The Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 is a mid-range touring winter tire that majors on refinement and value, delivering a quiet, comfortable ride with confident handling in typical winter conditions. Driver feedback is strongly positive for wet security and everyday usability, while independent tests consistently praise its comfort, low noise and cost of ownership. However, testing also highlights clear compromises in braking performance and energy efficiency compared with the best winter rivals.
The quick answer
Owners say81%from 35 owner reviews85% would buy againRead the reviews
Strengths & weaknessesComfort, DryValue, 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 June 2026.
In 225/45 R17, the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 is projected to cost €27.81 per 1,000 miles to buy and run - about €695 over 25,000 miles - based on the price, wear and rolling resistance measured in the 2019 Auto Bild Winter 17 inch Tire Test.
Tire purchase + fittingExtra fuel vs the most efficient tirecost per 1,000 miles
Assumes a typical car doing 29 mpg (rolling resistance causing 20% of fuel use), fuel at €6.25 per gallon and €70 fitting per set of four. Purchase prices are from the time of the 2019 test; financing costs are excluded.
How good is the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 in the wet?
Across the 8 wet-braking tests it has featured in, the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 stops 7.9% longer than premium rivals, 2.4% longer than mid-range rivals and 1.9% longer than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews wet score of 58/100, and owners rate it 8.5/10 in the wet from 35 reviews.
How good is the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 in the dry?
Across the 5 dry-braking tests it has featured in, the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 stops 1.5% longer than premium rivals, 1.3% longer than mid-range rivals and 10.6% longer than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews dry score of 59/100, and owners rate it 8.6/10 in the dry from 35 reviews.
How good is the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 in the snow?
Across the 8 snow-braking tests it has featured in, the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 stops 1% longer than premium rivals, 0.2% shorter than mid-range rivals and 29.1% shorter than budget rivals. Across the 1 snow-traction test, it is 6.4% worse than premium rivals, 0.3% worse than mid-range rivals and 262.7% better than budget rivals. It has a Tire Reviews snow score of 33/100, and owners rate it 8.2/10 in the snow from 35 reviews.
How fuel efficient is the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2?
Across the 5 tests measuring rolling resistance, the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2's rolling resistance is 11.4% higher than premium rivals, 8.1% higher than mid-range rivals and 14.4% higher than budget rivals.
How many miles does the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 last?
Based on test and owner data, the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 is expected to last around 27,640 miles (44,482 km).
More questions about the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2(11)
What do owners say about the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2?
Across 35 owner ratings the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 averages 81%. Owners rate Dry Grip highest at 8.6 out of 10 and Ice Grip lowest at 7.2. 4 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 83% of owners score it 70% or better.
How much does the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 cost to run?
In 225/45 R17, the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 is projected to cost €27.81 per 1,000 miles to buy and run - about €695 over 25,000 miles - based on the price, wear and rolling resistance measured in the 2019 Auto Bild Winter 17 inch Tire Test. The cheapest to run in that test is the Continental WinterContact TS 860, at €23.86.
What is the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2's EU tire label rating?
Across its range, the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 most commonly carries EU label ratings of D for fuel efficiency, C for wet grip and 72 dB for noise.
How comfortable and quiet are the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2?
Owners rate the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 8.6 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 31 reviews.
How well do the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 8.6 out of 10 for wear across 31 reviews. 4 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 3,000 miles.
Would owners buy the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 again?
85% of owners say they would buy the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 again, based on the 33 owner reviews that answered the question. 42% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
What do owners say about the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2's snow traction?
Of the 29 owner reviews analyzed for the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2, 13 mention snow traction: 11 praise it (strong snow traction) and 2 criticise it (weak snow traction). One owner wrote: "Love the grip in the snow". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2's road noise?
Of the 29 owner reviews analyzed for the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2, 12 mention road noise: 9 praise it (quiet) and 3 criticise it (noisy). Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2's dry grip?
Of the 29 owner reviews analyzed for the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2, 11 mention dry grip: 10 praise it (strong dry grip) and 1 criticise it (limited dry grip). One owner wrote: "they have been great in the cold, dry and wet". Read those reviews
What does the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 replace?
The Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 is the successor to the Nexen Winguard Sport in Nexen's range.
What sizes does the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 come in?
The Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 is available in 108 sizes, ranging from 195-295/35-65 R15-20.
Questions and Answers for the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2
Sorry, we don't currently have any questions and answers for the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2. Why not submit a question to our tire experts using the form below!
Drivers largely rate the Nexen WinGuard Sport 2 highly for its quiet, comfortable ride, strong wet grip (including resistance to aquaplaning), stable dry handling, and excellent value. Many also report respectable wear and adequate snow traction for a performance-winter design. A minority note softer sidewalls that can make handling feel vague and some limitations on ice or deep snow. A few reviews report quality/uniformity issues (egg-shaped/wobble) leading to vibration.
What owners mention most counted across 29 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 35 ratings
Owner score81%
Dry Grip86%
Wear86%
Comfort86%
Wet Grip85%
Snow Grip82%
Handling78%
Road Feedback75%
Ice Grip72%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 88%
“I bought these tires to be driven in all seasons, and expected them to wear off quite quickly due to quite hot summers lately (up to 38 C). But to my surprise I put already 37000 miles and they are still having 5 mm of...”
