on dry ground: good. good behavior.
on wet ground: very bad in curves, in traffic, you need to keep a reasonable distance.
little comfort but that's normal with a size 50. tire is not noisy on various surfaces.
so far I have only covered 24000 km in 57 months. so nothing to report.
185/50 R16 Tires
Everything we know about the 185/50 R16 tire size: 17 owner reviews covering 307,182 miles of driving, and EU label data for the tires you can actually buy in it.
- 17owner reviews
- 307,182 milescovered on them
- 181tires made in this size
The quick answer
| Season | Owners' pick | Owner rating | Latest test winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | Toyo T1R 7.6 Current version: Toyo Proxes T1 Sport+ | 62% from 6 reviews | - |
Owner picks are the highest weighted owner score in 185/50 R16; test winners come from the most recent independent test conducted in this size. The full evidence is below.
The best rated 185/50 R16 tires
Rated only by drivers running this size. Each tire needs at least 3 reviews in 185/50 R16 to be ranked; the order weights a tire's score by how many reviews back it, so one glowing review cannot top a table.
Summer tires
The highest rated Summer tire in 185/50 R16 is the Toyo T1R - 62% from 6 owner reviews in this size. The current tire in that line is now the Toyo Proxes T1 Sport+.
| # | Tire | Owner rating | Reviews | Distance reviewed | TR Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Toyo T1R
Replaced by Toyo Proxes T1 Sport+
|
62% | 6 | 168,000 miles | 7.6 |
Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best Summer Tires →
TR Score is the tire's overall Tire Reviews rating out of 10, built from independent test results and every owner review of that tire - not just the reviews from this car. The owner rating column is this car only.
185/50 R16 EU tire label data
EU label values are declared for each individual size, so the figures here are exact for 185/50 R16 rather than a range across a model. 134 tires carry label data in this size. The most common load index is 81 (up to 462 kg per tire). Speed ratings on offer: V (240 km/h), H (210 km/h), T (190 km/h), Q (160 km/h). 59 tires in this size carry the 3PMSF severe snow marking.
A Best wet grip
12 tires in this size hold the top EU wet grip rating, class A. The highest scoring on Tire Reviews:
- Falken ZIEX ZE320 Summer 9.4
- Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2 Summer 9
- Kumho Ecsta HS52 Summer 9
- Michelin Primacy 4+ Summer 8.8
- Falken e.Ziex Summer 8.7
- Continental UltraContact Summer 8.5
A Lowest rolling resistance
The most fuel efficient choice: 1 tires in this size reach rolling resistance class A. The highest scoring on Tire Reviews:
- Michelin e.Primacy Summer 8.2
67dB Quietest tires
The quietest 185/50 R16 tires are labelled at 67 dB external noise:
- Falken ZIEX ZE320 Summer 9.4
- Michelin Primacy 4+ Summer 8.8
- Michelin e.Primacy Summer 8.2
- Giti GitiWinterW2 Winter 7.8
- Pirelli Cinturato Winter Winter 7.7
- Yokohama BluEarth AE50 Summer 7.5
Label values come from the EU EPREL database and apply to the EU market versions of each tire. Wet grip and rolling resistance run from class A (best) to E; noise is the measured drive-by figure. A good label is a floor, not a verdict - the tests and owner ratings above tell you far more.
What does 185/50 R16 mean?
A 185/50 R16 tire is 185 mm wide, its sidewall is 50% of that width (93 mm) tall, and it fits a 16 inch wheel. That gives an overall diameter of roughly 591 mm.
| Section width | 185 mm |
|---|---|
| Sidewall height | 93 mm |
| Rim diameter | 16" (406 mm) |
| Overall diameter | ≈ 591 mm |
| Circumference | ≈ 1,858 mm |
| Revolutions per km | ≈ 538 |
| Revolutions per mile | ≈ 866 |
Also written as
185/50R16 185/50 ZR16 185-50-16 185 50 16
Figures are calculated from the nominal size. A loaded, rolling tire runs a few percent smaller, and true widths vary slightly between makes.
What cars use 185/50 R16 tires?
The cars most often running this size in our owner reviews. Each links to the best rated tires for that exact car.
Nissan Micra
7 reviews in this size
Audi A2
2 reviews in this size
Nissan 160SR
1 reviews in this size
Nissan Note 1.5 dci
1 reviews in this size
Mercedes Benz A
1 reviews in this size
Volkswagen Up!
