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Avon ZT5 looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.

Head-to-head Updated

Avon ZT5 vs Continental Eco Contact 5 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 0 + 1 road tests and 29 + 1,649 owner reviews. How we score

Eco Contact 5 leads, 64–61 Narrow edge

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Avon ZT5
Tire AAvon

ZT5

Summer

± 8

Tests – · none yet Owners 58 · 29 reviews

Continental Eco Contact 5
Tire BContinental

Eco Contact 5

Summer

± 9

Tests 68 · 1 test Owners 61 · 1,649 reviews

Best test result: #3 of 12 in 2018 Gute Fahrt Summer Tyre Test (wet braking)

“I had continental contact 5 on my juke had to replace fronts at 8000 mile mostly town driving and they were a bit noisy”

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 62

    Dry

    Eco Contact 5 +3
    65
    Why this score
    SourceZT5Eco Contact 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 64 (est.)68
    Reviews found online6060

    ZT5: 60% × 64.5 (est.) + 40% × 59.5 = 62

    Eco Contact 5: 60% × 67.8 + 40% × 60.3 = 65

    No road tests of dry for ZT5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).

  2. 62

    Wet

    Eco Contact 5 +4
    66
    Why this score
    SourceZT5Eco Contact 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 64 (est.)68
    Reviews found online5962

    ZT5: 60% × 64.2 (est.) + 40% × 58.7 = 62

    Eco Contact 5: 60% × 68.3 + 40% × 62.3 = 66

    No road tests of wet for ZT5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 61

    Comfort

    ZT5 +1
    60
    Why this score
    SourceZT5Eco Contact 5
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 66 (est.)≈ 66 (est.)
    Reviews found online5856

    ZT5: 40% × 66.5 (est.) + 60% × 57.5 = 61

    Eco Contact 5: 40% × 66.2 (est.) + 60% × 56.4 = 60

    No road tests of comfort for ZT5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

    No road tests of comfort for Eco Contact 5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  4. 61

    Treadwear

    Eco Contact 5 +2
    63
    Why this score
    SourceZT5Eco Contact 5
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 64 (est.)≈ 65 (est.)
    Reviews found online5861

    ZT5: 60% × 63.6 (est.) + 40% × 58.2 = 61

    Eco Contact 5: 60% × 64.7 (est.) + 40% × 61.3 = 63

    No road tests of treadwear for ZT5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

    No road tests of treadwear for Eco Contact 5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  5. 54

    Handling (owners)

    Eco Contact 5 +6
    60
    Why this score
    SourceZT5Eco Contact 5
    Reviews found online5460
  6. –

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    77
    Why this score
    SourceZT5Eco Contact 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests–77
Scores at a glance
CategoryAvon ZT5Continental Eco Contact 5
Relative Score 61 64
Dry 62 65
Wet 62 66
Comfort 61 60
Treadwear 61 63
Handling (owners) 54 60
Efficiency – 77

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Not important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Recomputed
Headline score
± 8

ZT5

± 9

Eco Contact 5

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

The professional test results behind the scores

Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.

In the overall rankings of 1 tests that ran both, Avon ZT5 finished ahead 0 times and Continental Eco Contact 5 1 times.

DisciplineCategoryZT5Eco Contact 5ΔHead-to-head
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #13/16 #1/16 – 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2014 ADAC 175/65 R14 Summer Tyre Test · 175/65 R14

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A ZT5

Pros

  • High value for money and competitive pricing
  • Excellent tread life for many users
  • Comfortable ride quality and low road noise

Cons

  • Reported lack of grip in wet conditions
  • Significant 'tramlining' and steering instability on uneven surfaces
  • Inconsistent performance leading to safety concerns for some drivers
All owner themes in the ZT5 review

Tire B Eco Contact 5

Pros

  • Exceptional fuel economy and low rolling resistance
  • Strong dry pavement grip and handling stability
  • Impressive longevity and tread wear mileage for many drivers

Cons

  • Subpar wet weather grip and frequent wheel-spin in the rain
  • Thin, delicate sidewalls susceptible to bulging and pothole damage
  • Loud, intrusive road noise on coarse or rough asphalt
All owner themes in the Eco Contact 5 review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Avon ZT5

We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.

Tire B

Continental Eco Contact 5

Mixed

Community feedback on the Continental Eco Contact 5 is mixed, with drivers noting satisfactory performance for standard road driving but expressing concerns over rapid treadwear and road noise. Several users question their traction on slippery surfaces and compare them against alternative budget and premium options.

passionford.com

“I recently had two new tyres put on the front of my wife's Scenic. I asked and paid for Continental Premium Contact 5's but when I collected it they'd fitted Eco Contact 5's. When I questioned it they said that the Eco Contact 5 was actually a better tyre and they fitted them as that's what they'd had arrive rather than the Premium Contact 5's. I've been trying to do a bit of research online but not really getting anywhere so was wondering if anyone who knows tyres had an opinion on which one was better or whether they're pretty much the same. I paid £150 for the two fitted. CheeRS”
Top themes
#treadwear and longevity#road noise levels#traction on slippery surfaces#pricing versus competitors#factory tire replacement

Based on 6 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Avon ZT5 B · Continental Eco Contact 5
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—38
Rim diameters—14″ – 20″

Which one should you actually buy?

Avon ZT5

Continental Eco Contact 5

Narrow edge: Continental Eco Contact 5 — better handling, wet and dry. Where the Avon ZT5 is ahead, it is by less than 3 points.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Continental Eco Contact 5 scores 60 vs 54 on handling.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Continental Eco Contact 5 scores 66 vs 62 on wet.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Continental Eco Contact 5 scores 65 vs 62 on dry.

Tire A · Avon ZT5
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Tire B · Continental Eco Contact 5
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ZT5 or Eco Contact 5?

Which is better in the wet, ZT5 or Eco Contact 5?

Continental Eco Contact 5, 66 vs 62 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, ZT5 or Eco Contact 5?

Continental Eco Contact 5, 65 vs 62 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, ZT5 or Eco Contact 5?

Neither, by our numbers: 61 vs 60 on the comfort score, within 3 points.

Which lasts longer, ZT5 or Eco Contact 5?

Neither, by our numbers: 61 vs 63 on the treadwear score, within 3 points.

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology