Continental VikingContact 7

The Continental VikingContact 7 is a Premium Touring Winter tire designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars.

This tire replaced the Continental VikingContact 6.

Dry Grip 60%
Wet Grip 64%
Road Feedback 56%
Handling 62%
Wear 56%
Comfort 88%
Buy again 68%
Snow Grip 89%
Ice Grip 80%

Tire review data from 10 tire reviews averaging 69% over 67,400 miles driven.

The VikingContact 7 is ranked 51st of 61 Winter Premium Touring tires.

In Depth Tire Comparisons

Latest Tire Test Results

2022/23 Tire Reviews Studless Winter Tire Test - 1st of 9 tires

  • Positive - Excellent in all conditions, Best wet and dry handling lap times, shortest dry braking, very good wet braking, good in snow, best ice handling lap, very low noise levels and low rolling resistance.
  • Negative - Average aquaplaning resistance.
  • Overall - The Continental was the best in the dry and had a small advantage in the wet grip tests, but did struggle in the deeper water of the two aquaplaning tests. It was excellent in the snow and ice, had the lowest internal noise and was comfortable, but of the top three tires it did have the highest rolling resistance, but even that was just 3.1% off the best.

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2022 ViBilagare Nordic SUV Winter Tire Test - 3rd of 8 tires

  • Positive - Good grip and good driving characteristics on all surfaces.
  • Negative - Slightly higher noise level than the best tires.
  • Overall - VikingContact7 has several victories from our tests of traditional passenger car tires in the bag. Now it collects a bronze medal.
    To adapt to the higher weight of the SUVs, Continental has made a stiffer tire with a harder rubber compound. It provides slightly less convincing driver properties on ice and snow, with longer sliding phases than we previously experienced from VC7. However, the level of grip is still good compared to the competition.
    The upside is that the tire in this larger dimension, with a more open pattern, handles aquaplaning really well. It also has fine stability on asphalt with maintained steering precision in the evasive maneuver tests.
    Never the best but often at the top, regardless of the surface, results a well-deserved podium.
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2021 Studless and Studded Winter Tire Test - 1st of 16 tires

  • Positive - [Friction] Very good on ice and snow.
  • Negative - Poor wet performance.
View Full Test >>

2022 Tire Tests

  • 1st: 2022/23 Tire Reviews Studless Winter Tire Test (205/55 R16)
  • 3rd: 2022 ViBilagare Nordic SUV Winter Tire Test (235/55 R18)

    • 2021 Tire Tests

  • 1st: 2021 Studless and Studded Winter Tire Test (205/55 R16)

    • 2020 Tire Tests

  • 1st: The Best Winter Tires for 2020 (205/55 R16)
  • 1st: 2020 Vi Bilagare Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test (205/60 R16)
  • 6th: 2020 Nordic and Studded Winter Tire Test (205/55 R16)

    • 2019 Tire Tests

  • 3rd: 2019 Studded Winter Tire Test (225/50 R17)

    • Size Fuel Wet Noise Weight
    215/60 R17 100T XL   C E 72 11.87kgs

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    Size Price Range  
    205/50 R17 $184.99 - $184.99 (2 Prices) Compare Prices >>
    215/60 R16 $141.99 - $141.99 (2 Prices) Compare Prices >>
    225/45 R17 $209.99 - $209.99 (1 Prices) Compare Prices >>
    225/50 R17 $205.99 - $220.99 (3 Prices) Compare Prices >>
    245/50 R20 $257.99 - $257.99 (1 Prices) Compare Prices >>
    255/40 R19 $297.99 - $297.99 (1 Prices) Compare Prices >>
    265/60 R18 $230.99 - $230.99 (1 Prices) Compare Prices >>
    Available in 89 tire sizes - View all.

    Top 3 Continental VikingContact 7 Reviews

    Given 63% while driving a BMW 5 Series 2007 (225/50 R17 T) on a combination of roads for 1,000 spirited miles
    Best studless winter tire i have ever had.
    Good allround. Low noise. Just take it a little easier on very wet tarmac, or very warm dry tarmac, as with all nordic winter tires.

    Not as good as studded tire on ice, say for example nokian hakka 8, but what tire are??

