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

Winter

11

Tyres

We recommend

Premium

WinterContact TS 860S

7.6

£207

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Best tyres in tests (2026)

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1

Premium

Winter

'25#1

'25#2

9.6

Price from

£138

Price from£138

Recommended

#5

2026

theTire Lab.comRecommended#5 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Snow traction

100%

Comfort

100%

Exterior noise

100%

+5

Wet circle cornering

47%

Dry handling

42%

Aquaplaning - longitudal

26%

Test results

2025225/40 R18#1(-)

2025225/40 R18#2(Exemplary)

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Price variants (1)

205/65 R17 100 H

C C 71dB

£138

mytyres.co.uk

£138

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

2

Premium

WinterContact TS 870 P

'25#1

'25#1

9.4

Price from

£151

Price from£151

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

#6

2026

theTire Lab.comRecommended#6 Winter tires 2026

Performance

Snow braking

100%

Aquaplaning - cross

84%

Dry handling

83%

+7

Aquaplaning - longitudal

66%

Wet handling

66%

Snow traction

65%

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

£151

mytyres.co.uk

£151

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£203

In stock · Free shipping

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3

Premium

Cinturato Winter 2

'25#6

'25#7

'25#8

7.2

Price from

£170

Price from£170

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

Exterior noise

74%

Snow handling

72%

Wet circle cornering

70%

+7

Dry handling

36%

Aquaplaning - cross

34%

Snow braking

0%

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

£170

mytyres.co.uk

£170

In stock · Free shipping

Buy

tyres-pneus-online.co.uk

£221

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

Interactive sorting

Side-by-side comparisons

View Full Test Results

Price vs Quality

See how tyre price relates to test performance at a glance

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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 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

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), 195/75 R16(2195.66 mm), 225/65 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.