Skip advert
Advertisement

Continental ContiSportContact 5 review

Still a top performer, but fuel economy lets it down

Continental ContiSportContact 5

Still a top performer, but fuel economy lets it down

You could call Continental our reigning champion. We haven’t tested 18-inch tyres since 2010, but the German brand was the winner back then with its ContiSportContact 3, and it won last year’s 17-inch test with this tyre, the 5. It was a dominant performance, too, with four category wins and three runners-up places.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Despite coming third this time around, the ContiSportContact 5 has lost none of its appeal; it’s just that two new tyres have moved the game on a touch. On the handling tracks, it was the quickest and felt very lively – delivering quick direction changes with minimum steering input. It can push a little wide, but it hangs on well and you can get on the power early and still maintain the desired line. It’s a real pleasure to drive and gives you confidence to go faster.

It also fared well in the other wet and dry tests, earning victories or places on the podium across all categories. Continental has made braking its focus, and this could be seen both in the wet and dry.

It was also a strong performer in the deeper water of the aquaplaning tests, where it won the straight-line assessment and took second in the curved test behind the new Dunlop. But it just loses out to two new designs here, and that’s largely down to fuel economy; it proved around three per cent thirstier than the best.

Buy the Continental ContiSportContact 5 from Black Circles

Price £95.09 
Dry handling 100%1st
Dry braking 98%3rd
Wet handling 100%1st
Wet braking 93.50%3rd
Wet cornering 99.60%2nd
Straight aqua  100%1st
Curved aqua  96.20%2nd
Rolling resistance85.80% 7th 
Cabin noise 98.40%=5th 
Overall98.90%3rd
Skip advert
Advertisement
Products editor

Kim has worked for Auto Express for more than three decades and all but a year of that time in the Products section. His current role as products editor involves managing the section’s content and team of testers plus doing some of the tests himself. 

New & used car deals

Dacia Spring

Dacia Spring

RRP £14,995Avg. savings £1,676 off RRP*
Volkswagen Golf

Volkswagen Golf

RRP £24,625Avg. savings £2,261 off RRP*Used from £13,211
Volkswagen Tiguan

Volkswagen Tiguan

RRP £35,385Avg. savings £2,911 off RRP*Used from £16,700
Volkswagen Polo

Volkswagen Polo

RRP £15,255Avg. savings £1,848 off RRP*Used from £7,649
* Average savings are calculated daily based on the best dealer prices on Auto Express vs manufacturer RRP
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

New Kia PV5 Passenger MPV undercuts the VW ID.Buzz by a huge £25k
Kia PV5 Passenger - show front

New Kia PV5 Passenger MPV undercuts the VW ID.Buzz by a huge £25k

New entry into the electric people carrier market undercuts the VW ID. Buzz by a significant margin
News
29 Apr 2025
Car Deal of the Day: BMW’s ultimate luxury SUV at an unusually low price
BMW X7 - front

Car Deal of the Day: BMW’s ultimate luxury SUV at an unusually low price

German firm’s flagship SUV could never be called cheap but it is exceptional value at £735 a month – making it our Deal of the Day for Sunday 27 April
News
27 Apr 2025
New Volkswagen ID.3 Match 2025 review: attractive price boosts EV’s appeal
Volkswagen ID.3 Pure Match - front

New Volkswagen ID.3 Match 2025 review: attractive price boosts EV’s appeal

The value-focused Volkswagen ID.3 Match performs well and is easy to live with
Road tests
28 Apr 2025