Continental VikingContact 8 vs Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5

In this article we will be looking at independent tire test data, and real world driver reviews of the Continental VikingContact 8 and the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 to find out which tire is best for your own driving.

The good news is that both the Continental VikingContact 8 and Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 are Premium Touring Winter tires designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars, which means comparing the two tires is relatively simple.

Both tires are hugely popular in the market place with drivers, and both have been featured in independent tire tests.

In This Article
Introduction Test Results Driver Reviews Conclusion
VikingContact-8 VS Hakkapeliitta-R5

Test Results

Independent comparison tire tests are the best source of data to get tire information from, and the good news is there have been two tests which compare both tires directly!

Out of these two tests:

  • Continental VikingContact 8 finished ahead of the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 in two of the tests

While it might look like the Continental VikingContact 8 is better than the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 purely based on the higher number of test wins, tires are very complicated objects which means where one tire is better than the other can be more important in real world use.

Let's look at how the two tires compare across multiple tire test categories.

Dry Braking

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one dry braking tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 stopped the vehicle in 0.48% less distance than the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5.

Continental VikingContact 8
31.2M
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
31.35M
Dry braking in meters, lower is better

Best In Dry Braking: Continental VikingContact 8

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 ✓ Continental VikingContact 8:31.2M Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 31.35M

Subj. Dry Handling

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one subj. dry handling tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 scored 25% more points than the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5.

Continental VikingContact 8
4 Points
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
3 Points
Subjective Dry Handling Score, higher is better

Best In Subj. Dry Handling: Continental VikingContact 8

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 ✓ Continental VikingContact 8:4 Points Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 3 Points

Wet Braking

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one wet braking tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 stopped the vehicle in 4.34% less distance than the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5.

Continental VikingContact 8
40.1M
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
41.92M
Wet braking in meters, lower is better

Best In Wet Braking: Continental VikingContact 8

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 ✓ Continental VikingContact 8:40.1M Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 41.92M

Wet Handling [s]

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one wet handling [s] tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 was 1.2% faster around a wet lap than the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5.

Continental VikingContact 8
41.2s
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
41.7s
Wet handling time in seconds, lower is better

Best In Wet Handling [s]: Continental VikingContact 8

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 ✓ Continental VikingContact 8:41.2s Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 41.7s

Straight Aqua

Continental VikingContact 8
59.8Km/H
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
59.8Km/H
Float Speed in Km/H, higher is better

Best In Straight Aqua:

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 Continental VikingContact 8:59.8Km/H Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 59.8Km/H

Snow Braking

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 was better during one snow braking tests. On average the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 stopped the vehicle in 2.04% less distance than the Continental VikingContact 8.

Continental VikingContact 8
12.72M
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
12.46M
Snow braking in meters, lower is better

Best In Snow Braking: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 Continental VikingContact 8:12.72M ✓ Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 12.46M

Snow Traction

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one snow traction tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 accelerated 0.24% faster than the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5.

Continental VikingContact 8
4.19s
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
4.2s
Snow acceleration time, lower is better

Best In Snow Traction: Continental VikingContact 8

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 ✓ Continental VikingContact 8:4.19s Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 4.2s

Snow Handling [s]

Continental VikingContact 8
79.7s
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
79.7s
Snow handling time in seconds, lower is better

Best In Snow Handling [s]:

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 Continental VikingContact 8:79.7s Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 79.7s

Ice Braking

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 was better during one ice braking tests. On average the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 stopped the vehicle 5.01% shorter than the Continental VikingContact 8.

Continental VikingContact 8
11.97M
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
11.37M
Ice braking in meters, lower is better

Best In Ice Braking: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 Continental VikingContact 8:11.97M ✓ Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 11.37M

Ice Traction

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 was better during one ice traction tests. On average the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 accelerated 5.09% faster than the Continental VikingContact 8.

Continental VikingContact 8
8.44s
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
8.01s
Ice acceleration time, lower is better

Best In Ice Traction: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 Continental VikingContact 8:8.44s ✓ Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 8.01s

Ice Handling [s]

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one ice handling [s] tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 was 0.62% faster around a lap than the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5.

