Positive - Consistent performance in most tests with good aquaplaning resistance, good traction in the snow.
Negative - Slow dry handling lap, high external noise, high rolling resistance.
Overall - The Dunlop WinterSport 5 placed a well deserved sixth overall. The tire was very consistent in nearly all tests with no real weaknesses other than a slightly slow dry handling lap, but unfortunately the tire didn't excel in any test either.
Questions and Answers for the Dunlop Winter Sport 5
2016-10-07 - What is the comfort temperature (max/min) for this tire?
The Dunlop Winter Sport 5 can be used in any temperatures, however it is recommended you fit and use winter tires only when the temperatures are consistently under 7c.
2016-11-17 - How to fit correctly the tires on the wheel -where should be the yellow mark lines placed? outside or inside?
The Dunlop Winter Sport 5 is a directional winter tire, and as such has no inside or outside. The sidewall will have an arrow indicating forward rotation, you should go by this indication.
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YouTube Review
Top 3 Dunlop Winter Sport 5 Reviews
Given 81%
while driving a
Audi 1.8T Quattro
(225/40 R18 W) on
a combination of roads
for 24,000
spirited miles
I bought these as the successor to Dunlop WinterSport4 which I had been very happy with before, especially with wet grip and good feel in wet/poor conditions. Living and driving around Scotland I use the WinterSport as an all-season tire. The 5's have improved in all areas and especially in dry handling which was a slight letdown with the 4's. Performance now tails off above around 12 degrees ambient, compared to around 7 degrees with the 4's. At high speed in summer the tires can get a little 'floaty', but for me this is an acceptable compromise to the excellent grip in cold wet conditions. Sidewalls also seem stronger as the 4's were prone to nicks. Wear is similar if not a little better; got around 22/23K from the 4's when on all year and around 24K for the 5's. All in all a great winter tire with acceptable all-year round performance for those of us in more Northern areas.
63 - tire reviewed on September 24, 2016
Given 66%
while driving a
Volkswagen MkVI Golf GT TDi
(225/45 R17) on
mostly motorways
for 15,000
spirited miles
Not a bad tire, but i am a little dissapointed with them, becouse sidewalls are just too soft when temperature outside gets above 5 degrese celsius, and the ride becomes unstable in corners, car is allover the place... This is only minus i found after 25.000km with this tires, but its big enough minus that i wont buy them again. They will last over 50.000km i think.
21 - tire reviewed on March 15, 2016
Given 97%
while driving a
Audi TT
(225/45 R17 V) on
mostly country roads
for 30,000
spirited miles
I had theese tires on my Audi TT MK1 and I were very impressed by their performance overall. Tested in all conditions, super super performance on wet roads, amazing on splah and snow, i drove 3 seasons and over 40k kilometers with them without fear and in complete safety.
Taking everything into account: with theese tires, it.s summer on the road.
21 - tire reviewed on September 21, 2019
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Given 86%
while driving a
Mitsubishi Lancer Mivec
(205/60 R16) on
mostly motorways
for 40,000
easy going miles
It’s a very comfortable and reliable tire especially in the snow, slippery and cold conditions, which we get quite a lot here in Poland. When temperatures rise above 5-6 degrees Celsius the compound proves to be really soft and hence dry breaking isn’t great. It’s time to replace them after 6 seasons and 60K Kms and although it isn’t sporty at all, due to low rolling resistance and comfortable ride, it suits me for long (800 km) trips visiting family in Hungary. I would repurchase it for next winter.
0 - tire reviewed on February 13, 2022
Given 86%
while driving a
Lexus GS300
(225/55 R16) on
a combination of roads
for 3,000
easy going miles
Great tires!
Comfortable, quiet with very good traction in snow and ice. I can say that they are much better than the Bridgestone Turanza T001.
2 - tire reviewed on October 6, 2021
Want the best Performance summer tire? Click here!
Given 85%
while driving a
Citroën Spacetourer MPV
(225/55 R17) on
mostly motorways
for 16,000
easy going miles
I have for the last dozen years driven MPV's as a second family car due to their practicality. Every one of my MPV's has had winter tires for 5 months of the year. These Dunlops were on my most recent 8 seat Citroen Spacetourer, which is about to be replaced by an identical new car, so these wheels & tires will be carried over and fitted again in the next 6 weeks. I have been very impressed with the Wintersport 5's in the two years and 16k miles that I used them and have been fortunate to drive them in about 10 days of decent snow and many frosty mornings in that time. I would rate them as one of the best Winter tires that I have used. They brake very well in snow and wet and also have great traction when accelerating, even when slightly icy slush is about. My previous 5 sets of winter tires were Goodyear and Conti and they were also good, so I know what I like. I found that with the Wintersports I could just about get up a 1 in 5 snow covered 1st gear sharp corner in the north Pennines (UK), which I initially thought would be too much for them in a heavy car with only 2wd. What I really like about them is the plush ride, despite being 101 load rated, which in some brands can mean thick sidewalls, but not these. On cold wet Winter days where temperatures are just above freezing, I have found them to have good traction and pulling away from a wet junction can easily be accomplished without wheelspin even with a heavy load in the rear. They are commendably quiet on all surfaces, but then in my experience most winter tires are quieter than the summer equivalent. I never got to test them on stretches of sheet ice so can't comment on their performance for that. Wear has been brilliant compared to the poor summer Michelin Primacy 3 that the car also uses which only lasted 18,000 miles. I predict that the Wintersport 5 will reach about 30,000 miles if I rotate them around the car each winter. I would buy again, but I suspect that a new Dunlop will be along in 2022 or 23 so I will need to look at Tire Reviews and make a fresh decision from their test results database for the next set of boots. Dunlop Wintersport 5 are highly recommended by me with no caveats.
