Continental  VikingContact 7

Bought snow tires late in the season last year, and this was one of the only options available in the size to fit my Miata. On a prior Miata, I had run Michelin X-ice III tires and Nokian Hakkapelliitta tires and these perform on par with those much more expensive snow tires for half the price. Dry traction is acceptable for a snow tire and obviously not in the same league as the summer performance tires that come on the car from the factory. Wet traction is fine, and the tires seem to do well in both dry snow and the wet slushy snow that's most common in my area. In fact, they're a lot better in the slush than the Michelins I used to run and right on par with the Nokians. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a budget snow tire that isn't looking for summer-like dry road traction.

Everything written here is compared with all of the many different tires I've used over the last 13 years.

All around Pro's:
Long lasting- Over 50,000 miles were put on the current set, with enough tread left to make it another 15,000 or so without snow.

Quiet- The second quietest tire I've ever had on a car and they remained fairly quiet even as they wore down. They also kept impact noise from expansion and the ever popular tar joints down.

Efficient- 27 or 28 mpg city biased, and 31-34 mpg highway biased.

Good in the rain- Wet braking was stable and predictable. No huge puddle planing problems (a serious concerning on US 422 in the rain).

Good Stability- Under normal driving conditions, these tires exhibit great braking distances, good vertical ride motion control and for as tall a sidewall as was being used, good cornering stability.

All around Con's:
Overall braking feel- These tires, while great under braking, do end up feeling a bit squishier and require the use of slightly longer brake pedal travel.

Side to side ride- The tread wall control over rougher pavement can be a bit sloppy at times. Higher pressures do help a bit.

Car specific notes: The buffeting from large square shaped vehicles that I experience at highway speeds with my Impreza hatch are definitely noticeable with these tires, though it is not as unsettling as some other tires that I've had on it. Dunlop Wintersport 4d's or the oem avid s30d's for example. They do do well with snowy, icy, poorly maintained, and relatively steep dirt driveways as well as steep paved driveways with a good coating(1"+). All traction management systems play nice with these tires.

I have already purchased another set of these tires as of 9/15/2020 and I would definitely recommend them for daily winter use.

Although only 500 miles on the tires, I've driven through all types of weather so far; dry, wet, and snow, slush, and ice from the recent Nor'Easter on 12/16/2020. I drive 100 miles a day (mostly highway) and the biggest observation so far is how they don't sound or feel like typical snow tires. I expected typical snow tire tread howl but these are as very quiet on the highway. By far the quietest snow tire I've had. They also handle about the same as the all seasons, and don't feel mushy or sloppy. Steering on the highway is stable and I often forget that I have snow tires on. No exaggeration. Snow and ice traction is as good as expected and braking is very good. I tested that a few times and they performed well. So far I'm impressed and have no regrets.

Just went for a drive in 8 inches of unplowed snow. These tires were flawless. Drove through the snow with no issues. The only time the tires lost traction was when I applied too much throttle. Just wanted to see what was possible. These tires STOP as good as they go forward. The Continentals never came to a skidding stop. They're excellent in the rain as well.
These tires are comparable to the Blizzack DMZ's I had many years ago, which to date were the best snow tires I have ever driven on.
These Continentals ride and handle much better than the Blizzack's too.
While researching snow tires on Tire Rack, the tread pattern caught my eye and after comparing them to the other choices for my car decided to go with them. Very happy. Now to see how the tread wear is.

These tires are truly amazing. They have more traction in snow than my all seasons in the wet. I was blown away by how planted these are in the snow. I drive a manual transmission and unless I'm trying to be silly, it's relatively difficult to break traction in the snow. Braking is also very confidence inspiring. I will be only buying VK7 as long as they are in stock and in my size.

Bought 2 Continental Winterconact Si tires last minute for the front of my car a couple years ago with good results. However after a few occasional spinouts from still using performance all seasons in the rear I learned to not risk the chance of an accident with my car and buy 2 more snow tires. The wintercontact's were no longer available so I bought the viking contact 7's. These Viking contact 7 snow tires are a life saver. Only have a few hundred miles on them, however since install, I have used them in all weather conditions from dry, wet, slush, light snow, hard packed snow, ice, and single digit temperatures. These have performed flawlessly. No slipping and sliding. Very comfortable driving and quiet. I've owned General, Nitto, and Michelin Xi3 and these Viking Contacts are my absolute favorite. I highly recommend them. My car transformed to an absolute beast in the snow. You won't regret them.

