024
Tests from 2023
Tests from 2022
The WinterCraft WP52 is an affordable winter tire with good safety qualities on snow and dry surfaces, but it has low aquaplaning resistance and tends to understeer in wet conditions.
Tests from 2024
Tests from 2023
Tests from 2022
We really like the new Speed-Grip 5 - it's not expensive, it's very good on snow and on top of that, it's got very low rolling resistance. What it lacks compared to the premium tyres is better wet performance, but given it's price it's definitely recommendable.
| Shop | Product | Stock | Availability | Shipping | Price | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Semperit Speed-Grip 5 ( 205/45 R16 87H XL EVc )
- In stock
£113
|
Semperit Speed-Grip 5 ( 205/45 R16 87H XL EVc ) | In stock | Free shipping | £113 |
Buy
mytyres.co.uk
|
|
|
Speed-Grip 5 XL
- In stock
£128
|
Speed-Grip 5 XL | In stock | Free shipping | £128 |
Buy
tyres.pneus.online.uk
|
Tests from 2024
Tests from 2023
Tests from 2022
The Alpin 6 was introduced back in 2019, but still holds up surprisingly well compared to the current competitors. It's pricey, but Michelin promises it will maintain it's performance during the whole lifespan, which is rarely tested.
Tests from 2024
Tests from 2023
A great winter tyre with balanced handling characteristics. Great in the wet, but slightly less durable than newer models.
| Shop | Product | Stock | Availability | Shipping | Price | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bridgestone Blizzak LM 005 ( 205/45 R16 87H XL EVc )
- In stock
£148
|
Bridgestone Blizzak LM 005 ( 205/45 R16 87H XL EVc ) | In stock | Free shipping | £148 |
Buy
mytyres.co.uk
|
|
|
Blizzak LM005 XL
- In stock
£155
|
Blizzak LM005 XL | In stock | Free shipping | £155 |
Buy
tyres.pneus.online.uk
|
Tests from 2024
Tests from 2023
Tests from 2022
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.
| Shop | Product | Stock | Availability | Shipping | Price | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Hankook Winter i*cept RS3 (W462) ( 205/45 R16 87H XL 4PR, SBL )
- In stock
£113
|
Hankook Winter i*cept RS3 (W462) ( 205/45 R16 87H XL 4PR, SBL ) | In stock | Free shipping | £113 |
Buy
mytyres.co.uk
|
|
|
Winter i*cept Rs3 XL
- In stock
£135
|
Winter i*cept Rs3 XL | In stock | Free shipping | £135 |
Buy
tyres.pneus.online.uk
|
Tests from 2024
Tests from 2023
Tests from 2022
The WinterCraft WP52 is an affordable winter tire with good safety qualities on snow and dry surfaces, but it has low aquaplaning resistance and tends to understeer in wet conditions.
Tests from 2024
Tests from 2023
Tests from 2022
Tests from 2021
G-Force Winter 2 is our favorite budget winter tyre. It's great on snow and offers good safety on all surfaces, which is no surprise as BFGoodrich is a part of the Michelin group.
Tests from 2024
Tests from 2023
Tests from 2022
Tests from 2021
Old but gold, that is how we can pretty much describe the Krisalp HP3. It's a winter tyre that is great on snow for a good price, which is what the average driver is looking for. It's not a premium tyre, but you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Tests from 2024
Tests from 2022
Tests from 2024
Tests from 2023
The EuroWinter HS02 is one of the few affordable winter tires with good mileage and low rolling resistance. It offers strong driving characteristics, with only slight weaknesses on snow.
Cars with 205/45 R16 tyres
205/45 R16 tyre test Personalize
Best tyres in your size
Dry
1.
FALKEN EUROWINTER HS02
92%
2.
GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3
81%
3.
Continental WinterContact TS 870
81%
4.
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005
77%
5.
Yokohama BluEarth-Winter V906
76%
6.
Kumho WinterCraft WP52
74%
7.
Michelin Alpin 6
74%
8.
Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3
65%
9.
Bridgestone Blizzak 6
62%
10.
Semperit Speed-Grip 5
61%
Wet
1.
Continental WinterContact TS 870
88%
2.
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005
87%
3.
Bridgestone Blizzak 6
81%
4.
GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3
81%
5.
Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3
72%
6.
Michelin Alpin 6
70%
7.
Kleber Krisalp HP3
63%
8.
Semperit Speed-Grip 5
61%
9.
Yokohama BluEarth-Winter V906
60%
10.
BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2
60%
Snow
1.
BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2
90%
2.
Kleber Krisalp HP3
84%
3.
Continental WinterContact TS 870
82%
4.
Bridgestone Blizzak 6
74%
5.
GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3
72%
6.
Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3
67%
7.
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005
66%
8.
Michelin Alpin 6
63%
9.
Semperit Speed-Grip 5
58%
10.
Kumho WinterCraft WP52
48%
Comfort
1.
BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2
84%
2.
Continental WinterContact TS 870
82%
3.
Kleber Krisalp HP3
78%
4.
Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3
76%
5.
FALKEN EUROWINTER HS02
69%
6.
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005
61%
7.
Michelin Alpin 6
60%
8.
Semperit Speed-Grip 5
52%
9.
Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3
48%
10.
Kumho WinterCraft WP52
33%
Economy
1.
Semperit Speed-Grip 5
91%
2.
Continental WinterContact TS 870
88%
3.
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-005
85%
4.
GoodYear UltraGrip Performance 3
69%
5.
Bridgestone Blizzak 6
63%
6.
Michelin Alpin 6
59%
7.
Hankook W462 Winter i*cept RS3
58%
8.
BFGoodrich G-FORCE WINTER 2
57%
9.
Kleber KRISALP HP3
47%
10.
Kumho WinterCraft WP52
41%
This is a preview of our comprehensive tyre test. The full test includes:
Detailed property breakdowns
Interactive sorting and filtering
Side-by-side comparisons
Did you know ...?
205/45 R16 doesn't belong to the most popular dimensions for winter tyres - there are 10 tyre models available, which can be compared to 165/60 R15, 165/60 R14, 165/65 R15. Let's break down the sizing - 45 is height of the tyre, which is calculated as 45% of the tyre width (205mm), which means the sidewall height has 92.25 mm. The wheel diameter is R16, which means it fits to a 16 inch/406.4mm diameter wheel. The total circumference of the tyre is 1856.37 mm, which is very similar to 175/60 R15(1856.68 mm), 185/50 R16(1857.94 mm), 195/60 R14(1852.28 mm), 195/40 R17(1846.63 mm), 165/80 R13(1866.73 mm), 165/70 R14(1842.86 mm), 165/65 R15(1870.82 mm). There are multiple speed indexes available for winter tyres in 205/45 R16: H(210km/h), T(190km/h), V(240km/h). The same goes for weight indexes: 83, 87. You can find 205/45 R16 on 17 car models - mainly Rover, Skoda, Volkswagen, Alfa Romeo, Alpine.
