A premium Nordic friction winter tire that excels on ice and snow while staying impressively quiet and easy to live with. Best for drivers who prioritize true winter control over standing-water performance.
The quick answer
Owners say73%from 25 owner reviews64% would buy againRead the reviews
Strengths & weaknessesSnow, IceComfort, WetRelative to its rivals across every test we hold
Built from every independent test result and vetted owner review we hold for this tire - the evidence is all further down the page. Data updated October 2026.
The Continental ContiVikingContact 7, the previous year's winner, still showed strong performance, particularly in winter conditions. It maintained excellent grip on ice and snow, matching its successor in these crucial areas. However, its weaknesses became more apparent in this test, particularly in wet conditions and aquaplaning resistance. Despite these shortcomings, the CVC 7 still performed admirably overall, demonstrating good fuel efficiency and comfort. Its performance illustrates both the strengths of Continental's Nordic tire design and the areas where improvement was needed in the newer model.
Winner: Continental VikingContact 8
Every independent test of the Continental VikingContact 7, newest first
How good is the Continental VikingContact 7 in the wet?
Across the 7 wet-braking tests it has featured in, the Continental VikingContact 7 stops 1.2% longer than premium rivals, 0.8% shorter than mid-range rivals and 2.7% longer than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews wet score of 49/100, and owners rate it 6.9/10 in the wet from 25 reviews.
How good is the Continental VikingContact 7 in the dry?
Across the 7 dry-braking tests it has featured in, the Continental VikingContact 7 stops 1.1% shorter than premium rivals, 2.8% shorter than mid-range rivals and 1.7% shorter than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews dry score of 58/100, and owners rate it 6.7/10 in the dry from 25 reviews.
How good is the Continental VikingContact 7 in the snow?
Across the 7 snow-braking tests it has featured in, the Continental VikingContact 7 stops 1.4% shorter than premium rivals, 1.3% shorter than mid-range rivals and 3.1% shorter than budget rivals. Across the 6 snow-traction tests, it is 0.9% better than premium rivals, 2% better than mid-range rivals and 5% better than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews snow score of 86/100, and owners rate it 8.9/10 in the snow from 25 reviews.
How good is the Continental VikingContact 7 on ice?
Across the 7 ice-braking tests it has featured in, the Continental VikingContact 7 stops 1.1% shorter than premium rivals, 0.9% longer than mid-range rivals and 14.7% shorter than budget rivals. Across the 6 ice-traction tests, it is 2.8% worse than premium rivals, 2.3% worse than mid-range rivals and 15.6% better than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews ice score of 84/100, and owners rate it 7.4/10 on ice from 25 reviews.
How fuel efficient is the Continental VikingContact 7?
Across the 3 tests measuring rolling resistance, the Continental VikingContact 7's rolling resistance is 2.4% lower than premium rivals, 2.6% lower than mid-range rivals and 10.7% lower than budget rivals.
More questions about the Continental VikingContact 7(12)
How many miles does the Continental VikingContact 7 last?
Based on test and owner data, the Continental VikingContact 7 is expected to last around 23,507 miles (37,831 km).
What do owners say about the Continental VikingContact 7?
Across 25 owner ratings the Continental VikingContact 7 averages 73%. Owners rate Snow Grip highest at 8.9 out of 10 and Wear lowest at 6.1. 7 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 65% of owners score it 70% or better.
What is the Continental VikingContact 7's EU tire label rating?
Across its range, the Continental VikingContact 7 most commonly carries EU label ratings of C for fuel efficiency, D for wet grip and 72 dB for noise.
How comfortable and quiet are the Continental VikingContact 7?
Owners rate the Continental VikingContact 7 8.5 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 23 reviews.
How well do the Continental VikingContact 7 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Continental VikingContact 7 6.1 out of 10 for wear across 23 reviews. 7 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 5,000 miles.
Would owners buy the Continental VikingContact 7 again?
64% of owners say they would buy the Continental VikingContact 7 again, based on the 22 owner reviews that answered the question. 45% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
What do owners say about the Continental VikingContact 7's snow traction?
Of the 23 owner reviews analyzed for the Continental VikingContact 7, 13 mention snow traction: 13 praise it (strong snow traction) and 0 criticise it (weak snow traction). One owner wrote: "This tire is fantastic in the snow". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Continental VikingContact 7's ice grip?
Of the 23 owner reviews analyzed for the Continental VikingContact 7, 11 mention ice grip: 5 praise it (grips on ice) and 6 criticise it (slides on ice). One owner wrote: "Ice performance as expected is bit worse compared to studded tires". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Continental VikingContact 7's road noise?
Of the 23 owner reviews analyzed for the Continental VikingContact 7, 11 mention road noise: 9 praise it (quiet) and 2 criticise it (noisy). Read those reviews
What does the Continental VikingContact 7 replace?
Questions and Answers for the Continental VikingContact 7
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Most drivers rate the Continental VikingContact 7 very highly for winter use, highlighting strong snow and slush traction, confident/forgiving handling, and a quiet, comfortable ride for a studless Nordic tire. Many also report stable highway manners and predictable breakaway, making it easy to control when traction is exceeded. A notable minority mention that ice braking/traction can be weaker than top alternatives (or studded tires), and several owners report faster-than-expected wear when used a lot on dry/warmer roads.
What owners mention most counted across 23 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 25 ratings
Owner score73%
Snow Grip89%
Comfort85%
Ice Grip74%
Handling71%
Wet Grip69%
Road Feedback68%
Dry Grip67%
Wear61%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 88%
“Stopping on frozen snow or slippery surfaces is the tire's biggest drawback. The ABS engages immediately, but the car continues to slide mercilessly. I have them on a 2020 Tiguan 4Motion. Very disappointing. I can only...”
