Drivers generally describe the Continental Sport Contact 3 as a strong-performing UHP summer tyre with confident handling, strong braking, and notably good wet-road grip with good resistance to aquaplaning. The most consistent complaint is rapid tread wear (especially on front axles/FWD cars), with many also reporting higher road noise/firm ride and premium pricing. A smaller but recurring theme is tramlining/steering pull on certain cars or as the tyre wears, and some note wet/cold performance can deteriorate later in the tyre's life.
What owners mention most counted across 189 reviews
These tyres came standard on my 2015 A4 S Line, very disappointed, at 22000 km the road noise is unbearable, they are not worn out but i'm so over the noise i'm prepared to drop 2k to get rid of them. (Australian review)
Fitted a set on Ford Focus. Immediately felt better braking. Previously had Michellin 3 but took longer to stop. Grip on conti is also better. Ride comfort feels smooth, always keep tyre pressure at 2.2kpa. The tyre looks good on the car as well. Overall I am content.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
Had these from new on an Audi A5. Now after 16,000 miles front two need replacing. Not bad considering there's 210 bhp through the front wheels and have a couple of seriously heavy laps of the Nurburgring under their belt. Dry cornering grip when warmed up is truly amazing - top marks for this. Unfortunately this is where the praise ends. Wet drip is downright dangerous (I've had a four wheel slide at 25mph on a roundabout before) and straight line acceleration grip is questionable - traction control light on at 49mph in the dry, please remember there's 'only' 210bhp, we are not talking supercar power here. Also, similar to alot of other reviews - very noisy, not particularly comfortable, thirsty on mpg, like to 'tramline' into tracks in the road and like to eat nails. Moving over to Michelin Pilot Sport 2's, after reading some good reviews, things can hopefully only get better!
Which tyres do you drive?
Researching the Continental Sport Contact 3? Rate the tyres you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
I've had these on three different cars - 130i, TVR and e90 M3 and I'd describe it as a great all-rounder.
The TVR is used as a weekend toy and the CS3's provide excellent grip /handling characteristics on the famously 'lively' chassis.
The 130i is a daily driver but that also enjoys regular spirited drives. Wear rates deserve a particular mention, fronts will easily manage 50k miles, the first set of rears did over 35k miles.
Ran these for 10000 miles from used before they needed replacing. The car always tramlined and steering pulled over rough surfaces which I thought was related to the larger wheels, but this disappeared completely after changing the tyres. That combined with the fact that they lost grip rapidly in the last few thousand miles leads me to state that these were the worst tyres I've ever had in my 30 plus years of driving. Would not buy conti's again in 255/35/19's.
275x35x18
BMW e39 individual based on M5 chassis but with 3L only engine.
I have these fitted on the rear, well it is differently not the best choice, relay cheap, bad dry grip and very poor wear, I got just around 12 miles
i drive a ford focus 2014 model, having done 25,000 miles i am now replacing both front tyres for the first time. excellent quality and wear from a non-aggressive driving style.
Decent tire's very grippy and very good under wet conditions! The wear pretty quikly i have driven 20.000km's on them and the have reached 2.5mm tread depth now, with sporty driving and mostly normal town driving.
61%
Member
Vauxhall
225/45 R17
16,000 miles
A Combination of Roads
Average
The fastest wearing tyres I've ever had on any car. I used to get 23-25,000 miles on the front from Dunlops and Firestones on my Passat TDIs but these were looking very tired at 12,000 and need replacing at just 16,000 miles. A local tyre dealer told me Continentals are very soft so I'd done well to get 16,000 miles out of them.Extremely disappointing for such a well known brand. I won't be buying Continentals to replace them, or probably ever again.
Okay in all other regards. It's difficult for me to rate grip at the limit because I'm not a very fast driver, but they've never felt like they were letting go in the dry or in the wet. Noisy on some road surfaces, quiet on others.
A good tyre for overall moderate performance. Noisy when it wears down. Not as much feel as I'd like. Worn out by just under 40,000kms which is fair
70%
Member
Vauxhall
245/45 R18 W
6,000 miles
A Combination of Roads
Spirited
Expected alot more for the price. They slide a bit in the wet when pushed slightly on roundabouts which doesnt give confidence... they also seem a bit soft cornering.... dry grip is ok but again not the most confidence inspiring.
. Wear rate is poor. Ive had the budget continental Barum Bravuris 2's before and Matadors... and tbh i prefer them to the contis... they performed better in all conditions, lasted longer, and 50 quid cheaper per tyre so dont see why anyone would buy the contis....
