The Nankang SV2 is a Central European winter tire with good aquaplaning resistance and a price that appeals to owners. Many owners like its snow traction, but repeated independent comparisons find weak snow and wet-road performance, particularly long wet stopping distances.
The quick answer
Owners say73%from 30 owner reviews77% would buy againRead the reviews
Strengths & weaknessesComfort, ValueWet, SnowRelative to its rivals across every test we hold
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.
Across the 3 wet-braking tests it has featured in, the Nankang SV2 stops 16.8% longer than premium rivals, 10.7% longer than mid-range rivals and 26.8% longer than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews wet score of 29/100, and owners rate it 7.7/10 in the wet from 30 reviews.
How good is the Nankang SV2 in the dry?
Across the 3 dry-braking tests it has featured in, the Nankang SV2 stops 0.3% shorter than premium rivals, 0.1% longer than mid-range rivals and 18.7% longer than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews dry score of 41/100, and owners rate it 8.3/10 in the dry from 30 reviews.
How good is the Nankang SV2 in the snow?
Across the 3 snow-braking tests it has featured in, the Nankang SV2 stops 11.2% longer than premium rivals, 8.6% longer than mid-range rivals and 48% shorter than budget rivals. Across the 1 snow-traction test, it is 14.1% worse than premium rivals, 9.7% worse than mid-range rivals and 233% better than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews snow score of 7/100, and owners rate it 6.5/10 in the snow from 30 reviews.
How fuel efficient is the Nankang SV2?
Across the 2 tests measuring rolling resistance, the Nankang SV2's rolling resistance is 0.9% lower than premium rivals, 6.1% lower than mid-range rivals and 3.8% higher than budget rivals.
What do owners say about the Nankang SV2?
Across 30 owner ratings the Nankang SV2 averages 73%. Owners rate Wear highest at 8.3 out of 10 and Ice Grip lowest at 5. 3 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 84% of owners score it 70% or better.
More questions about the Nankang SV2(7)
How comfortable and quiet are the Nankang SV2?
Owners rate the Nankang SV2 7.4 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 25 reviews.
How well do the Nankang SV2 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Nankang SV2 8.3 out of 10 for wear across 25 reviews. 3 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 3,500 miles.
Would owners buy the Nankang SV2 again?
77% of owners say they would buy the Nankang SV2 again, based on the 30 owner reviews that answered the question. 40% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
What do owners say about the Nankang SV2's snow traction?
Of the 25 owner reviews analyzed for the Nankang SV2, 17 mention snow traction: 15 praise it (strong snow traction) and 2 criticise it (weak snow traction). One owner wrote: "the raw bite and traction is simply awesome". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Nankang SV2's wet grip?
Of the 25 owner reviews analyzed for the Nankang SV2, 11 mention wet grip: 7 praise it (confident wet grip) and 4 criticise it (weak wet grip). One owner wrote: "Grip on cold wet roads is stunning compared to summer tires". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Nankang SV2's tread life?
Of the 25 owner reviews analyzed for the Nankang SV2, 9 mention tread life: 8 praise it (long-lasting) and 1 criticise it (wears quickly). One owner wrote: "Hard wearing with 40000 miles on a 260bhp E350 mercedes". Read those reviews
Has the Nankang SV2 been replaced?
The Nankang SV2 has been replaced by the Nankang SV3.
Is the direction of rotation of each tire important for performance? How do you tell if two of them are on the wrong wheels; are there any direction indicators?
January 17, 2019
The SV-2 has directional indicators on the sidewall.
Snow traction is the main strength owners describe in the Nankang SV2, praised in 15 of 25 reviews against two complaints. Overall feedback is favorable, with 20 positive reviews and an average score of 78.3%, alongside repeated praise for dry grip and value. Wet grip is less consistent, with seven positive comments and four complaints. Comfort is also mixed, at five positive mentions against three criticisms. Three reviewers describe poorer grip or handling in warmer weather, a minority rather than a universal experience. Most reviews do not state the stage of use, and only two are explicitly mid-life or later, limiting conclusions about wear.
What owners mention most counted across 25 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 30 ratings
Owner score73%
Wear83%
Dry Grip83%
Wet Grip77%
Handling74%
Comfort74%
Road Feedback74%
Snow Grip65%
Ice Grip50%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 79%
“I drive a very light car (800kg), so this review might not apply to all cars. Bought these tires second hand very cheaply even thought I was rather sceptical about Chinese tires. I was actually amazed about how good...”
