ContiSportContact 3 Tops Auto Express Tyre Test

The ContiSportContact 3 has won this year’s Auto Express test, the second time in a row a Continental brand tyre has won what is arguably Britain’s most popular annual tyre ranking. That said Michelin’s Pilot Sport 3 was just 0.6 per cent off the pace in the overall results with a benchmark of 99.4, closely followed by Goodyear and Dunlop with 99.2 and 99.1 in third and fourth place respectively for the company’s Eagle F1 Asymmetric and SP Sport Maxx TT tyres. Fifth place was taken by Hankook’s Ventus S1 evo with 98.2, a hair’s breadth ahead of Pirelli’s P Zero.

A disappointing 97.5 saw the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A, one of the oldest tyres in the tested, languish in ninth place of the 12 products examined only 0.6 points ahead of the Sava Intensa uhp. The Runway Enduro-916+ brought up the rear with a benchmark score of 91.5, some way off the 11th place Maxxis Victra MA-Z1 Drift (94.8) Speaking of this year’s wooden spoon holder, which is produced by the largest tyre manufacturer in China – Giti Tire, Auto Express acknowledged that the product is inexpensive at just £40 each including valve, balance and mobile fitting, but said this was “false economy.” When it came to the tyre’s performance characteristic, Auto Express notably described the product as “a liability in the wet.”

Announcing this year’s result in its 8-14 September issue, the magazine wrote: “As with its victory in last year’s test, the German company has designed a tyre that performs well across all our assessments. While others are better in some disciplines, none matches this all-rounder.”

Continental brand manager, Tracey Hyem, commented: “This is the third win this year for the ContiSportContact 3 in UK magazine tyre tests. This time the high performance tyre has proved that it is up to the challenge on an 18” front wheel drive car. Again, the testers have commented on the all-round ability of our tyre. Following on from the ContiPremiumContact 2 win with Auto Express last year, it’s an excellent endorsement for our product range.”

Continental’s latest tyre test win follows a similar triumph in consumer magazine Which?’s most recent tyre test. The magazine put 12 brands through their paces on a Skoda Octavia fitted with size 225/40R18 – the first time the publication has tested an 18-inch tyre. 

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