Pros
- Superior touring performance
- Excellent dry grip
- Good traction in the wet
- Comfortable and quiet ride
- Fuel efficient and environmentally friendly
- Long tread life
Cons
- Not the most affordable option
The Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus is one of the better all-season touring tires you can buy. It has a higher base price than lesser-known brands, but it offers solid and dependable performance in both wet and dry weather.
The Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus has similar levels of performance as the TrueContact Tour. If you look closely, both tires have similar tread designs.
However, the Control Contact Tour A/S Plus has a five-rib tread design, while the TrueContact has only four. What this means is Control Contact Tour A/S Plus is perfect for everyday, all-season touring and is ideal for compact sedans, midsize cars, small crossovers, and minivans.
But if you require something sportier in the touring tire category, Continental’s TrueContact Tour, with its wider treads and aggressive shoulders, is worth a look.
In this Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus review, you’ll find out why this tire remains in high demand despite the onslaught of cheaper, China-made tires.
Contents
What are the Specifications and Maintenance Indicators?
Here are the specifications of the Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus tire that you need to keep in mind
- Load index: 84
- Speed rating: H
- Tread wear: 800
- Traction: A
- Temperature: A
- Max load: 1102 lbs
- Max inflation pressure: 51 psi
The Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus has a 12-month limited warranty, an 80,000-mile tread wear coverage for H rated sizes or 70,000 mile for P-Metric and Metric sizes, and with a 60-day trial satisfaction guarantee, and a 12-month road hazard warranty, and free flat tire roadside assistance.
You pay more money for the Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus, but few can match Continental’s warranty.
The Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus is available in 14”, 15”, 16”, and 17” diameters. Consider this tire if you have a compact car, midsize sedan, small crossover, or a minivan.
Touring tires are the champion in terms of longevity. Continental’s unique tread compound enables a lower rolling resistance without penalizing all-season traction and ride comfort.
The same is true for the Control Contact Tour A/S Plus. Value for money is Continental’s USP (unique selling proposition) for the Control Contact Tour A/S Plus.
Admittedly, the Control Contact Tour A/S Plus is not the most affordable all-season tire you can find. Still, you get your money’s worth in terms of all-season performance and more extended wear.
Features and Performance of the Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus
In this Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus review, you’ll find out why this tire is highly rated for its all-season performance, ride comfort, and longevity.
1. Dry Grip and Cornering Stability
The Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus is an all-season touring tire, so it’s only natural to expect high marks in dry performance and handling.
The good news is the Control Contact Tour A/S Plus is one of the best touring tires you can buy in terms of ride comfort, road silence, tread wear, and all-season handling.
However, the Control Contact Tour A/S plus is not a high-performance tire, so don’t expect it to deliver the precise handling characteristics of a more expensive UHP (ultra-high performance) tire.
The Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus benefits from the brand’s EcoPlus Technology using Tg-F polymers and advanced +Silane additives.
And according to our dry road test, the excellent traction and handling with a longer tread life, making it ideal for small cars, midsize sedans, and family minivans.
The symmetrical five-rib tread pattern has full-depth sipes to improve grip over wet or snowy roads.
2. Wet Grip and Hydroplaning Resistanc
Continental’s EcoPlus Technology and advanced tread compound mean total stability on wet roads, but only if you’re not pushing it.
And my testing has proven just that, the Control Contact Tour A/S Plus remains calm and composed over slippery tarmac, but you better watch your speed while doing so.
All tires have their limits, and the Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus could break traction in the wet if you drive like a lunatic. And is that worth it?
But if you keep it calm and steady, the Control Contact Tour A/S Plus is an able performer in the wet. The tires fell planted and solid and yet manages to remain comfortable and quiet over the long haul.
3. Handling and Steering Feel
The Continental TrueContact Tour is a better handler with its wider tread blocks and four-rib tread design.
However, it doesn’t mean the Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus rates poorly in the handling department.
On the contrary, the Control Contact Tour A/S Plus is one of the best-handling all-season touring tires we tested, but it doesn’t offer the precise steering feel of a proper high-performance tire.