1 reviews in this size
Volkswagen Volkswagen Up! White Up! 75PS/95NM
1 reviews in this size
SEAT Mii
1 reviews in this size
Smart Fortwo EQ
1 reviews in this size
Every tire reviewed in 185/50 R16
The complete record, including discontinued tires and tires with too few reviews to rank, ordered by the amount of evidence. A further 7 tires have a single review each; they count toward the totals but are not listed.
| Tire | Season | Owner rating | Reviews | Distance reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyo T1R Replaced by Toyo Proxes T1 Sport+ | Summer | 62% | 6 | 168,000 miles |
| Continental Premium Contact 2 Replaced by Continental PremiumContact 7 | Summer | 78% | 2 | 54,882 miles |
| Evergreen DynaComfort EH226 | Summer | 61% | 2 | 24,000 miles |
Reviews only cover part of the market: 181 tires are made in 185/50 R16. Browse every 185/50 R16 tire →
What drivers say about their 185/50 R16 tires
The most recent owner reviews fitted in this size, in their own words.
dry grip: good. wet grip: not good. you have to drive carefully, smoothly. and even more so on curves and tight bends. uncomfortable tire. maybe because of the size 50? and deflates very quickly. maybe because of the speed bumps? I redo the pressure every 500 km. I have to put about 1 bar of pressure back. (the valves are new and the rims are original, without shocks). as for wear I don't know yet. I swap them every 10,000 km. we'll see in the end. tire not noisy. buying this tire is unlikely because on wet ground it's limited.
I replaced the TS860s I had for these TS870 in my Smart EQ. A very bad tire IMHO. My electric range has reduced in at least 10%. Feedback is non existent. On hard snow it has absolutely no grip. On dry it is very good but what’s the point if it is very bad in snow and wet?
These were fitted from new on seat Mii fr line. When new they are Ok for grip in dry and poor in the wet.
Wear rate is high on such a small and light car which is only driven modestly and us never pushed.
More of a concern is they started to crack within the tread pattern after only around 10 months from production.
I think forr the money they are a poor quality tire and I wouldn't buy again as they just don't measure up to the other tires I have used in the past.
My other car has Goodyear eagle vector 4 season tires which are better in every way than the Bridgestone and I would highly recommend those without hesitation.
Regretted buying them from the first day, they understeer in the wet badly. In the dry they were acceptable but noticeably not as sharp as the previous Continentals. I only had to do one emergency stop in just under 30,000 miles and they just barely stopped the car in time in the damp, they did not skid but even now with new Kumho's fitted, I can instantly tell that the Toyo's were a bad tire. They lacked grip. They did fantastic for milage (just under 30,000 miles with just over 3mm tread left, ~7mm on the rear) but that is likely due to a hard compound. I will never buy a Toyo again, which I had considered a decent brand. It isn't like the price was value for money either, the tires had to be changed before they reached the end of their tread and my new (cheaper) Kumho's are much sharper than the Toyo's ever were. In fact these Kumho Ecsta HS51's are comparable to the Continentals in the dry and the wet and are more comfy over bumps. But my understanding is that Kumho have come a long way recently, seeing the have come first in the tire tests.
I paid £58.87 for Kumho's, £74.29 for the Toyo's previously (per corner).
Fitted for 8 seasons / 70622km / 43882mi, still 3 mm profile left on our Volkswagen Up! White Up! 75PS/95NM MY2013.
I am completely astonished from those tires' performance! Maybe it is because of the small car and its tiny weight - during the last 8 seasons i found our citycar very reliable and confident on every wet or dry road we drove.
This is the best summer tire I've driven so far. I will speak out only superlatives for Continental Premium Contact 2.
Now I am really unsure which one should I pick for the next couple of years: Michelin Primacy 4 185/50R16 81H or Continental Premium Contact 2 185/50R16 81T. Higher price, higher speed index, newer model, newer technology versus the old but well known, reliable and confident Conti model...?
Bought 4 to replace Continental Premium Contact 2s and been disappointed from the start. Car slides when taking corners wet or dry to the point that worry about lose control. Regret selecting these and if could get money back I would but tires don't come with that. Have had to modify driving style because of these. Already showing signs of wear after 3000 miles.
Original fit was continental fitted set of these four years ago and just replaced with latest kumho ecsta tires had 2mm. Left even wear across tread I travel mixed roads a and motorway daily .
Drive on 185/50 R16 tires?
Review your tires and help the next driver choose. It takes about five minutes, and every review on this page came from a driver who took them.
Where this data comes from
Owner ratings are submitted through the review form on this site, naming the tire, the size and the distance covered, and are checked by hand before publication. Test results come from independent published tire tests indexed by size, and label values from the EU EPREL database.
About the TR Score
The Tire Reviews Score rates each tire out of 10 using independent test results and the full body of owner reviews, so you can check a car-specific ranking against the wider evidence.
Who does the testing
Every test published as a Tire Reviews test is run by Jonathan Benson, who has been testing tires independently since 2007.