Ever wondered what the difference between the best performing tyres and the worst performing tyres is? They’re all just black around round, right? Wrong. There are huge differences between the top and the bottom of the tree. Motoring journalist Jonny Smith recently put together this video, which illustrates the contrast beautifully (see below).
We know one of the tyres used is the Continental SportContact 6 in 245/35 R19 93Y and 265/35 R19 98Y.
Continental amongst the best performing tyres
The Continental SportContact 6 is an ultra-high performance (UHP) summer tyre. It currently comes in 101 sizes for wheels between 18 and 24 inches. It is fitted on brand new cars like the Audi R8 or Porsche 911 as well the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes AMG.
You can read our full Continental SportContact 6 tyre review here, but in the meantime, here’s an overview.
The 245/35 R19 SportContact 6 scores an A on the European tyre label wet grip rating and has been ranked in at least 7 magazine tyre tests under our coverage.
It won particular praise from Germany’s Auto Bild magazine, which described the Continental SportContact 6 as exemplary. And, as a result, it scored 7.58 out of 10 in our unique TyreScore – the second-best score available in this size.
The 265/35 R19 variation of the Continental SportContact 6 scored equally well, but due to availability differences in this size, the 265/35 R19 version is the joint highest scoring tyre in our database.
One criticism offered by tyre magazines around Europe and reflected in the tyre’s E rating for rolling resistance rating is that the Continental SportContact 6 offers somewhat mediocre fuel economy performance.
But all this comparatively minor criticism needs to be put into context. We don’t know the identity of the so-called “budget tyre” tested alongside the Continental SportContact 6 to terrible results. But with so many superior products available, who cares?
Other tyres worth considering:
Goodyear’s Eagle F1 Asymmetric and Dunlop’s SP Sportmaxx ranges score consistently highly in 245/35 R19:
And Pirelli’s P Zero is currently our joint highest-scoring tyre in 265/35 R19.
