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Kumho WinterCraft WP52 plus View Gallery (1)

Kumho WinterCraft WP52 plus

Kumho Tires Premium Touring Winter

The Kumho WinterCraft WP52 plus is a Premium Touring Winter tire designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars.

9.2
Tire Reviews Score Based on Professional Tests
Medium Confidence View Breakdown
Dry Grip
92%
Wet Grip
92%
Road Feedback
88%
Handling
88%
Wear
75%
Comfort
88%
Buy again
100%
Snow Grip
93%
Ice Grip
83%
5 Reviews
89% Average
15,652 miles driven
1 Tests (avg: 3rd)
Kumho WinterCraft WP52 plus

Kumho WinterCraft WP52 plus

Winter Mid-Range
BETA
9.2 / 10
Based on Professional Tests · Medium Confidence · Updated 23 Feb 2026

The Tire Reviews Score is the most comprehensive tire scoring system available. It aggregates professional test data from multiple independent publications, user reviews, and consistency analysis using Bayesian statistical methods, weighted normalisation, and recency-adjusted scoring to produce a single, reliable performance rating.

Learn more about our methodology
Category Scores
Snow
80.3
1.5x / 4 tests
Wet
80.2
1.93x / 5 tests
Value
78
0.42x / 3 tests
Dry
70.6
1.13x / 2 tests
Comfort
61.9
0.32x / 2 tests
Cross-Category Performance

Cross-category scores are derived metrics that combine data from multiple test disciplines to evaluate real-world performance characteristics.

Handling
79.3
3 tests
Braking
78.6
3 tests
Traction
75
1 test
Score Components
Professional Tests
Weight: 80%
Tests: 1
Publications: 1
Period: 2025
User Reviews
Weight: 15%
Reviews: 5
Avg Rating: 88.8%
Min Required: 5
Consistency
Weight: 5%
Score Std Dev: 1.1
History Points: 10
Methodology & Configuration
Scoring Process
  1. Collect Test Data: Gather results from professional tire tests across multiple publications. Minimum 1 test(s) required.
  2. Normalize Positions: Convert test positions to percentile scores using exponential weighting (factor: 1.2).
  3. Apply Recency Weighting: More recent tests are weighted higher with a decay rate of 0.95.
  4. Incorporate User Reviews: Factor in user review data (minimum 5 reviews). Weight: 15%.
  5. Bayesian Smoothing: Apply Bayesian prior (score: 7, weight: 1.5) to prevent extreme scores with limited data.
  6. Calculate Final Score: Combine all components using normalization factor of 1.1. Max score with limited data: 9.5.
Component Weights
Test Data
80%
User Reviews
15%
Consistency
5%
All Configuration Parameters
ParameterValueDescription
safety_weight 0.7 Weight multiplier for safety-related metrics
performance_weight 0.55 Weight multiplier for performance metrics
comfort_weight 0.4 Weight multiplier for comfort metrics
value_weight 0.45 Weight multiplier for value-for-money metrics
user_reviews_weight 0.15 How much user reviews contribute to the final score
test_data_weight 0.8 How much professional test data contributes to the final score
consistency_weight 0.05 How much score consistency contributes to the final score
recency_decay_rate 0.95 Rate at which older test results lose influence (higher = slower decay)
min_test_count 1 Minimum number of professional tests required
min_review_count 5 Minimum number of user reviews required
score_version 1.9 Current version of the scoring algorithm
score_normalization_factor 1.1 Factor used to normalize raw scores to the 0-10 scale
confidence_factor_weight 0.2 How much data confidence affects the final score
position_penalty_weight 0.2 Penalty applied for poor test positions
gap_penalty_threshold 12 Score gap (%) that triggers additional penalties
min_metrics_count 2 Minimum number of test metrics needed per test
limited_data_threshold 2 Number of tests below which data is considered limited
single_test_penalty 0.75 Score multiplier when only one test is available
critical_metric_penalty 0.7 Penalty for poor performance on critical safety metrics
critical_metric_threshold 70 Score below which a critical metric penalty applies
position_exponential_factor 1.2 Exponent used to amplify position-based scoring
position_exponential_threshold 0.9 Position percentile below which exponential scoring applies
gap_multiplier_critical 3 Multiplier for critical gap penalties
max_category_weight 2 Maximum weight any single category can have
max_score_limited_data 9.5 Score cap when data is limited
bayesian_prior_weight 1.5 Weight of the Bayesian prior in smoothing
bayesian_prior_score 7 Prior score used for Bayesian smoothing
evidence_test_multiplier 1.9 Multiplier for test evidence in confidence calculation
evidence_metric_divisor 3 Divisor for metric count in evidence calculation
evidence_review_divisor 10 Divisor for review count in evidence calculation
combined_penalty_floor 0.2
Data Sources
TestPublicationDateSizePositionMetrics
2025 Autobild Winter Tire Test Auto Bild 2025 225/40 R18 3/22 16 metrics
All Tests
View Test Results
1
Tests
3rd
Average
3rd
Best
3rd
Worst
Latest Tire Test Results
2025 Autobild Winter Tire Test
225/40 R18 • 2025
3rd/22
The Kumho WinterCraft WP52+ delivers a remarkable combination of performance and value, earning its place as a price-performance winner. This Korean tire impresses particularly on snow with strong grip and confident handling, while also performing admirably on wet roads. Its standout feature is the W-speed rating (270 km/h), making it suitable for high-performance compact sports cars that might occasionally be driven at higher speeds. The tire maintains balanced characteristics across all conditions without any major weaknesses, though it's slightly less sharp in dry handling compared to the most sporty options. At approximately €430 per set, it represents exceptional value, offering near-premium performance at a mid-range price. This makes it an ideal choice for budget-conscious drivers who refuse to compromise significantly on safety and performance during winter.
View Test Results