Continental’s proprietary tread compound offers excellent adhesion during spirited driving, but lead-footed driving or high horsepower applications will leave this tire scrambling for grip.
This tire is not for you if you have a sporty compact car with a potent turbocharged engine.
But if you have a standard family sedan, crossover, or minivan, you can’t go wrong with the Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus.
4. Snow and Ice Traction
I had a chance to test drive the Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus tires on light snow. And believe it or not, the Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus performs admirably over light snow and icy roads, particularly if you have an AWD crossover like the Subaru Forester.
But then again, the Control Contact Tour A/S Plus is not a winter tire and is not ideal for deep snow or extended frigid weather conditions. I struggled with four to five inches of snow when I drove from Lewiston to Moscow, Idaho earlier this year.
We only know a few all-season touring tires that perform well in the snow, and the Control Contact Tour A/S Plus is on top of its class.
5. Is it suitable for off-road driving?
The Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus offers moderate grip over gravel, mud, loose dirt, or even grassy surfaces with its symmetrical treads, broad shoulders, and deep siping.
But when the going gets tough, your car or crossover will probably need a more rugged set of A/T tires. But if you’re only concerned about going to the beach or driving over grassy hills, you won’t have issues with the Control Contact Tour A/S Plus.
Comfort and Noise
In our Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus review, we can’t seem to forget the quiet and comfortable ride.
We like sporty tires in a sporty car, but nothing beats the cozy comfort and ride silence of a touring tire when driving on the highway.
The Control Contact Tour A/S Plus has a “comfort band” sitting between its reinforced steel belts and the treads to further absorb shock and vibrations.
The Control Contact Tour A/S Plus shines on the open road as it mutes road imperfections to a certain degree, but as long as you keep within the speed limits.
You will notice some tire roar upon reaching triple-digit speeds, but it’s not particularly loud or annoying. You can feel the difference in city driving as the tire rolls merrily over those nasty humps and bumps.
You can see more Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus review here: Video created by Discount Tire
Should I Buy the Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus?
We don’t usually say this, but the Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus is an excellent all-season touring tire, if not one of the best.
It sits in the middle of the price range, but it performs like an expensive touring performance tire.
Sure, it’s not the best-handling nor the sportiest tire we reviewed, but only reckless driving will unsettle this tire from the road.
On dry pavement, it offers the tenacity of a performance tire without the stiff ride or road noise.
On wet roads, it gives the driver more confidence with stellar grip and stronger braking. It even performs admirably over light snow, ice, and mild off-road driving.
It’s hard to find a better tire for the price. We highly recommend the Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus in the all-season touring tire category.
What vehicles will this tire be suitable for?
Below is a list of some popular vehicles, however this is not a complete list.
- Chevrolet Cruze, Malibu Hybrid, Orlando, Volt
- Chrysler 200 C, 200 LX, 200 Limited, 200 S
- Fiat
- Honda Accord, HR-V, Civic
- Hyundai Kona, Sonata
- Kia Niro, Optima, Seltos, Soul
- Lexus ES250, ES300h, ES330, ES350, HS250h
- Mazda 6
- Mitsubishi Galant, Outlander, Lancer
- Nissan Altima, Juke, Maxima
- Subaru Forester, Impreza, Legacy
- Toyota Avalon, Camry, Solara, Mirai, Prius, Sienna
- Volkswagen Beetle, Passat
List of the Continental Tire Reviews
- Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 review
- Continental CrossContact LX25 review
- Continental CrossContact LX20 review
- Continental PureContact LS review
- Continental TrueContact Tour review
- Continental TerrainContact A/T review
- Continental VikingContact 7 review
- Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus review
- Continental ExtremeContact Sport review
- Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 PLUS review
I’m Ivo Gievski, the content writer for Tireer. We built our website with over 15 years of experience and extensive research in the automotive and technology sectors. My dedication to delivering high-quality content is unwavering, and I strive to continuously hone my skills to stay ahead of industry trends and provide readers with informative, engaging, and valuable insights.