205/65 R17 - Best winter tyres 2026 - market overview, tests, reviews

Winter

13

Tyres

We recommend

Premium

WinterContact TS 860S

7.6

£189

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Best tyres in tests (2026)

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1

Premium

Winter

'25#1

'25#2

9.6

Price from

£136

Price from£136

Recommended

#4

2026

theTire Lab.comRecommended#4 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Snow traction

100%

Snow cornering

100%

Comfort

100%

+10

Wet circle cornering

47%

Dry handling

42%

Aquaplaning - longitudal

26%

Test results

2025225/40 R18#1(-)

2025225/40 R18#2(Exemplary)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/65 R17 100 H

C C 71dB

£136

mytyres.co.uk

£136

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

2

Premium

WinterContact TS 870 P

'25#1

'25#1

9.4

Price from

£148

Price from£148

Expert summary

Continental winter tires have been winning tire tests for many years, and the 870P is no exception. The “P” stands for performance, but don’t be mistaken, its rolling resistance is also praised, making it ideal for EVs. A well-balanced tire.

Recommended

#7

2026

theTire Lab.comRecommended#7 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Dry handling - objective

93%

Rolling resistance

92%

Mud traction

91%

+26

Gravel traction

46%

Sand traction

46%

Price/value

4%

Test results

2025215/55 R17#1(Good)

2025215/55 R17#1(Outstanding)

2025235/50 R19#1(Exemplary)

2025215/55 R17#3(Exemplary)

2025245/45 R19#5(Highly recommended)

2025225/40 R18#6(Good)

2025225/40 R18#7(Good)

2025225/40 R18#13(-)

2024215/55 R17#2(Highly recommended)

2024235/55 R18#2(Very good)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/65 R17 96 V BSW

B C 71dB

£148

mytyres.co.uk

£148

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£192

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

3

Budget

Polaris 6

'25#2

'25#9

'25#10

8.3

Price from

£130

Price from£130

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.

Performance

Exterior noise

100%

Price/value

100%

Snow acceleration

100%

+12

Aquaplaning - cross

38%

Aquaplaning - longitudal

36%

Snow cornering

21%

Test results

2025215/65 R17#2(Good)

2025225/40 R18#9(Good)

2025225/40 R18#10(-)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/65 R17 100 H

C C 72dB

£130

mytyres.co.uk

£130

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

4

Premium

Cinturato Winter 2

'25#6

'25#7

'25#8

7.2

Price from

£172

Price from£172

Expert summary

The Cinturato Winter 2 is enjoyable to drive and offers safety in all conditions. However, some tests have described its dry handling as sluggish.

Performance

Snow safety

100%

Snow handling

72%

Wet circle cornering

70%

+22

Dry steering response

13%

Safety

7%

Lateral guidance on snow

6%

Test results

2025215/55 R17#6(Good)

2025215/55 R17#7(Good)

2025215/55 R17#8(Good)

2025225/40 R18#10(Good)

2024205/55 R16#4(-)

2024215/55 R17#6(-)

2024215/55 R17#7(Satisfactory)

2024205/55 R16#11(Sufficient)

2024205/55 R16#13(Satisfactory)

2023225/45 R17#5(-)

View full review

Price variants (1)

205/65 R17 100 H

B B 69dB

£172

mytyres.co.uk

£172

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£220

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

205/65 R17 tyre test

Personalize →

Best tyres in your size

Dry

1. Continental Wintercontact Ts 870 P

78%

2. Vredestein Wintrac Pro

65%

3. Barum Polaris 6

62%

4. Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2

60%

5. FALKEN EUROWINTER HS02

44%

Wet

1. Continental Wintercontact Ts 870 P

70%

2. Vredestein Wintrac Pro

67%

3. Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2

63%

4. FALKEN EUROWINTER HS02

53%

5. Barum Polaris 6

51%

Snow

1. Barum Polaris 6

74%

2. Continental Wintercontact Ts 870 P

68%

3. Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2

58%

4. Vredestein Wintrac Pro

55%

5. FALKEN EUROWINTER HS02

47%

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

Detailed breakdowns

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Side-by-side comparisons

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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

Customer reviews

64 customer reviews for tyres in this size

Continental WinterContact TS 860 3.6/5 (44)

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P 3.9/5 (16)

Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2 3/5 (4)

Other popular sizes

215/65 R16156 Tyres 205/55 R16140 Tyres 225/55 R17128 Tyres 215/60 R17126 Tyres 225/45 R17123 Tyres 0/0 R0118 Tyres 225/50 R17115 Tyres 215/60 R16113 Tyres

205/65 R17 — Also available in

Summer(13)All season(15)

Top brands in 205/65 R17

Did you know ...?

205/65 R17 doesn't belong to the most popular dimensions for winter tyres - there are 2 tyre models available, which can be compared to 155/60 R15, 170/60 R17, 160/60 R14. Let's break down the sizing - 65 is height of the tyre, which is calculated as 65% of the tyre width (205mm), which means the sidewall height has 133.25 mm. The wheel diameter is R17, which means it fits to a 17 inch/431.8mm diameter wheel. The total circumference of the tyre is 2193.77 mm, which is very similar to 275/30 R21(2194.09 mm), 225/65 R16(2195.66 mm), 195/75 R16(2195.66 mm), 155/70 R19(2197.86 mm), 275/35 R20(2200.69 mm), 225/70 R15(2186.55 mm), 265/45 R18(2185.61 mm). There are multiple speed indexes available for winter tyres in 205/65 R17: H(210km/h), R(170km/h), V(240km/h). The same goes for weight indexes: 96, 100.