    Dont know wear rate yet. Continental are usually worn down after 1, tops 2 years. So that is the bad side. Will report later.
    Helpful 56 - tire reviewed on October 4, 2018
    Given 79% while driving a Volvo C30 2.0L Petrol (225/45 R17) on mostly motorways for 20,000 average miles
    I have done about 20k km over the last 2 winters on my VC7s and I am pretty hay with them. they are really quiet and stable at highway speeds. I have not pushed their grip limit in the wet or dry very much but it takes a lot to get stuck with them. my only issue with them is the wear is not the greatest. tho i have to keep them on let into the spring because i run summer tires and don't want to get my self into trouble. my mom has had Michelin x ices on her car for the last 3 winters and they seem to have pretty minimal wear.
    Helpful 17 - tire reviewed on March 25, 2021
    Given 94% while driving a Mazda 3 Series (205/50 R17) on mostly town for 2,000 spirited miles
    I bought VK7's to replace all season tires that came with my used car purchase. The all-seasons had snow siping but had very poor acceleration traction and bad braking performance. After one snow storm, I purchased these and it couldn't have been more different. These tires seem to have more grip in snow than my all-season tires do in the damp. ABS hardly ever kicks in when braking and there has never been an issue accelerating from a light. I feel very confident in these tires and also have peace of mind when either I or my wife is driving knowing that the tires are safe in bad conditions. I will likely only purchase these tires going forward for all my future vehicles that need them.
    Helpful 7 - tire reviewed on December 7, 2021
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    Latest Continental VikingContact 7 Reviews

    Given 63% while driving a Jaguar I Pace (245/50 R20) on mostly town for 14,000 average miles
    Tires have mostly worn out after only 20,000 km. Unacceptable! They’re great running tires but lifespan is too short to recomnend.
    Helpful 3 - tire reviewed on February 19, 2023
    Given 63% while driving a Mercury Grand marquis (255/40 R19) on mostly motorways for 1,000 easy going miles
    I scored a used set of VC7’s with only 200 miles on them. They still had the ink stripes on the treads. I have them mounted on my mercury grand marquis which is identical to a Ford crown Victoria, a rear wheel drive open diff 2 ton behemoth. Coming from all seasons that were down to the wear indicators, snow was a white knuckle ride. I moved to a rural area that averages freezing temps 4 months out of the year and has roads that aren’t plowed clean during snow fall. I am a little biased because of what I paid for these tires and how good they are coming from all seasons. My car is horrible in the snow but with the vc7’s I was able to climb up my steep driveway with 4 inches of fresh snow with little to no wheel spin. I am blown away by how well these snow tires work, especially on a car that is notoriously bad in snow. I will be switching back to my all seasons soon as the winter is over, so hopefully I can get a few seasons out of these tires. All in all even if I had to pay msrp for these tires I would buy them again. They are buttery smooth, cruise well, and are very quiet.
    Helpful 3 - tire reviewed on December 12, 2022
    What to know the BEST tires for 2023? Click to find out!
    Given 88% while driving a Chevrolet silverado 1500 (275/55 R20) on mostly motorways for 8,000 average miles
    Have had these on my truck for 2 years now. Amazingly quiet, great ice/dry grip. No issues with wet grip at all so far. Only thing to note is tire wear. If you have a decent amount of dry/warmer driving these will wear (like any good winter tire) quite quick. Having to have winter tired on from Oct 1 to Apr 30 in the parts of BC i travel through yearly means i do a decent amount of dry/warmish driving. In 2 seasons i have lost 3-3.5/32nds of tread depth out of a starting 10/32nds. Also note my truck is quite heavy and that can only add to the wear (curb weight of 5300 lbs).
    Helpful 3 - tire reviewed on December 4, 2022
    Given 40% while driving a Mazda mx 5 (195/50 R16) on a combination of roads for 3,000 spirited miles
    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 someone at 40mph - something I would have considered impossible. Buy these tires only if you most often drive in loose snow - anywhere else is not worth the loss in grip. They are quiet and soft riding, but will suck all the fun out of driving your mx-5/miata or any other sporty car.
    Helpful 4 - tire reviewed on October 8, 2022
    Given 80% while driving a Nissan altima (235/40 R19) on a combination of roads for 400 average miles
    Soft but stable handling. Very quiet and comfortable at highway speeds. Phenomenal snow and ice traction all over. Very quick braking even when ABS engages. Can carry quite a bit of speed into a turn before noticing a loss of traction. Even when traction is lost car is very controllable and will regain traction fairly quickly.
    Helpful 6 - tire reviewed on January 29, 2022
    Given 73% while driving a Lexus GX460 (265/60 R18) on a combination of roads for 10,000 spirited miles
    As a snow tire these are unparalleled. To break traction on public roads I have to drive like an absolute maniac and they are very predictable once they lose traction. I've had these on a fwd hatchback and an AWD SUV and in four years I've encountered unintentional oversteer once on the road in my SUV and wife reports that she's never steered wide in her car. These tires are so good in snow they feel about as slippery as summer tires feel in the wet.
    Helpful 4 - tire reviewed on December 28, 2021