Continental WinterContact TS 870 review

A strong all-round showing put the Continental into a lead over arch rival Bridgestone that it never lost

The WinterContact scoops a further win and the second on the trot for the TS 870, which again put together a balanced series of results that are ideally suited to UK winters. In Sweden only the Vredestein was behind the WinterContact, but crucially, the TS 870 wasn’t far adrift of the pacesetters.

However, Continental wasn’t out of the top two in Germany. The tyre combined strong wet grip with good fuel economy. It might not be back to its ‘best in braking’ aim, but it was close and among the leaders after faltering in our last test.

It was also the best to drive. There was a liveliness to the steering that rivals couldn’t match, combined with a very planted rear. There was good traction and the TS 870 needed less lock than rivals. It was also one of the quietest tyres on test.

We say…

The remarkable TS 870 notches up another win, with sector-leading wet and dry grip balanced by a good performance on snow.

Blackcircles.com says…

We don’t have enough reviews yet to provide insight into this tyre’s popularity. But its predecessor scored 4.6 out of 5.

Continental WinterContact TS 870    
Overall 100%  
Price £144.70  
Snow braking 97.8% 7th
Snow traction 97.2% 5th
Straight aquaplaning 99.9% 2nd
Curved aquaplaning 98.6% 2nd
Wet braking 99% 2nd
Wet handling 100% 1st
Wet circle 99.8% 2nd
Dry braking 99.1% 2nd
Dry handling 99.5% 2nd
Rolling resistance 100% 1st
Cabin noise 100% =1st

Buy the Continental WinterContact TS 870 from Blackcircles.com...

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. 

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