Kumho Winter Craft WP51

The Kumho Winter Craft WP51 is a Premium Touring Winter tire designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars.

This tire has been replaced by the Kumho Winter Craft WP52.

Dry Grip 81%
Wet Grip 75%
Road Feedback 71%
Handling 72%
Wear 82%
Comfort 84%
Buy again 72%
Snow Grip 90%
Ice Grip 85%

Tire review data from 14 tire reviews averaging 79% over 51,600 miles driven.

The Winter Craft WP51 is ranked 43rd of 64 Winter Premium Touring tires.

Latest Tire Test Results

2021 ADAC 15 Inch Winter Tire Test - 16th of 16 tires

  • Positive - Good on snow and ice.
  • Negative - Significant weakness in the dry and wet.
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2021 Winter Tire Market Overview - 31st of 49 tires

View Full Test >>

2019 ADAC 185/65 R15 Winter Tire Test - 11th of 16 tires

  • Positive - None mentioned
  • Negative - Relatively wear grip in snow, high wear.
  • Overall - Good
View Full Test >>

2021 Tire Tests

  • 16th: 2021 ADAC 15 Inch Winter Tire Test (195/65 R15)
  • 31st: 2021 Winter Tire Market Overview (205/55 R16)
  • 2019 Tire Tests

  • 11th: 2019 ADAC 185/65 R15 Winter Tire Test (185/65 R15)
  • 2018 Tire Tests

  • 7th: 2018 ACE All Season and Winter Tire Test (185/65 R15)
  • 11th: 2018 AMS Winter Tire Test (205/55 R16)
  • 12th: 2018 ADAC Winter Tire Test - 205/55 R16 (205/55 R16)
  • 23rd: 2018 51 Winter Tire Shootout (195/65 R15)
  • 2017 Tire Tests

  • 7th: 2017 AC Winter Tire Test - 185/65 R15 (185/65 R15)
  • 14th: 2017 ADAC Winter Tire Test - 195/65 R15 (195/65 R15)
  • 2016 Tire Tests

  • 30th: 2016 Winter Tire Market Overview (205/55 R16)
  • 2015 Tire Tests

  • 15th: 2015 ADAC Winter Tire Test - 205/55 R16 (205/55 R16)
  • 26th: 2015 Winter Tire Market Overview (185/60 R14)
  • 2014 Tire Tests

  • 10th: 2014 ADAC Winter Tire Test - 195/65 R15 (195/65 R15)
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    Top 3 Kumho Winter Craft WP51 Reviews

    Given 90% while driving a SEAT Leon SE Ecomotive 1.6 (205/55 R16 T) on mostly town for 4,000 average miles
    I highly recommend these tires. These tires have the highest price/performance ratio and does not differ from any expensive brand.
    Helpful 136 - tire reviewed on November 3, 2016
    Given 68% while driving a Renault Clio 172 (205/45 R16 H) on a combination of roads for 9,000 spirited miles
    In the winter they're good, not excellent, but good. Enough grip in snow and rain. The performance reflects in the price, they not the best, but great value for money. The downside is in the dry or in the summer. There's no feedback, no grip and the tire simply melts if you want to take a corner faster. But ofcourse they're winter tires, so not meant to be used in hot conditions, and in the cold they're good. Probably I will buy them again because value for money and wear.
    Helpful 28 - tire reviewed on May 24, 2020
    Given 92% while driving a Skoda (215/45 R16) on mostly country roads for 0 easy going miles
    I have bought several sets of these tires for different cars over the years. 2 VW Golfs and a Skoda Fabia. I live in a rural area with a lot of hills and when it snows it snows. These tires cope in even the worst weather conditions - ice, snow, slush, rain and I can’t recommend them enough. Cars sliding and stranded everywhere and I breeze past them. No slipping, no sliding. Just brilliant.
    Helpful 18 - tire reviewed on November 25, 2021
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    Latest Kumho Winter Craft WP51 Reviews

