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Kumho WinterCraft Ice View Gallery (2)

Kumho WinterCraft Ice

Kumho Tires Premium Touring Winter

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

6.8
Tire Reviews Score Based on Professional Tests
High Confidence View Breakdown
Dry Grip
80%
Wet Grip
70%
Road Feedback
70%
Handling
75%
Wear
75%
Comfort
40%
Buy again
45%
Snow Grip
80%
Ice Grip
80%
2 Reviews
68% Average
4,000 miles driven
3 Tests (avg: 7th)
Kumho WinterCraft Ice

Kumho WinterCraft Ice

Winter Mid-Range
BETA
6.8 / 10
Based on Professional Tests · High 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
Ice
92.4
1.2x / 6 tests
Snow
66
1.5x / 6 tests
Dry
60.2
1.13x / 3 tests
Value
54.8
0.42x / 2 tests
Comfort
45.3
0.32x / 3 tests
Wet
42.5
1.93x / 7 tests
Cross-Category Performance

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

Traction
82.3
4 tests
Handling
62.4
9 tests
Braking
62.1
8 tests
Score Components
Professional Tests
Weight: 80%
Tests: 3
Publications: 2
Period: 2021 - 2025
User Reviews
Weight: 15%
Reviews: 2
Avg Rating: 68.3%
Min Required: 5
Consistency
Weight: 5%
Score Std Dev: 0.25
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 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tire Test Teknikens Varld 2025 235/45 R18 6/20 6 metrics
2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tire Test Tekniikan Maailma 2025 205/55 R16 7/14 10 metrics
2021 Studless and Studded Winter Tire Test Teknikens Varld 2021 205/55 R16 8/16 11 metrics
In Depth Tire Comparisons
Kumho WinterCraft Ice vs Michelin X Ice North 4
Kumho WinterCraft Ice vs Michelin X Ice North 4
All Tests
View Test Results
3
Tests
7th
Average
6th
Best
8th
Worst
Latest Tire Test Results
2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tire Test
205/55 R16 • 2025
7th/14
The Kumho WinterCraft ice Wi32 has excellent grip for braking and accelerating on ice, though its cornering grip is weaker. It tends to understeer in fast situations but remains easy to control, and its behavior on snow is calm despite an imprecise steering feel. On asphalt, its characteristics are mediocre, and control becomes difficult during evasive maneuvers as the front tires are prone to losing grip easily in both wet and dry conditions.
2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tire Test
235/45 R18 • 2025
6th/20
The Kumho WinterCraft ice Wi32 absolutely destroys any notion of comfort with brutally high and distinctive noise levels - the stud noise is so loud and characteristic that it resembles an airplane propeller engine, suddenly making the Volvo V60 test car remarkably uncomfortable. When switched to Nordic friction Michelin X-Ice Snow afterward, nearly all road noise vanishes and the car suddenly becomes remarkably quiet, highlighting just how extreme Kumho's noise problem is. Beyond the noise disaster, Kumho also negatively affects how the car behaves on the road - the V60 becomes choppy, loses its fine directional stability, and during mild cornering, the tire makes the car disturbingly unpredictable in its reactions. While it manages decent ice grip when pointing straight ahead, this is completely overshadowed by the comfort catastrophe. Even with a significantly lower price than competitors, the appalling noise levels and poor road manners make this tire impossible to recommend. It represents everything that gives studded tires a bad reputation, taken to an extreme that's simply unacceptable for modern motoring.
2021 Studless and Studded Winter Tire Test
205/55 R16 • 2021
8th/16
[Studded] Good lateral grip on ice.
Poor in the wet, high levels of noise, long dry braking.
View Test Results

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Latest Kumho WinterCraft Ice Reviews

Given 60% while driving a BMW 530e xDrive (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 2,500 average miles
Good tires if you can accept the noice level. If you have otherwise a quiet car, you will definetly hear these and they will annoy you every time you drive. These has been the loudest stud tires I have ever tried and could not live with the noice so needed to switch to other brand in mid season.
Kumho WinterCraft Ice image
Helpful 204
November 24, 2025
Given 76% while driving a Hyundai Genesis Coupe V6 (225/50 R18) on mostly country roads for 1,500 spirited miles
Tread pattern on this tire is directional, so 2 are being used on rear axle only. Car is a fairly heavy rwd with a limited slip diff, so the tires get some help. Grip is good in snow. Tires are composed when powered through rutted, hilly b-roads. Tires can be composed when navigating uphill on snow-covered roads.

However, it seems the Wi31 have a tendency to allow snap oversteer when approaching WoT. The slide itself is predictable and possible to reel in.

In general: grip levels are good, but once lost, the tire struggles to respond under continued throttle.

No comment on ice as there are no studs installed on the tires. Wear is noticeable outside of snow. Comfort is not an issue, nor is it a real strength.

This (Wintercraft Wi31) is a fairly old model, and you should be able to find discounts. It's important to make sure you check the manufacture year of your tire (XXYY) -> XX = week of manufacture, YY = year of manufacture. You may not want a "new" tire that is in reality a year or two old, since it means it sat in a warehouse in unknown conditions for a long time!
Helpful 638
June 21, 2024
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