The Continental WinterContact TS830 is a Central European winter tire with strong wet handling, good aquaplaning resistance and widely praised snow capability. Snow traction and dry braking were less consistent across tests, and comfort was only moderate in one comparison.
The quick answer
Owners say90%from 30 owner reviews100% would buy againRead the reviews
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 January 2025.
What do owners say about the Continental WinterContact TS830?
Across 30 owner ratings the Continental WinterContact TS830 averages 90%. Owners rate Wet Grip highest at 9.5 out of 10 and Handling lowest at 8.4. 5 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 100% of owners score it 70% or better.
How comfortable and quiet are the Continental WinterContact TS830?
Owners rate the Continental WinterContact TS830 9.1 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 29 reviews.
How well do the Continental WinterContact TS830 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Continental WinterContact TS830 8.5 out of 10 for wear across 29 reviews. 5 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 3,000 miles.
Would owners buy the Continental WinterContact TS830 again?
100% of owners say they would buy the Continental WinterContact TS830 again, based on the 30 owner reviews that answered the question. 87% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
What do owners say about the Continental WinterContact TS830's snow traction?
Of the 28 owner reviews analyzed for the Continental WinterContact TS830, 19 mention snow traction: 19 praise it (strong snow traction) and 0 criticise it (weak snow traction). One owner wrote: "Snow and ice - very good (as for non-arctic tire)". Read those reviews
More questions about the Continental WinterContact TS830(2)
What does the Continental WinterContact TS830 replace?
Questions and Answers for the Continental WinterContact TS830
When they stopped producing tire Continental WinterContact TS830 ?
September 26, 2018
The TS830 has been replaced by the TS850 and TS860. The TS830 will still be made in certain sizes for OE but now it is recommended you fit the newer pattern.
Snow traction is the clearest strength of the Continental WinterContact TS830, praised by around two thirds of owners. Snow handling and braking also draw recurring approval, with accounts of confident hill starts, steering and stopping in wintry conditions. Five owners praise wet grip and five praise grip on ice, though these are smaller groups than those discussing snow. Noise is usually viewed favorably, with five positive comments and one complaint. A few longer-use accounts describe satisfactory wear, but most reviews do not state a life stage and there are no repeat reviewers to establish an ageing pattern. There is no recurring complaint across the reviews.
What owners mention most counted across 28 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 30 ratings
Owner score90%
Wet Grip95%
Comfort91%
Dry Grip90%
Road Feedback90%
Wear85%
Handling84%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 87%
“Had these tires fitted for just over 1k Miles, I do a 100 mile a day commute mostly A road and motorway at high speeds. As soon as the roads begin to get a little moist I have to slow it right down on vends and...”
“Having had these tires on my Mondeo Ghia X 2.2Ltr Estate for three winters and two SUMMERS one in southern Italy carrying five large tool boxes in the rear and a heavily laden roof box towing a 1350Kg caravan through...”
Had these tires fitted for just over 1k Miles,
I do a 100 mile a day commute mostly A road and motorway at high speeds.
As soon as the roads begin to get a little moist I have to slow it right down on vends and roundabouts with my Factory fitted Goodyear runflats.
I purchased a new set of Alloys and these tires for a great price as the weather has just started to turn. All I can say is, what a difference to the car, it's almost as easy to drive the car on the motorway in a storm as it is in the sunshine. The car is stable giving lots of feeling and basically moves the standing water out of the way, it is amazing. The car sticks on roundabouts etc, really really gives me so much confidence, which I never had before with the big Beemer. In the dry when the temps is over 10 degrees ( I have put them on slightly early) the car feels slightly wobbly and less firm, as these are not runflats and are obviously softer.
I can forgive this for the amount of confidence I get in the bad weather.
Actually hope it rains and freezes now when I wake up just to be amazed yet again.
Just as a suggestion, UK drivers, wether you choose these tires or not or are considering winter tires. Don't delay get them fitted they will literally transform your bad weather driving experience for the better.
100%
Member
Kia Motors
195/65 R15 V
10,000 miles
Mostly Country Roads
Average
Great tires; have had 205/55/16 before for about 30k miles and now 195/65/15 for last 2 winters (10k miles).
Excellent price to quality ratio - will buy again and recommended to everyone:)
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
These tires have enabled me to drive in conditions that would otherwise have been impossible, excellent in snow and wet (even passable with care on sheet ice). I now look forward to putting them back on each autumn, as they feel better (even in warmer spells in spring and autumn) than the summer tires ever do.
I am seriously considering keeping them on all year, the car just seems right with these on.