“Grip was in dry takelt decent. In the wet goedver, they were just about average. The deal drawback was that the tires werd comfortable on bumps. They also made the car feel like a shoppingcart on the motorqay. The back...”
“I bought this tire - knowing about the very negative reviews of its predecessor - because it was a great buy. I could purchase them very cheaply, so I thought, what the heck, it would be a great tire test... After...”
I drive a very light car (800kg), so this review might not apply to all cars. Bought these tires second hand very cheaply even thought I was rather sceptical about Chinese tires.
I was actually amazed about how good values these are, especially compared to the Vredestein Snowtrac 5 I used to have on another car.
Driving on snow was great, no problem at all (even with rwd), in mud an dirty roads as well.
Handling on hotter days wasn't indeed all that great, but for a winter tire, I guess it's fair to say its ok.
All in all, I would definitely recommend these, as they have great value for the price (Heard different mechanics saying these were rubbish, turned out they had never even tried these, just said that because they are Chinese)
If this review helps anyone, I bought this tires 2 years ago, brand new not used, i put all 4 tires on the car and i waited for "winter is coming", in heat condition this tire obviously is not good it looses the grip very much (because it's a winter tire and it's softer then the summer ones), on the other hand, in winter and cold conditions the tires do very well, i feel the car very smooth, i have grip, and the braking is good, the car it's a non ABS and non power steering, so for no asistences they do very good.
Anyway i recommend the tires because i am very satisfied.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
100%
Member
Volvo
235/55 R19 W
2,000 miles
Mostly Country Roads
Average
Bought these as a budget winter tire for my Volvo XC90 2017 year. I was expecting okay snow grip looking at the reviews but I am simply amazed how these tires perform in winter conditions. Driving in our recent snow is like driving on normal roads. Fuel consumption maybe up slightly but that maybe due to the colder temperatures anyway. The Volvo is not a car you flying around corners but compared to the Pirelli scorpion fitted as standard I've noticed little difference. In fact I'd say the nankangs edge it slightly.
Which tires do you drive?
Researching the Nankang SV2? Rate the tires you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
I wanted a pair of M+S tires and these seemed to fit my budget, I had a set of sv2s fitted on the front of my vauxhall combo van and although they are a good tire in the wet, dry condtions they don't wear to well I went though my first set of sv2s in about 15k, the problem I found with them is they seem to wear quite heavy on the inner and out edges initially I thought the correct tire pressure for my van wasn't enough 36psi as side wear is usually under inflation, so I bought a new pair and had a 4 wheel alignment done and took the psi up a bit more and checked the pressure every week and still they wore on the sides the trouble with these tires are the side tread is very shallow compared to the center of the tire so it doesnt take look before the sides are on the wear limits and if you go below the wear markers by only a tiny bit it wont belong before cords are showing through as I found out on the first pair, the center of the tires still has plenty left but the outter edges are on the limit so the tire is not legal then, normally a set of tires on my van will last 40k to 50k and will wear even as I don't drive like I'm having trouble taking off, this is not the first time I've had problems with side wear with nankangs, I guess tire flexing and rolling during cornering is a major problem with the sv2 to wear the sides like it does, I have since changed to a different make and I'm back to wearing evenly again.
They don't do well in 'proper' tire reviews, but I have nothing but praise for these black circles of amazement. More comfort than my summer tires and they have always found some grip in the worst of winter. Had them for 5 winters, note that my car is actually a van, I fitted 99XL rated SV2's. Favorite day was when at a party in a country pub and the snow came down, all taxis phoned to cancel due to the weather but my van took all 13 guests home on freshly laid snow with no problem, maybe a lucky number after all?
Would not recommend unless you live in a warm location where winter is very mild and only ever drive on slush. On snow they don't grip at all and let me down a lot, though i went for a very small tread intentionally so as to have more traction in snow. Would not recommend for snowy weather or sporty driving
I bought this tire - knowing about the very negative reviews of its predecessor - because it was a great buy. I could purchase them very cheaply, so I thought, what the heck, it would be a great tire test...
After mounting and balancing, away I went out to the highway and the first impression was scary! The car was very loose; it had a shimmying motion diagonally which was downright frightening.
I pulled to the next gas station to check things. Everything was OK, but as I pushed the sidewall of the tire, I noticed that it was VERY soft. The pressure was set to the recommended 1.8/1.8 bar on my Camry. I thought that if the tire has so pliable sidewalls, then I have to compensate this with more pressure. So I decided to raise the inflation pressure to 2.5/2.4 front/rear. I was right!!!
The car was immediately transformed! It rode very well despite of the raised pressure, and the SV-2 was exceptionally quiet - I started to trust the tire.