“Tires went wobbly right after 10000km. Unrepairable with 3 different tire balancing machines. Simply 2of4 tires were shot.Do not expect these tires to be reliable , the price tells you all. Definitelly won't buy or...”
“bought several years ago when they appeared on market. Went eggy after 1 winter. 1st winter was ok, ant the beginning of 2nd i noticed smth wrong, 3rd was really annoying to drive. several balancing did not helped...”
Bought these for my Acura TLX A Spec AWD and love them so far. I knew I would be sacrificing all out snow for these Performance Winter tires, but wanted something better for dry, cold and damp roads. These are some of the quietist winter tires I have bought. I would previously buy more aggressive winter tires, but didn't like them on none snowy drives. These were a great price for 19 inch tires too, I bought 4 for less than $720 US Dollars and even if I only get 3-4 seasons from them, its better than the horrible OEM tires.
I also put them on my wives Honda CRV Hybrid . I did have to drive it through 3-4 inches and they performed very good. Again, I knew I these weren't designed for deep snow, but still happy with their performance. I've put 1.000 miles on these so far, and they have been great in the cold, dry and wet. Very quiet for a winter tire.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
This is my second season on these tires, and they work well on my 2024 BRZ tS. No issues at all. We generally don't get a huge amount of snow in one go, and if it's that bad, I don't travel. Anything up to 10 cm of snow and the tires are fine.
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I bought these tires to be driven in all seasons, and expected them to wear off quite quickly due to quite hot summers lately (up to 38 C). But to my surprise I put already 37000 miles and they are still having 5 mm of profile. Comfortable, silent, good grip in all conditions, great value for money.
Good: dry grip, wet grip, snow grip, comfort
Wear - above 7000 km by 1 mm of tread
Disappointed with tire width: it she should be 235, but actually 210 mm, contact with ground only 195 mm.
Nexen, WTF? Where my 1 inch?
By the way it had rim protector, but it doesn't work on 8 inch wheel, because it 210 mm. I am so angry and disappointed
Do not buy this wheel in 235/55/19
I am giving this review in the third winter of use. I looked for the tires to have characteristics as close as possible to a summer sports tire. They are as expected, after 2 years and ... they are still soft on the road but hard on the sidewall, they have a very good steering response, braking is very good both on dry and wet roads at minus temperatures, but at the same time very tiresome, even the resistance to aquaplaning is very good, the only minus is the traction on snow, but that does not interest me because I avoid icy roads and snow as much as I can because they are salted and I am a maniac with car detailing. I recommend them to everyone except those who are looking for good traction on snow.
I was sceptical of Nexen at first. But then we got set of original Winguard Sports when we purchased used car and they were good. So I decided to give Winguard Sport 2 a go. I'm so far impressed. I have them on now 2nd season. First they feel real good in wet. I feel safe. Curious how long before I notice significant worse performnce, budget tires do fall off a bit faster than premium. In dry all is good, not enough power to really push them tbh (180 HP). They do feel a bit more "rolly" in corners than summer Turanzas. Reason for that must be a bit softer sidewall. So that's why a bit lower score in Handling and Road feedback. Good for winter tire but it is no PS4, obviously. In snow it feels good, but didn't really have chance to drive it much at loads of snow. Mostly motorway and it was good. For the budget I'm really happy.
Initial Review. Good grip, noticebly higher rolling resistance, especially on the wet road. Therefor probably slighty higher fuel consumption. Satisfied for now, waiting for the first snow. I feel safe enough for now having these tires on.
Initial Review. Good grip, noticebly higher rolling resistance, especially on the wet road. Therefor probably slighty higher fuel consumption. Satisfied for now, waiting for the first snow. I feel safe enough for now having these tires on.
These tires have been quite satisfactory, especially considering the price. They are quiet, comfortable, and actually handle well on dry pavement without feeling too squidgy.
My vehicle is RWD, but I haven’t had any issues in 3-4” snow. Deeper snow poses a slight challenge, and I haven’t tried them on straight up ice. Up hill starts a standstill are perfectly doable with careful use of the throttle and clutch.
Dry grip and handling is actually very impressive for a winter tire. I chose these partially because I didn’t want to lose 100% of my car’s sporting nature during winter, and they haven’t let me down. Wet grip is very good as well, in my experience. I don’t push my car to the limits in cold and wet conditions, so this may not match the experiences of professional tire testing organizations.
Noise level and comfort are very good, with only a very slight hum on warmer days. They absorb and dissipate bumps and impacts well.
Wear is difficult for me to comment on. I’ve only used them for maybe 5,000 miles of daily/spirited driving, and so far the tires have worn noticeably but not excessively. Most drivers probably won’t be using these in a spirited manner on dry pavement, so I don’t foresee any wear issues after many miles of relaxed daily driving.
The price is very good, and mostly makes up for any shortcomings this tire has, seeing as I don’t drive this vehicle much during winters, and rarely use it on snow covered roads. These are good tires for someone who lives in an area that gets occasional snow, doesn’t want to lose the sporty feel of their car, and doesn’t want to spend $800 on a set of winter tires.
TL;DR- They are much, much better in the snow than any all-season tires, somewhat sporty (for winter tires), won’t break the bank, and aren’t annoying in any way.