“Snow grip on these tires is good - nearly as good as blizzak ws-xx, but ice grip is considerably worse than the blizzak. Dry grip however is awful. My 167hp mx-5 spun the tires when I downshifted and hit the gas to pass...”
“This tire is fantastic in the snow. It is acceptable in the cold dry. Does well in the cold wet. And is not great in any warm conditions. Fantastic snow tire. But once winter is over, it’s time to take them off.”
This tire is fantastic in the snow. It is acceptable in the cold dry. Does well in the cold wet. And is not great in any warm conditions. Fantastic snow tire. But once winter is over, it’s time to take them off.
Best winter tires I've had. They'll get me along slippery roads - part refrozen slush and more - with confidence. Wet and dry grip aren't so wonderful, but this isn't what these are sold and used for. I think wear may be quick too.
Initial Impressions93% 5,000 miles
Good solid grip at all times with traction especially good on cold slush. Comfortable ride possibly at the cost of sidewall strength.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
Great tire so far. I am now using them for my second season. When purchased, I opted for 17" which is -2 from OE for my 19" tire size - the result is the same size that would be found on the base gasoline-powered trim level of my car (a 2024 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid). Asthetically, the taller profile of the tires makes my car look a bit more aggressive and ready to pounce on the snow.
During my first season, I found the Vikings were as quiet as my OE Michelin Primacy tires. The tires also provided an unexpectedly slightly firmer ride vs. the Primacy tires, but this firmness seems to have softened up a bit in my second season. I'm running the tires at 36 psi. These tires have great grip in the snow - the grip loosens up predictably if you are going too quickly while accelerating in a corner. The car handles very well in the dry and wet.
The only downside I have noticed is that my fuel economy is slightly worsened by maybe 0.3 L/100 km more? Despite that, I highly recommend this tire!
This is an excellent winter tire for mixed conditions and suits my VW Jetta Mk7 very well. The comfort and excellent grip in wet/slushy conditions are the standout characteristics for this category. The ride is exceptionally well damped with minimal harshness, just as good as the OE tire for this car. Impact noise is very sensitive on this car and thankfully the VikingContact 7 feels and sounds very well isolated. I find many other studless/nordic winter tires have poor wet grip, but the handling character of the VikingContact 7 is consistent and predictable across the range of dry, wet, slush, and snow conditions. There is also good steering feedback and a clear sense of straight ahead for a winter tire. This is a very pleasant and enjoyable tire for daily driving.
Snow and ice grip is excellent as expected for the category. There is useful feel in the steering and chassis, boosting confidence in snow. The VikingContact 7 also recovers quickly when the grip limits are exceeded. This feedback and forgiving character makes this more confident than other winter tires I have used.
After 3000 miles there is minimal wear to report, about 1/32nd lost on the tires that have been on the front axle longer.
I live at the Minnesota/Manitoba border where as I type this it’s 5 degrees fahrenheit. I’ve found this tire to be very well rounded. The dry grip is impressive and shocked me. I truly don’t want to take these off in the spring they felt so good in the 40/50 degree weather of our warm October. Practically zero noise, still can get upwards of 44mpg on the highway at around 65mph. But of course these are snow tires. The snow handling is probably as good as it gets. They feel like summer tires in the middle of July while driving through an inch of snow. Their true specialty imo is ice traction however. I’ve hit a couple icy intersections while making turns and I could feel the car start to lose control and skid, but it’s a controlled and slow motion sliding due to the rolling resistance of tires. It’s easy to correct the vehicle and get back on course. Perhaps Hakkas are a bit better on snow and ice, but these are a better tier overall. I’m sold on the VK line.
Ice performance as expected is bit worse compared to studded tires, but considering these days, most of the winter in the Northern hemisphere, we just have ice melted by salt to slush, it's perfect. Driving in the dry or snow, it performs great.
This is my 3rd winter with them and they seem to have changed since I first installed them. I drive a 2014 Kia Rondo and last year I parked the car for 3 months due to surgery and they now vibrate weirdly and have become very noisy. Grip on dry and wet was always great, I live in Montreal and most of our winter is cold and wet rather than snowy and icy. They perform really nicely on the highway when not on snow or ice. In the snow, even a few centimeters, they tend to be slippery when changing direction. I feel the car drifting a lot even when they were new and the ABS or traction control comes on a lot in these moments. I definitely do not push them hard in these conditions but I have become good at controlling the car when in a slide. On hard packed snow at the cottage they feel like I was on dry cement and I dont worry but any soft snow and things get loosy goosey. They seem to be wearing well, I have not measured them yet but they look fine however these are the first winter tires I have ever owned so I dont have much to compare them with.
Very good steering feel and handling. These feel more like a good all season or summer tire than a winter tire, none of the mushy feeling you get with Blizzaks. Did quite well in the snow, had some slides on ice but you can only expect so much from a non-studded tire.
Stopping on frozen snow or slippery surfaces is the tire's biggest drawback. The ABS engages immediately, but the car continues to slide mercilessly. I have them on a 2020 Tiguan 4Motion. Very disappointing. I can only advise reducing your speed very early at intersections and traffic lights, otherwise you'll slide mercilessly over them. Until recently, I had a Touareg with Nokian Nordman 7 tires. Something like that never happened to me.
Strange, but this tire worked well 1,5 winter season, then they not like everywhere reviewed... My tires compound goes very hard, very uncomfortable to drive in potholed road(feel like car have sportcar suspension). In 2 season tire was good in dry, wet, snow, slush...but in icy road drive dangerous compared first season. Some people write they are low noise, no they like other winter tires! I never had that kind change with other tires, i allraedy thinking no more studded tires... But reality come back after 1,5 season.