    Given 100% while driving a Toyota Avensis (225/45 R17) on mostly town for 0 easy going miles
    For the price the tire is really premium class.Overall good tire for city driving standard car.
    Helpful 17 - tire reviewed on October 27, 2020
    Given 86% while driving a Mitsubishi mirage dohc (225/45 R17) on mostly motorways for 500 spirited miles
    I have had 4 seperate winter tires on my car in the past. These would be my 5th winter season in Canada. I live in NB and winters can be wild at times and completely mild at other points. We experience 25 to 40 cm of snow falls in less then a few hours at times and these tires so far have been the best I've used. I've tried hankook, bridgestone, Rotalla, and Momo and these hands down give me more peice of mind then any if those other brands. They are loud in dry roads and have a very aggressive tread so they do wear on your feul economy but you will feel like a tank on the road in any condition.
    Helpful 31 - tire reviewed on December 2, 2018
    What to know the BEST All Season Tires for 2024? Click to find out!
    Given 39% while driving a Audi A6 2.5 TDI Quattro (205/55 R16) on a combination of roads for 3,000 average miles
    Probably the worst off all tires I ever used on my audi A4 and A6 quattro. Wet handling and grip in second season and only 5k km is terrible. Even new one was really bad. Dry is ok. Snow grip is average. It’s not loud and relativly comfortable. Overall, total disapointment.
    Helpful 21 - tire reviewed on November 20, 2018
    Toyota (195/50 R16 V) on mostly town for 2,500 miles
    Quite good on dry and wet on my yaris hybrid 2017. Impressed how they performerd in snow, I have to drive a lot steep uphill and downhill, during the record snowfall of December 2017 I thought I couldn't get home on the evening because roads were horrible and couldn't stay clean for more than 30/45 minutes, I afforded a strong uphill road with some 7 inches slush/snow, in the worst passage the car almost stopped climbing but it somehow managed to get on top and take me home.
    I found the kumho tires very good stopping and gripping on ice.
    Helpful 18 - tire reviewed on November 12, 2018
    Given 75% while driving a Opel Zafira TDCI (225/55 R16 V) on a combination of roads for 0 average miles
    good tire for this money!
    Helpful 23 - tire reviewed on November 9, 2018
    Given 42% while driving a Kia Motors ceed (225/45 R17) on mostly country roads for 100 spirited miles
    Recently fitted two of these to the rear of my vehicle replacing the summer tires that were on(two Michelin winters were already on the front).Within 10 miles I knew I was going to have to swap them to the front. These kumos suffer from a trate that other mid range winter tires have which is the way the tread block initially moves when steering input is applied, something Michelin manages to avoid. The feeling is unnerving to say the least and if the inputs are exaggerated the back of the car can be made to slide at relatively low speeds,this at a temperature of around 2/3 degrees,so the temperature a winter really should be starting to work. In fact the summer hankook's were far better. Fitting to the front resulted in a poorer turn in and more understeer but ultimately safer than oversteer. Stopping in ice and frost is decent enough but again not a patch on the Michelin's. Can't comment on bone dry surface performance or wear as yet obviously due to lack of miles covered. Result is spend 40 percent more and get Michelin alpin 4 or 5's fitted.
    Helpful 24 - tire reviewed on December 18, 2017
    Given 80% while driving a Mercedes Benz E220Cdi (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 6,000 spirited miles
    Was driving these tire for around 6k km fitted on a Mercedes E220D without any safety systems. On dry road the tires feel really solid. They have really stiff sidewalls and handle potholes well. Feedback was much better than my Fulda ecocontact HP. Wet grip in cornering is okey, but when you have to stop or go these kumhos are bad. Such a low powered car could easily break traction. In snow they were awesome, the car went nearly everywhere. On icy roads it was really good for a non-studded tire. For 6k km there is hardly any noticeable wear. I think they will easy last around 35-40k km. Comfort was decent. They are good tires for this price, but I would like to try sth new.
    Helpful 25 - tire reviewed on March 26, 2017
    Given 81% while driving a Kia Motors Picanto (175/50 R15 W) on mostly country roads for 3,000 spirited miles
    These do not seem to perform any better than my pirelli summer tires. I have 2 cars and have been grip testing these in the wet in a car park by going in a circle and they seemed to have the same level of grip as the summer tires. Temperature was about 4 degrees. They seem to cause a bit of noise and you can hear the grip noise change when accelerating or braking vs rolling. They are pretty good. But I get the impression that they will not be great in the snow as I have a 1 litre car and in the wet its fairly easy to get a tiny bit of wheel spin if pulling away fast.
    Helpful 23 - tire reviewed on February 27, 2017
    Given 83% while driving a Mazda 3 2014 (205/60 R16) on track for 8,000 spirited miles
    Safe and durable tire. Had no issues with it during 12000km. Warm,cold and wet weathers. Litle bit louder than I expected and consumption is 15-20% higher,but no metter when it is for reliable drive. Recommended to me by salesman in tire shop and told me will not regret. He was right. He owns the same on his both cars. Car Mazda 3 Sport 2.0
    Helpful 27 - tire reviewed on December 31, 2016
    Given 90% while driving a Fiat croma (205/55 R16 T) on a combination of roads for 14,000 spirited miles
    I got these tires when I blew one of my previous set Nokian WR D3 and then blew my spare wheel as well after 10 miles so I went to first available tire shop along the road. My Nokians were giving the last of them after 30000 miles and I was determined to buy them again, because they were best winter tires I ever had and performed magnificently, only downside was extensive wear but I made 10000 miles during summer with them (south Europe) - so they lasted well I must say.
    So, I got to the first shop and Kumho Wintercraft WP51 were all they had. It was early in the morning, actually I waited in car in front of the shop to open, and then had tires hastily put on and rushed to work. First drive on them was horrible, I felt like I had worst tires ever. But then I found that guy who put them on, inflated them on 3.0 bar !!!!! ( Fiat Croma is rated 2.2) so I put right pressure in them and drove them extensively on all kind of roads, and pushing them to the limit. And I can say this - 1). they are most comfortable tires I ever had. You don't get much road feedback but once you get into them, you start feeling little finesses and they work well. 2). they perform excellent on wet roads, grip is fantastic and cornering is awesome. 3). on dry, you feel a little skid but interestingly, after 2-3 months, when they wear out just a bit, kinda to get them flat strong on the road, this happens no more and dry grip gets much better. 4) on snow, they are not amazing like Nokian, but not far either. Let's say if Nokian are 10 on snow, Kumho are 8.9 which is more than good, because on ice they are even better. 5) Wear is what puts them on the top, because after 14000 miles, I can see the wear just a little, they are much better than Nokian or BFGoodrich and still, they feel like new. 6) driving them on late April, 15-30 C temperature, haven't seen much difference than driving 2-10C which sets them apart from other winter tires that feel much worse during summer.
    All in all, I believe I have one more season and at least 10000 miles on them, if not more.
    All in all , these tires surprised me quite a bit, and I would buy them again because, although not 10/10 like Nokians for winter, they are a bit cheaper and give much more back, in terms of durability and usability in different conditions.
    Downside is that I have them on T ratings for speed (180 km/h max) and I pushed them to this limit often and for prolonged time on long highway drives and I can say they excelled and passed ever test.
    One more note: my set was made in Korea, not in China, if that makes any difference....
    I can recommend these tires.
    Helpful 37 - tire reviewed on April 22, 2016