Menu

Kumho WinterCraft WS51 SUV

The Kumho WinterCraft WS51 SUV is a Premium Touring Winter tyre designed to be fitted to SUV and 4x4s.

4.9
Tyre Reviews Score Based on Professional Tests
Medium Confidence View Breakdown
Dry Grip
85%
Wet Grip
95%
Road Feedback
80%
Handling
85%
Wear
100%
Comfort
85%
Buy again
95%
Snow Grip
100%
Ice Grip
90%
2 Reviews
91% Average
28,000 miles driven
1 Tests (avg: 7th)
Kumho WinterCraft WS51 SUV

Kumho WinterCraft WS51 SUV

Winter Mid-Range
BETA
4.9 / 10
Based on Professional Tests · Medium Confidence · Updated 30 Jan 2026

The Tyre Reviews Score is the most comprehensive tyre scoring system available. It aggregates professional test data from multiple independent publications, user reviews, and consistency analysis using Bayesian statistical methods, weighted normalisation, and recency-adjusted scoring to produce a single, reliable performance rating.

Learn more about our methodology
Value
79.3
0.38x / 2 tests
Wet
69.2
2x / 3 tests
Ice
58.4
1.26x / 3 tests
Dry
53.5
1.2x / 2 tests
Comfort
45.7
0.29x / 1 test
Snow
43.4
1.5x / 3 tests

Cross-category scores are derived metrics that combine data from multiple test disciplines to evaluate real-world performance characteristics.

Traction
55.4
2 tests
Braking
54
4 tests
Handling
51.1
4 tests
Score Components
Professional Tests
Weight: 80%
Tests: 1
Publications: 1
Period: 2022
User Reviews
Weight: 15%
Reviews: 2
Avg Rating: 90.6%
Min Required: 5
Consistency
Weight: 5%
Score Std Dev: 0.52
History Points: 6
Methodology & Configuration
Scoring Process
  1. Collect Test Data: Gather results from professional tyre tests across multiple publications. Minimum 1 test(s) required.
  2. Normalize Positions: Convert test positions to percentile scores using exponential weighting (factor: 1.2).
  3. Apply Recency Weighting: More recent tests are weighted higher with a decay rate of 0.95.
  4. Incorporate User Reviews: Factor in user review data (minimum 5 reviews). Weight: 15%.
  5. Bayesian Smoothing: Apply Bayesian prior (score: 7, weight: 1.5) to prevent extreme scores with limited data.
  6. Calculate Final Score: Combine all components using normalization factor of 1.1. Max score with limited data: 9.5.
Component Weights
Test Data
80%
User Reviews
15%
Consistency
5%
All Configuration Parameters
ParameterValueDescription
safety_weight 0.7 Weight multiplier for safety-related metrics
performance_weight 0.55 Weight multiplier for performance metrics
comfort_weight 0.4 Weight multiplier for comfort metrics
value_weight 0.45 Weight multiplier for value-for-money metrics
user_reviews_weight 0.15 How much user reviews contribute to the final score
test_data_weight 0.8 How much professional test data contributes to the final score
consistency_weight 0.05 How much score consistency contributes to the final score
recency_decay_rate 0.95 Rate at which older test results lose influence (higher = slower decay)
min_test_count 1 Minimum number of professional tests required
min_review_count 5 Minimum number of user reviews required
score_version 1.8 Current version of the scoring algorithm
score_normalization_factor 1.1 Factor used to normalize raw scores to the 0-10 scale
confidence_factor_weight 0.2 How much data confidence affects the final score
position_penalty_weight 0.2 Penalty applied for poor test positions
gap_penalty_threshold 8 Score gap (%) that triggers additional penalties
min_metrics_count 2 Minimum number of test metrics needed per test
limited_data_threshold 2 Number of tests below which data is considered limited
single_test_penalty 0.1 Score multiplier when only one test is available
critical_metric_penalty 0.7 Penalty for poor performance on critical safety metrics
critical_metric_threshold 70 Score below which a critical metric penalty applies
position_exponential_factor 1.2 Exponent used to amplify position-based scoring
position_exponential_threshold 0.9 Position percentile below which exponential scoring applies
gap_multiplier_critical 3 Multiplier for critical gap penalties
max_category_weight 2 Maximum weight any single category can have
max_score_limited_data 9.5 Score cap when data is limited
bayesian_prior_weight 1.5 Weight of the Bayesian prior in smoothing
bayesian_prior_score 7 Prior score used for Bayesian smoothing
evidence_test_multiplier 1.9 Multiplier for test evidence in confidence calculation
evidence_metric_divisor 3 Divisor for metric count in evidence calculation
evidence_review_divisor 10 Divisor for review count in evidence calculation
Data Sources
TestPublicationDateSizePositionMetrics
2022 ViBilagare Nordic SUV Winter Tyre Test Vi Bilagare 2022 235/55 R18 7/8 14 metrics
1
Tests
7th
Average
7th
Best
7th
Worst
Latest Tyre Test Results
Hydroplaning, braking distance on wet roads, steering feel on asphalt.
Ice grip, loose rear end and difficult to control all surfaces
WS51 is the SUV version of Kumho's latest friction tire Wi51. It's the stiffest tire here, with high priority on asphalt rounds, not winter grip. On ice it performs far from the best. The WS51 is difficult to master under pressure on both snow and ice, where all grip suddenly disappears at once and without warning.
It does a lot better against aquaplaning where Kumho is the best of the bunch. The braking distance on wet asphalt is also good, and the steering feel for small steering movements as well.
Unfortunately, the WS51 has problems with a loose rear-end both wet and dry roads with a skidding behavior in the evasive maneuvers and especially in wet corners. Nor is the noise level impressive. Difficult to control on the limit and poor winter grip result in a low score.

Questions and Answers for the Kumho WinterCraft WS51 SUV

Ask a question
Sorry, we don't currently have any questions and answers for the Kumho WinterCraft WS51 SUV. Why not submit a question to our tyre experts using the form below!
Ask a question

We will never publish or share your email address

captcha

To verify you are human please type the word you see in the box below.

Have you driven on the Kumho WinterCraft WS51 SUV tyre?

Have YOU got experience with the Kumho WinterCraft WS51 SUV? Help millions of other tyre buyers

Review your Kumho WinterCraft WS51 SUV >

Latest Kumho WinterCraft WS51 SUV Reviews

Initial Impressions Review
Given 89% while driving a Kia Motors Kia EV6 AWD (235/55 R19) on for 3,000 miles
Good tyre. Traction is very good on snowy surfaces and fairly good on ice. I don't feel any difference between these and former Continental Viking Contact 7.
Ask a question | Helpful 60
January 18, 2026
Given 91% while driving a Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace 2.0 BiTDi 240HP (235/55 R18) on a combination of roads for 25,000 average miles
Very good tires at temperature below +8c.
Good handling in the snow and slush.
Very resistant for wear.
November 30, 2025
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!