Thinking about purchasing Continental TrueContact tire for your vehicle? You’ve come to the right place. Here, we talk about all the important features that make the TrueContact tire, its performance on dry, wet and snowy roads, as well as major its pros and cons. We also cover the compatibility and warranty information, so grab yourself a cup of tea and read on.
Quick Overview
Continental, the German automotive manufacturing company that’s been in the business for over 140 years (founded in 1871), is the fourth largest tire manufacturer in the world. The company started the production of plain tread tires in 1898 which was a huge accomplishment back then, but even bigger success came with the development of grooved vehicle tires.
But what about the TrueContact tire? Is it worth your time, and more importantly, your money?
The Continental’s TrueContact is an all-season touring tire designed for coupes, sedans, minivans and crossover vehicles. Although very affordable, this tire features some of the latest innovations in tire technology, promising safety, comfort and excellent performance in all weather conditions. So, what makes TrueContact special?
- EcoPlus Technology: combining all-season traction with best in class wet braking, this tire performs well under any weather condition, including light snow, while providing good traction and extended treadwear. This is also reflected in an improved fuel economy.
- Special tread compounds: TrueContact is built with an all-season rubber compound that’s been infused with Continental’s Tg-F polymers and +Silane additives which improve overall tread wear, steering response and traction on wet roads. This same formulation helps enhance the tire’s fuel efficiency by lowering the rolling resistance.
- Special tread design: the Continental’s TrueContact has a rather unique tread design – symmetric but equipped with three wide circumferential grooves, it makes the tire perform impressively well on both dry and wet roads, especially when driving over large pools of water. Needless to say, these wide circumferential grooves also improve hydroplaning resistance. There are also siped intermediate tread blocks, plus Continental’s Traction Grooves which provide additional biting edges for when you’re driving in snow.
- ComfortRide technology: to provide a comfortable and quiet ride, the TrueContact tire is equipped with an extra layer of rubber that acts as a cushion, absorbing shock and vibrations as you drive. This means smooth rides even when driving on rough, bumpy roads.
Overall, this tire is built to provide ultimate comfort no matter where and when you’re driving. And it succeeds in that – with these tires, you can say goodbye to road noise and vibration and hello to quiet and serene rides. As for other important factors, such as fuel economy and wear life, the TrueContact doesn’t disappoint. It’s not the best out there, mind you, but it’s in the top five in its class for sure. Considering its affordable price, we have to say it seems like one of the best budget-friendly all-season tires on the market – on paper, at least.
To figure out if Continental TrueContact is the right tire for your needs though, it’s crucial to take a closer look at its performance in different weather conditions. But first, we’ll start with the tire’s major advantages and disadvantages.
Pros & Cons
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The TrueContact tire seems to have a lot of positives and just a couple of negatives, which, quite frankly, are far from deal breakers for most average drivers. To help you decide if this tire is the right fit for your driving habits, we’ve outlined its most important advantages and disadvantages.
The TrueContact seems to be the perfect all-season tire. However, like all tires ever made, it does have its negatives. Thankfully, they’re far from being deal breakers. In fact, we had to dig deep to find negative reviews as the overwhelming number of drivers praise the Continental’s tire’s overall performance. Nevertheless, the following two cons are worth taking into account when making purchasing decisions.
Performance
Finally, it’s time we talk about the TrueContact’s actual performance in different weather conditions. We’ll start by mentioning that when it comes to dry and wet road conditions, this tire tops most similar-priced tires on the market. Brilliant traction control, smooth and comfortable rides, this tire offers fantastic value for money. Snow conditions are another story – for folks living in areas with super-cold and snowy winters, this may not be the best choice. However, for light snow and ice, TrueContact is more than good enough. But more on detailed snow performance (as well as dry and wet performance) down below.
Dry Performance
As mentioned, TrueContact performs exceptionally well on dry roads. Traction control is fantastic and steering, cornering, braking and acceleration are quick and easy. This doesn’t come as a surprise, as this tire boasts special tread compounds which not only help prolong its life, but enhance its responsiveness. The way the tire is built also improves tread wear and ride uniformity – two steel belts that are strengthened with spirally wound jointless polyamide help stabilize the entire tread area, leading to perfectly stable and safe rides.
Importantly, TrueContact is also very quiet. This is mostly the result of the Continental’s ComfortRide technology, which includes an extra layer of rubber that acts as a cushion of sorts to absorb shock and vibration caused by rough and bumpy roads. Of course, it should be noted that like most tires out there, TrueContact does lose some of its quietness the longer it’s used.
Wet Performance
Stable and secure even in torrential rain, TrueContact shines in wet weather conditions. This is thanks to the tire’s three wide circumferential grooves and intermediate tread blocks which help channel water away from the center of the tire and cut right through large pools of water. The special tread design also helps the tire have extraordinary hydroplaning resistance, so you should be safe even on the most slippery of roads out there.
All in all, when it comes to wet roads and heavy rains, TrueContact performs equally well as it does on dry roads. Handling is great, cornering and stopping is easy and quick, and the ride is smooth and pretty quiet.
Snow Performance
When it comes to all-season tires and winter performance, rarely anybody expects stellar traction and handling. But, even the lightest and cheapest all-season tires must have some snow-handling abilities. After reading hundreds of reviews, we’ve concluded that TrueContact has good light snow performance, and not that great deep snow performance. Here’s why: the wide grooves help with heavy rains and make the tire practically resistant to hydroplaning, but make things difficult on deeper snow. Instead of cutting through deeper snowfall, the tire loses some of its traction. However, when it comes to light snow, TrueContact performs great – thanks to their patented Traction Grooves which provide good gripping ability, the tire cuts through light snow with no issues whatsoever.
So, should you get this tire if your winters are nasty? Even though they’re not great in heavy snow, TrueContact tires are more than good in light snow and ice, so we’d say ‘yes’ if you purchase special winter tires for those seriously snowy, freezing months.
Compatibility
Continental’s TrueContact comes in various sizes, from 15 inches to 19 inches, and there are three speed ratings: T, H and V. As for the vehicles that can fit this tire, there are a number of them, so we’ll list just a few here (this is not a complete list).
- BMW: 135i, 323i, 330i, 530i
- Mazda: 6, 3, 5, 929
- Chevrolet: Malibu, Cruze, Cobalt, Cavalier, Impala, Sonic LTZ
- Dodge: Avenger, Neon, Dart, Grand Caravan
- Ford: Taurus, Fusion, Flex, Focus, Mustang GT
- Volkswagen: Passat, Jetta, Beetle, Golf, Touareg
- Toyota: Avalon, Prius, Solara, Sienna, Camry, Corolla, RAV4
- Volvo: S60, V70H
- Hyundai: Elantra, Sonata, Genesis
Warranty
TrueContact has a tread life warranty for 6 years for all tires, or 90,000 miles for T and H speed rated tires, and 80,000 miles for V rated tires. Workmanship and materials are also warranted for 6 years, and include free replacement for the first year, or 2/32” of wear. A prorated amount is then provided until 2/32” of remaining depth. The plan also includes road hazard warranty – one year or first 2/32” of wear road hazard warranty, along with a 60-day or first 2/32” customer satisfaction trial period.
All in all, a fantastic warranty plan for a quality, budget-friendly all-season tire.
Source:
- Continental True Contact, Tire Rack
