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Head-to-head Updated

Continental ContiMaxContact MC5 vs Continental Premium 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 + 4 road tests and 44 + 119 owner reviews. How we score

ContiMaxContact MC5 leads, 74–70 Narrow edge

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Continental Premium Contact 5
Tire BContinental

Premium Contact 5

Summer

± 6

Tests 73 · 4 tests Owners 63 · 119 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 11 in 2019 AMS Summer SUV Tyre Test (straight aquaplaning)

Category by category

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

  1. 74

    Dry

    ContiMaxContact MC5 +3
    71
    Why this score
    SourceContiMaxContact MC5Premium Contact 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 4 tests≈ 72 (est.)71
    Reviews found online7871

    ContiMaxContact MC5: 60% × 72.1 (est.) + 40% × 78 = 74

    Premium Contact 5: 60% × 71.1 + 40% × 70.9 = 71

    No road tests of dry for ContiMaxContact MC5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 76

    Wet

    Premium Contact 5 +1
    77
    Why this score
    SourceContiMaxContact MC5Premium Contact 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 4 tests≈ 74 (est.)79
    Reviews found online7874

    ContiMaxContact MC5: 60% × 74.4 (est.) + 40% × 77.5 = 76

    Premium Contact 5: 60% × 78.6 + 40% × 73.5 = 77

    No road tests of wet for ContiMaxContact MC5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 74

    Comfort

    ContiMaxContact MC5 +5
    69
    Why this score
    SourceContiMaxContact MC5Premium Contact 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 70 (est.)74
    Reviews found online7666

    ContiMaxContact MC5: 40% × 70.2 (est.) + 60% × 76.4 = 74

    Premium Contact 5: 40% × 74.2 + 60% × 65.6 = 69

    No road tests of comfort for ContiMaxContact MC5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  4. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    70
    Why this score
    SourceContiMaxContact MC5Premium Contact 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 4 tests–73
    Reviews found online–≈ 66 (est.)

    Premium Contact 5: 60% × 73.2 + 40% × 66.4 (est.) = 70

    No owner ratings of noise for Premium Contact 5. The owner half is the owners’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.

  5. 69

    Treadwear

    ContiMaxContact MC5 +10
    59
    Why this score
    SourceContiMaxContact MC5Premium Contact 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 68 (est.)69
    Reviews found online7043

    ContiMaxContact MC5: 60% × 67.8 (est.) + 40% × 70 = 69

    Premium Contact 5: 60% × 68.7 + 40% × 43.4 = 59

    No road tests of treadwear for ContiMaxContact MC5. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  6. 76

    Handling (owners)

    ContiMaxContact MC5 +9
    67
    Why this score
    SourceContiMaxContact MC5Premium Contact 5
    Reviews found online7667
  7. –

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    67
    Why this score
    SourceContiMaxContact MC5Premium Contact 5
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests–67
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental ContiMaxContact MC5Continental Premium Contact 5
Relative Score 74 70
Dry 74 71
Wet 76 77
Comfort 74 69
Noise – 70
Treadwear 69 59
Handling (owners) 76 67
Efficiency – 67

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
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

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

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

ContiMaxContact MC5

± 6

Premium Contact 5

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

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A ContiMaxContact MC5

Pros

  • Exceptional cabin noise reduction and quiet operation
  • High level of ride comfort and bump absorption
  • Strong value-for-money proposition compared to premium performance rivals

Cons

  • Tread wear can be rapid when subjected to aggressive or spirited driving
  • Sidewalls are relatively soft, which may feel less progressive at the absolute limit
  • Reports of increased puncture susceptibility once tread depth decreases
All owner themes in the ContiMaxContact MC5 review

Tire B Premium Contact 5

Pros

  • Exceptional grip in both wet and dry road conditions
  • High levels of ride comfort and low cabin noise
  • Predictable and safe handling characteristics

Cons

  • Rapid and premature tread wear
  • Soft sidewalls leading to vague steering feedback and body roll
  • Performance degradation as the tread depth decreases
All owner themes in the Premium Contact 5 review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental ContiMaxContact MC5 B · Continental Premium Contact 5
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—23
Rim diameters—14″ – 17″

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental ContiMaxContact MC5

Continental Premium Contact 5

Narrow edge: Continental ContiMaxContact MC5 — better treadwear, handling and comfort. Where the Continental Premium Contact 5 is ahead, it is by less than 3 points.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Continental ContiMaxContact MC5 scores 69 vs 59 on treadwear.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Continental ContiMaxContact MC5 scores 76 vs 67 on handling.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Continental ContiMaxContact MC5 scores 74 vs 69 on comfort.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Continental ContiMaxContact MC5 scores 74 vs 71 on dry.

Tire A · Continental ContiMaxContact MC5
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Tire B · Continental Premium Contact 5
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ContiMaxContact MC5 or Premium Contact 5?

Which is better in the wet, ContiMaxContact MC5 or Premium Contact 5?

Neither, by our numbers: 76 vs 77 on the wet score, within 3 points.

Which grips better on dry roads, ContiMaxContact MC5 or Premium Contact 5?

Continental ContiMaxContact MC5, 74 vs 71 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, ContiMaxContact MC5 or Premium Contact 5?

Continental ContiMaxContact MC5, 74 vs 69 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, ContiMaxContact MC5 or Premium Contact 5?

Continental ContiMaxContact MC5, 69 vs 59 on our treadwear score.

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