Then came the true winter with deep snow. Although the SV-2 doesn't have an aggressive winter profile/sipes, the raw bite and traction is simply awesome. I towed other cars from a parking garage with the ramp completely covered in fresh 20cm thick snow without any wheelspin. It felt like a platter ski lift!
Turn in was spontaneous, understeer was minimal if any. Braking performance and overall stability was also impeccable. The winter was absolutely convincing, so I decided to leave on the SV-2s to see how they perform in the scorching heat during summer months. Here in Hungary we have a -20°C - +40°C temp range, so a tire must prove itself.
Obviously, the compound went softer, and a tad indifferent, but a /65 tire will never be so spontaneous and instant like a low profile sporty one. It kept its absolute silence, predictability and again performed very well. I must note that the wear factor was simply nonexistent. I rotated them correctly and they looked remarkably fresh. Finally, after 65.000 km, the shoulder blocks wore away on the fronts, as I usually corner with sprightly 0.6+ Gs, avoiding unnecessary braking whenever possible.
Now at the 80.000 km mark, I still have the rears on, but they are on their final kilometers now. I replaced the fronts with Nokian AllWeather Pluses, but I'm very dissatisfied with them. They offer nowhere near the performance of the Nankangs, and they have extremely low grip in damp conditions. I'm running dangerously wide in some corners...
So, to summarize, the Nankang SV-2s gave THE MOST PLEASANT tire owning experience in my life. It was an exceptional winter tire, but I can recommend this even as an all-season one. I'm an automotive journalist, so I drive lots of different tires, but after these I truly don't know what "premium" means. Quite often the premium brands simply don't have the longevity/performance compared to others, and that questions the objectivity of tire testing in me.
Definitely a Buy Again.
+ quietness, snow grip, wet traction, stability (with raised pressure!), wear/degradation, overall balance, good water management/evacuation, attractive profile, ride comfort
- errm... well, slightly longer braking distances in the summer compared with high performance/low profile tires, but this is natural, you MUST compensate the soft sidewalls with more inflation pressure (usually around/upwards of 2.5 bar), otherwise the tire will be indifferent, snappy
Bought for my fiesta st180 front wheel drive 200bhp.
Wanted some cheap winter tires as i live in rural south west england. There is not much choice in the larger / low profile tires unless you want to pay a fortune.
Due to the size of the standard st alloys 205/40/17 i had to buy some winters to match which i know is not ideal on a wide / low profile tire. But i have to say i am impressed! Had these fitted for around 800miles now and wear is good they still look like new. Excellent through rain with a decent enough stopping distance. Handling is not as good as my Bridgestone summer tires but this is due to the tread pattern of the winter tire, which i wouldn't expect them to be. Do get me wrong they are not bad but who is going to be throwing a car into a corner in bad conditions. NOT ME! After having some snow this morning it performed great had no problem travelling 18miles through it.
Looking back they recommend buying a wheel diameter down from what is fitted with a slightly more narrow profile. This would then perform slightly better in wintery conditions. But have no complaints with mine at all.
Overview:
Better than a summer tire in under 7oc conditions
Cheap with decent performance
I would recommend them for winter against a summer tire all day long.
Firstly I'd suggest everyone should use winter tires in winter in Europe where temperature in winter falls below 7C.
My prime purpose buying Nankang was to test a cheap brand to see if that makes much difference from Goodyear or Continental & I must say I am not diappointed. Driving in dry conditions with as high speed as 130 mph in Germany and as snow with a food of snow in alps they performed very well.
Pros:
- I found then stable with speed upto 130 miles per hour in (winter) dry conditions (in Germany).
- Dry grip is pretty decent.
- Snow grip is pretty decent.
- Tread is stable. I have already driven for more than 8000 miles & I guess it will still go at least 8000 more.
- Cheap, almost half the price of any primium brand.
Cons:
- High fuel consumption (I compared it with my summer tires only).
- Wet grip is manageable.
- Breaking distance is longer than premium tires (due to less wet grip), but still 4 times better than summer tires.
I think being budget tires they are excellent choice. Those who want to stay secure in snow & icy conditions and dont want to spend a lot of money, its best choice.
76%
Member
Skoda
215/45 R16 H
4,000 miles
Mostly Town
Average
This tires are good at winter. Snow and ice grip is well. I went on the worst foggy and icy road it was still gripping well. There is not abrasion because tire is little harder. If you drive in rainy weather, grip is not so well but enough . But it increased my fuel consumption %20 at least,this one is the worst. But if you need cheap and saver winter tire you can choose.
