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Head-to-head Updated

Continental Eco Contact 5 vs Dunlop SP Touring R1 — 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 1 + 0 road tests and 1,649 + 22 owner reviews. How we score

SP Touring R1 is ahead, 70–64

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Continental Eco Contact 5
Tire AContinental

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. 65

    Dry

    SP Touring R1 +4
    69
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact 5SP Touring R1
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests68≈ 69 (est.)
    Reviews found online6070

    Eco Contact 5: 60% × 67.8 + 40% × 60.2 = 65

    SP Touring R1: 60% × 68.7 (est.) + 40% × 69.8 = 69

    No road tests of dry for SP Touring R1. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 66

    Wet

    SP Touring R1 +5
    71
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact 5SP Touring R1
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests68≈ 71 (est.)
    Reviews found online6271

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

    SP Touring R1: 60% × 70.7 (est.) + 40% × 70.6 = 71

    No road tests of wet for SP Touring R1. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 60

    Comfort

    SP Touring R1 +7
    67
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact 5SP Touring R1
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 66 (est.)≈ 68 (est.)
    Reviews found online5666

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

    SP Touring R1: 40% × 68.1 (est.) + 60% × 65.7 = 67

    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).

    No road tests of comfort for SP Touring R1. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  4. 63

    Treadwear

    SP Touring R1 +6
    69
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact 5SP Touring R1
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 65 (est.)≈ 68 (est.)
    Reviews found online6171

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

    SP Touring R1: 60% × 68.1 (est.) + 40% × 71 = 69

    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).

    No road tests of treadwear for SP Touring R1. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  5. 60

    Handling (owners)

    SP Touring R1 +12
    72
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact 5SP Touring R1
    Reviews found online6072
  6. 77

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact 5SP Touring R1
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests77–
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental Eco Contact 5Dunlop SP Touring R1
Relative Score 64 70
Dry 65 69
Wet 66 71
Comfort 60 67
Treadwear 63 69
Handling (owners) 60 72
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
± 9

Eco Contact 5

± 8

SP Touring R1

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 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

Tire B SP Touring R1

Pros

  • High tread longevity and durability
  • Excellent value for money
  • Comfortable and quiet ride quality

Cons

  • Inconsistent wet-weather performance
  • Reports of sidewall vulnerability
  • Occasional road noise feedback
All owner themes in the SP Touring R1 review

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

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

Tire B

Dunlop SP Touring R1

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

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental Eco Contact 5 B · Dunlop SP Touring R1
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available38—
Rim diameters14″ – 20″—
UTQG—400 B B

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental Eco Contact 5

Dunlop SP Touring R1

Winner: Dunlop SP Touring R1 — better handling, comfort and treadwear. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Dunlop SP Touring R1 scores 72 vs 60 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Dunlop SP Touring R1 scores 67 vs 60 on comfort.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Dunlop SP Touring R1 scores 69 vs 63 on treadwear.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Dunlop SP Touring R1 scores 71 vs 66 on wet.

Tire A · Continental Eco Contact 5
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Tire B · Dunlop SP Touring R1
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Eco Contact 5 or SP Touring R1?

Which is better in the wet, Eco Contact 5 or SP Touring R1?

Dunlop SP Touring R1, 71 vs 66 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Eco Contact 5 or SP Touring R1?

Dunlop SP Touring R1, 69 vs 65 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, Eco Contact 5 or SP Touring R1?

Dunlop SP Touring R1, 67 vs 60 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Eco Contact 5 or SP Touring R1?

Dunlop SP Touring R1, 69 vs 63 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