I've always been a big supporter of running dedicated winter tires especially considering the winters we get in South Bend. Previously, I always used the Bridgestone Blizzak tires, which are always phenomenal in the winter no matter the type of vehicle I have used them on, however this is now my second winter now using the VikingContact7, and I am extremely impressed. I have found their winter (light snow, deep snow, and ice) performance to be very comparable to the Blizzak, while the Blizzak may have a very very slight edge in winter conditions, this was very hard to notice. Additionally the on road manners and dry/clear road performance of VikingContact7 was superior to that of the Blizzak, more responsive and firm on the road. Considering the much more attractive price of the VikingContact7 and the great performance, I will continue to stick with this tire for winter use. Two thumbs up for Continental.

This tire performs in the snow the same way summer tires perform in the dry. That is to say traction is excellent. even in the dry, these tires are good with low noise and good traction.

I love these tires. They are as good as any in terms of winter driving (snow and ice) and are very quiet (unlike Blizzaks I had on my prior car and hated for noise). Very comfortable ride. Very stable when cornering. I have nothing bad to say, really.

I bought these after previously using the two prior generations of the Bridgestone Blizzak. When the latest Blizzaks required replacement, I discovered that they had gone to yet a third generation. The Vikings were significantly less expensive, and the early reviews were positive, so I decided to give them a try. In short, these tires are impressive. We didn't have any winter conditions for the first 3 weeks they were on the car, but grip on cold dry and cold wet pavement was remarkable, probably on par with some of my better performance summer tires, and steering response is excellent. Even more surprising, ride comfort is almost silky and the noise level is very low (better than my summer tires) and unbelievable for a dedicated winter tire. Far better than either of the Blizzak sets I had previously in all these parameters. We just had a significant snowstorm, with sleet/freezing rain in addition, and the Vikings have proven as least as good as the Blizzaks. No trouble climbing decent grades with about six inches of unplowed snow. Also worked well on plowed roads coated with a greasy layer of slush/sleet. Very surefooted.

Quiet. Comfortable. Assuring!

I've only had these tires on for a little over a week, as of this initial review.

So far, these tires have impressed me since the first few rotations down the road new! Immediately after getting these installed I notice an improvement in ride for my car over the Yokohama all seasons I had on: Much quieter. Much more comfortable (soft sidewall). Significant increase in road-to-tread surface feel. Steering is a bit more numb, but plenty acceptable (and understandable being a winter tire).

I've been able to put the car through a couple light and mild cold, fall rains and one minor snowfall: Wet grip seems fantastic. Hydroplane resistance seems good (I've not encountered any major standing water, only puddles at 35-40mph - no pull of the steering wheel). Light snow traction seems great.

I'm looking forward to putting these to the test more!

Fantastic snow tires. The traction in light to deep snow on my CX-5 is amazing. Dry handling isn't quite up to the factory tires, but I didn't expect it to be as good. For snow tires the dry and wet handling is good. Wear after one winter looks good, about 5000 miles. Looks like 5 winters easy. I'd definitely recommend these snow tires. Great confidence and control in all types of upstate NY weather.

Ran these for 2 winter seasons on my subaru imprezza. These are great snow tires. From slush, ice, & snow covered roads to deep unplowed lanes I never had any issues. Driven on for roughly 12k miles.(maybe more idk??) Good Tread wear and still in excellent condition when I sold the car with them. Would definitely buy these again

I now have one Wisconsin winter on these tires after installing them in October, 2020. It's early March now and the snow is melting, so I'll summarize my experience. Don't expect any further "surprises". Still, you never know...
We live in southern Wisconsin, but are building a house in northern Wisconsin, so I've put nearly 5K miles on them in about 5 months. Snow and mud (took them north hunting once, too) were no problem. When we started to get some real snow, both north and south, I found myself trying to see what the tires could handle. I could accelerate pretty hard and corner relatively briskly in the Alltrack without slipping. Braking was good, too. I can't really say it was like driving on dry pavement, but it seemed like it, and exceeded my expectations, and that's based on other winter tires on our cars over the years. These tires on a VW Alltrack are a terrific combination!
Would I purchase these tires again? I already did - bought them for my wife's Subaru Forester. Guess I'll also put in a review for that car and our experiences with it (spoiler alert - also good).