3 - tire reviewed on October 3, 2021
Given 53%
while driving a
Opel Antara 2.2 4x4 184HP
(215/50 R17) on
mostly motorways
for 8,500
average miles
Overall not as good as a tire as I expected it to be.
It's kind of sad to know that I've spent quite a high price for the set, thinking it will be a good tire, as Dunlop has been previously for me, only to find out that I'm almost disappointed in the qualities of it, especially in dry handling.
It may have something to do with the fact, that I have fitted KW coilovers.
1 - tire reviewed on May 14, 2021
Given 69%
while driving a
Toyota Prius
(215/45 R17) on
a combination of roads
for 40,000
average miles
The Winter Sport 5 give the car a little too much of understeer but still acceptable, a little more disturbing is they feel a little lazy on the breakes but still ok for a winter tire. I drove only 2-3 hours in real winter conditions here in hamburg so do not expect too much from my opinion - they did their job which is fine for this small and wide format. Noise, comfort and fuel consumption are very ok. The sidewalls were surprisingly full of dents after the first winter, and look not much better than the moon after 3 Winters - but where it counts they still look like one more winter, now the score is 40000 miles.
1 - tire reviewed on April 13, 2021
Given 86%
while driving a
Skoda
(225/45 R17) on
mostly country roads
for 19,000
spirited miles
These have just gone back on my Skoda Yeti 170tdi 4x4 for their 4th season & have probably done close to 20k miles now & yet still have almost 50% wear left so definitely last well. However 1 tire has worn in an odd way with a sort of high patch appearing in the carcass below the tread blocks over about a third of the tire, so on this tire there's about 3mm tread left at this part of the tire, yet 6mm elsewhere, just like the other 3 tires on the car. I've had it checked by my MOT station & also my tire supplier, & both said it's ok to keep in service, so I will, & keep my eye on it. Other than this they have been a great winter tire. Nice, dynamic steering & decent ride quality. Previously I've run Vredestein Wintrac Extreme & Pirelli Sottozero 3 on the Yeti & I'd say the Dunlops have very slightly better wet, dry & snow grip than those tires, except at very low speeds on snow where curiously the Dunlops can understeer noticeably, yet as speed rises over say 15mph, grip comes back rapidly & they're very good after that, & are also the best winter I've experienced on ice. So performance wise, very impressive tires but the odd wear pattern on 1 tire worries me slightly especially as I've also previously suffered 2 faulty Goodyear tires (same company) I do question construction quality & wonder if it's no coincidence that Goodyear/Dunlop have the worst warranty of just about all tire manufacturers.
0 - tire reviewed on December 11, 2020
Given 96%
while driving a
Hyundai elantra
(205/55 R16) on
mostly town
for 18,600
average miles
Drive only on town, on not so much snow (only until the road is cleaned), little wet road, i think 60-70% from time on dry roads. Wery good response, quiet on the road, good to very good on brake. In one season (winter) i made aprox. 30.000 km, and the wear is very good, i think it will resist 3 seasons! Good tire, i will buy again!
No rim protection!! Despite saying on the side wall it has rim protection, it most certainly doesn’t. Compared to my usual Pilot Sport 3/4 summers which have plenty of curb protection. And sadly I now have to refurb two of my newly refurbished wheels again after being forced against a curb by a SUV charging down a narrow road, I literally just brushed the curb and now they are heavily scuffed.
Grip in normal conditions is ok, but they do squirm around a fair bit when cornering or braking hard at higher speeds. They felt horrible when new but have improved after a few thousand miles. Damp (not wet) grip was atrocious but has also improved. Don’t expect these to perform like high performance summer tires.
Typically not had any snow since fitting them, but had frost and ice where grip is obviously reduced but they are progressive and predictable. Also seem to perform well on mud covered roads which is common on the country lanes I drive on. They don’t aquaplane on deep puddles which again is common round here.
There is tire noise, not intrusive but its there. Fuel economy doesn’t seem to be adversely affected by any great degree, maybe 1mpg, but its hard to say as the car uses more fuel in the colder seasons.
If it wasn’t for the useless rim protection, I’d probably buy again.
3 - tire reviewed on January 23, 2020
Given 54%
while driving a
(235/45 R18 V) on
a combination of roads
for 2,000
spirited miles
Have these tires on a Tesla Model 3 SR+, and I find them to perform very poorly both in dry and wet conditions. Wet even worse than dry. Given the profile structure of the tire, I can imagine very good snow performance, however as these conditions are rare in my country (NL), could not recommend these for any car with more than 200 hp.
The original Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires made the car seem on rails, these make the car very nervous when accelerating hard.
3 - tire reviewed on January 10, 2020
Given 81%
while driving a
Honda Civic 1.5T
(225/45 R17) on
a combination of roads
for 4,000
spirited miles
Last tires i used were conti ts 860 t, this year i bought dunlop, and i love it, i can say they are almost as good and a lot cheaper too. I recommend highly... Not scared in wet, icy or snow, they are superb on dry also....
1 - tire reviewed on January 2, 2020
Given 92%
while driving a
Nissan LEAF Tekna
(215/50 R17 H) on
mostly country roads
for 15,000
easy going miles
Used on Nissan Leaf for two winters (November to end May). One of best winter tires I've used - very good in wet n dry conditions, even on warmer days with temperatures up to 17'C. Very good ride comfort, noise and economy. Handled 8" f fresh snow easily (limitation being the car ground clearance!) as well as compacted snow and slush.
Would use again without hesitation. Drove ca 15k miles in two winters on them and not even half worn.
4 - tire reviewed on June 7, 2019
Given 89%
while driving a
Volkswagen Passat 2.0TDI
(215/55 R17 W) on
mostly town
for 3,000
average miles
Exellent on dry road, on the wet sometimes slipping during acceleration.