Which tires do you drive?
Researching the Continental WinterContact TS830? Rate the tires you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
Having had these tires on my Mondeo Ghia X 2.2Ltr Estate for three winters and two SUMMERS one in southern Italy carrying five large tool boxes in the rear and a heavily laden roof box towing a 1350Kg caravan through the Alps twice a year in WINTER these tires are SUPERB. Now replaced all four because the front O/S tire has worn down to legal limit and no longer driving through the Alps. Rear tires are at 6mm depth and N/S is at 3mm. I have kept the removed tires will be replacing worn tires and placing on a set of rims and fitting back on the vehicle come winter time. A SUPERB and SAFE tire.
The best winter tire i ever had. Dry and wet grip is amazing (had no problems even at +15C), snow and ice - very good (as for non-arctic tire). Very comfy and quiet. After 17k miles 5 mm of protector left.
Will not buy again only because want TS850)))
The best tire for soft winter, imho.
Swapped back to 16" 205/55R16 Continental WinterContact TS830s, from the 17" 225/45R17 Bridgestone Potenzas S001s I run in the summer.
Now the temperature is consistently below 7 degrees C, and often wet, at morning & evening commute times, these Conti's really live up to the reputation they have earned in the independent tests. They feel noticeably more secure on cold damp roads than the wider summer Potenzas, and the taller side-wall of the 16" helps helps with the winter pot holes. Conti's own test video suggests a 7m shorter stopping distance in the wet over an equivilent Conti summer tire.
Snow, slush and resulting standing water all taken in the tires' stride which is incredibly reassuring. Given that the Potenza is clearly a "focused" performance tire, the narrower softer compound winter Conti could be forgiven for feelin "woolly" in comparison... ....but it doesn't at these temperatures.
Highly suited to the Audi A3 in southern UK winter temperatures/conditions. I believe the TS830 has now been superseded by the TS830P and TS850, both of which continue to top independent tests. Swapping to smaller 16" rubber November to March also saves tread wear on the more expensive 17" summer tires!
I bought these tires as I wanted to start driving regularly in the alps to go snowboarding as I now live in France. I admittedly don't drive very fast but these tires were amazing. I drove several times into the alps even when 50cm of snow had fallen (the 2011/2012 season had huge snow falls in December and January), and had zero problems driving even the tiniest mountain roads at 2000m. I passed several fancy looking cars who had crashed into ditches but with my average car (A Vauxhall Astra SXI) and these tires, both my girlfriend who is a very nervous driver even in the summer and I were totally confident. I can't wait to put them back on again in December.
I have now had these for 3 winters (admittedly in the south of the UK not really a true winter the last one). After owning a long succession of cars inc 4x4s, I can safely say that changing over to these for the winter was the best thing I did to ensure continued ability to move around in deep snow and ice.
My Audi has 17" low profiles on alloys as standard, but I switched to 15" steels so I could keep these tires on the rims and just change the lot over for winter/summer.
During the winter of 2010/2011 we travelled some fairly inhospitable roads in the depth of the Cotswolds in minus 10 degrees. These tires took us only places a tractor could get. We were easily able to ascend hills where residents had all parked their fashionable 4x4s at the bottom. Braking and steering was very confident and I would commend to anyone, forget buying a 4x4 for the winter, just stick a set of these on your regular car and go places those X5s etc can't get to!
Great tire - much quieter than the G'year Efficient Grip they replaced.
Even the wife noticed much better response on cold/wet road!
Looking forward to some snow and ice now!
Bought these tires for an old Passat and a Golf mk6 Estate, I live in the Yorkshire Dales, they did the job, worth the money for the ability to stop alone, my street is untreated in the winter and is a 1:6 gradient, I can now get home without using the shovel, they are a little noisier than the summer tires, but not uncomfortably so.
We still managed to get 77mpg on a run to London (also used the empty outside lane on the M62 covered in three inches of fresh snow) so they don't effect the rolling resistance to badly either.
I got these tires fitted to my Polo 1.9TDi at the beginning of Dec 2010. I have to say that they were brilliant in the snow. Starting and stopping on compacted snow and ice was excellent. I felt very safe in the car and could even go where 4x4 drivers thought they had the edge. Going uphill was a cinch even from a standing start. I was sad to see the snow go as I just loved to drive in it with these fitted to my car.
Would thoroughly recommend that people use these tires in true wintry conditions.
One *slight* issue I found was that occasionally they would not give an even response when accelerating / decelerating on uneven road surfaces in ordinary non-snowy dry / wet conditions.