Questions and Answers for the Kumho WinterCraft WP52 plus

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Top 3 Kumho WinterCraft WP52 plus Reviews

Given 87% while driving a BMW 320d touring (205/55 R16) on a combination of roads for 2,000 spirited miles
Best deal ever!
Tires are premium feel, Class A wet grip, drive like a german tire on a BMW Touring 320D. Made in Korea.
The only other Class A wet grip tire is Bridgestone, with $55 more per tire.

Kumho is the top-brand of the corporation, the budget version is Marshall.
Helpful 419
October 25, 2025
Given 85% while driving a BMW 530i (245/45 R18) on a combination of roads for 1,000 average miles
Mounted these this season on my BMW 530i xDrive, and after a few hundred kilometers of mixed driving, including mountain roads with tight hairpins, wet tarmac, and temperatures between 3–5°C, I’m genuinely impressed. With all driver aids turned off, the grip was annoyingly good; no matter how much I tried to unsettle the car, it simply stuck to the road.

Coming from Continental run-flats, the comfort improvement is immediately noticeable. The ride feels more compliant, and surprisingly, the road noise is minimal barely distinguishable from my summer Michelin Primacy 3s. That was an unexpected bonus.

As for fuel consumption, I can’t make a direct comparison since my winter setup is 245/45 R18 all around, while summer is 245 front / 275 rear on 19-inch wheels. Still, the overall consumption seems similar.

So far, the WP52+ have been flawless in all conditions tested wet grip, handling, comfort, and noise are top-notch. I’ll post an update once I’ve had the chance to test them on snow and ice, but as it stands, Kumho really nailed it with this tire.
Helpful 342
November 11, 2025
Given 100% while driving a MG HS (225/55 R19) on a combination of roads for 5,000 average miles
Comparing the brands like Continental, Bridgestone, Hankook, Michelin, we are very impressed by the progression of Kumho. The wp52+ tested in France in the Vosges and in the city is impressive. Tire and report quality price incomparable.
Helpful 300
November 19, 2025

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Latest Kumho WinterCraft WP52 plus Reviews

Initial Impressions Review
Given 88% while driving a Audi A3 Sportback (225/45 R17) on for 2,652 miles
I have to buy a new tire because Hankook Winter i*recept rs3 had the quality issues.. Hankook generates vibration and radial runout.. After very positive reviews and test results I decide to buy Kumho Wintercraft WP52+ in the size 225 45 r17.

I made one season on this tires and had opportunity to test this tires in each conditions, because this year winter in Poland was very snowy and cold. The tires are very quiet. Quieter than my Sommer Falken Fk520...

The grip on the dry and wet I great, the tires are very comfortable. And the quaility of the tire is great. Because of the bad experience with falken and Hankook. I decided to check the tire on Hunter road force test. And the results were impressing. 25N,10N,5N!. One tire was worse because have rubber rissees form production and has 85 N... But I got information that this rubber rissees will go out after the driving and it was true.

I am very satisfied with this tires. I forgot to mention about snow and ice grip and it was very good. On the ice usually only the studs help, but during this winter I don't have any issues with grip and handling. Well done Kumho.

I didn't evaluate the grip because it is the first season and I didn't make as many km as usually.

Poprawiona i bardziej naturalna wersja po angielsku:

I had to buy new tires because the Hankook Winter i*cept RS3 had quality issues. The Hankooks generated vibrations and had radial runout problems. After reading many positive reviews and test results, I decided to buy the Kumho WinterCraft WP52+ in size 225/45 R17.

I used these tires for one season and had the opportunity to test them in all conditions, because this winter in Poland was very snowy and cold. The tires are very quiet - even quieter than my summer Falken FK520 tires.

The grip on dry and wet roads is great, and the tires are very comfortable. The build quality is also excellent. Because of my bad experiences with Falken and Hankook, I decided to check the tires using a Hunter Road Force test, and the results were impressive: 25 N, 10 N, and 5 N. One tire performed worse because it had rubber residues from production and showed 85 N, but I was informed that the issue would disappear after some driving - and it did.

I am very satisfied with these tires. I almost forgot to mention the snow and ice performance, which was also very good. On ice, usually only studded tires provide perfect grip, but during this winter I had no issues with traction or handling. Well done, Kumho.

I didn’t evaluate tread wear yet because this was only the first season and I haven’t driven as many kilometres as usual.
Helpful 16
May 22, 2026
Given 87% while driving a Volvo V60 T6 AWD (235/45 R17) on mostly country roads for 5,000 average miles
Great tires for the cost, transforms car in winter with great grip, water shedding and ride comfort
Helpful 271
December 24, 2025
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