Continental VikingContact 8
64.6s
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
65s
Ice handling time in seconds, lower is better

Best In Ice Handling [s]: Continental VikingContact 8

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 ✓ Continental VikingContact 8:64.6s Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 65s

Noise

Looking at data from one tire tests, the Continental VikingContact 8 was better during one noise tests. On average the Continental VikingContact 8 measured 0.14% quieter than the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5.

Continental VikingContact 8
71.8dB
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
71.9dB
External noise in dB, lower is better

Best In Noise: Continental VikingContact 8

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 ✓ Continental VikingContact 8:71.8dB Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 71.9dB

Fuel Consumption

Continental VikingContact 8
5.3l/100km
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
5.3l/100km
Fuel consumption in Litres per 100 km, lower is better

Best In Fuel Consumption:

2024 Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test
225/45 R17		 Continental VikingContact 8:5.3l/100km Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5: 5.3l/100km

Real World Driver Reviews

Tire Reviews also collects real world driver reviews for the Continental VikingContact 8 and Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5.

In total the Continental VikingContact 8 has been reviewed times and drivers have given the tire 0% overall.

The Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 has been reviewed 8 times and drivers have given the tire 90% overall.

This means in real world driving, people prefer the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5.

Best Review for the Continental VikingContact 8
View all Continental VikingContact 8 driver reviews >>
Best Review for the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
Given 93% 205/60 R16 on a combination of roads for 150 average miles
I live in middle-part of Sweden where the weather can be up and down. from practically rainy roads, to dry and out of nowhere snow&ice roads due to weather changes. I went from Studded tires(been using those for 12years now and wanted to switch up and see how it felt to use studless and am I amazed how far the it come? it's just magnificent, less road noise due to not studded but wow the performance is just unpeccable. They saying wet grip is not that good-okey-ish but for me they have been great, snow & ice is just as we all know .."they are hakka" for a reason.
Helpful 88 - tire reviewed on December 30, 2022
View all Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 driver reviews >>

Conclusion

In conclusion the Continental VikingContact 8 performed better in dry braking, subj. dry handling, wet braking, wet handling [s], snow traction, ice handling [s] and noise, while the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 performed better in snow braking, ice braking and ice traction.

Interestingly, both tires performed equally well in straight aqua, snow handling [s] and fuel consumption, showing that they are closely matched in these areas.

Which tire is best for you depends a lot on your driving style and situation, plus what you want from the tire. Comparing all the data in the tire reviews database, on balance Continental VikingContact 8 seems to be the best tire overall.

However, it's important to note that both tires have their strengths.

Remember, the best tire for you might depend on which of these factors are most important for your specific driving needs and conditions.

Continental VikingContact 8

Overall Winner: Continental VikingContact 8

Based on the tire test data and user reviews we have in our database, the Continental VikingContact 8 has demonstrated better overall performance in this comparison. However, as you can see from the spider diagram above, each tire has its own strengths which should be considered in your final tire buying choice.

Similar Comparisons

Looking for more tire comparisons? Here are other direct comparisons involving these tires:

Continental VikingContact 8
VS
Goodyear UltraGrip Ice 3
Continental VikingContact 8 VS Goodyear UltraGrip Ice 3
Continental VikingContact 8
VS
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
Continental VikingContact 8 VS Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
Goodyear UltraGrip Ice 3
VS
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
Goodyear UltraGrip Ice 3 VS Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
Continental VikingContact 8
VS
Michelin X Ice Snow
Continental VikingContact 8 VS Michelin X Ice Snow
Michelin X Ice Snow
VS
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5
Michelin X Ice Snow VS Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5

Footnote

This page has been developed using tire industry testing best practices. This means we are only comparing tests which have had both tires in the same test.

Why is this important? Tire testing is heavily affected by things like surface grip levels and surface temperature, which means you can only compare values from the same day. During a tire test external condition changes are calculated into the overall results, but it is not possible to calculate this between tire tests performed on different days or at different locations.

As a result you will see other tests on Tire Reviews which feature both the %s and %s, but as they weren't conducted on the same day, the results are not comparable.

Lots of other websites do this sort of tire comparison, Tire Reviews doesn't.