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Continental Eco Contact EP looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.

Head-to-head Updated

Continental Eco Contact EP vs Kumho Ecsta PS71 — 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 + 14 road tests and 8 + 8,204 owner reviews. How we score

Ecsta PS71 is ahead, 73–67

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Kumho Ecsta PS71
Tire BKumho

Ecsta PS71

Summer

± 5

Tests 68 · 14 tests Owners 69 · 8,204 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 18 in 2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test (straight aquaplaning)

“Those are Kumho Ecsta PS71s, thread width is supposed to be 245mm, the actual one is hardly 235. How so?”

Category by category

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

  1. 66

    Dry

    Ecsta PS71 +9
    75
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact EPEcsta PS71
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 12 tests≈ 67 (est.)78
    Reviews found online6572

    Eco Contact EP: 60% × 66.8 (est.) + 40% × 65.1 = 66

    Ecsta PS71: 60% × 77.6 + 40% × 71.9 = 75

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

  2. 68

    Wet

    Ecsta PS71 +17
    85
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact EPEcsta PS71
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 13 tests≈ 69 (est.)92
    Reviews found online6875

    Eco Contact EP: 60% × 69 (est.) + 40% × 67.6 = 68

    Ecsta PS71: 60% × 91.9 + 40% × 74.7 = 85

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

  3. 68

    Comfort

    Ecsta PS71 +1
    69
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact EPEcsta PS71
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 2 tests≈ 68 (est.)74
    Reviews found online6765

    Eco Contact EP: 40% × 68.5 (est.) + 60% × 67.3 = 68

    Ecsta PS71: 40% × 74.5 + 60% × 65.3 = 69

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

  4. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    36
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact EPEcsta PS71
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 8 tests–16
    Reviews found online–≈ 66 (est.)

    Ecsta PS71: 60% × 15.6 + 40% × 66.3 (est.) = 36

    No owner ratings of noise for Ecsta PS71. 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

    Eco Contact EP +17
    52
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact EPEcsta PS71
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 6 tests≈ 68 (est.)46
    Reviews found online7060

    Eco Contact EP: 60% × 67.9 (est.) + 40% × 70.2 = 69

    Ecsta PS71: 60% × 46 + 40% × 59.9 = 52

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

  6. 61

    Handling (owners)

    Ecsta PS71 +12
    73
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact EPEcsta PS71
    Reviews found online6173
  7. –

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    48
    Why this score
    SourceEco Contact EPEcsta PS71
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 7 tests–48
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental Eco Contact EPKumho Ecsta PS71
Relative Score 67 73
Dry 66 75
Wet 68 85
Comfort 68 69
Noise – 36
Treadwear 69 52
Handling (owners) 61 73
Efficiency – 48

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

Eco Contact EP

± 5

Ecsta PS71

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 EP

Pros

  • Exceptional tread longevity and durability
  • High fuel efficiency
  • Reliable grip in dry and wet conditions

Cons

  • Vague or weak steering feedback
  • Poor performance in snowy conditions
  • Susceptibility to sidewall and tread cracking after long-term aging
All owner themes in the Eco Contact EP review

Tire B Ecsta PS71

Pros

  • Outstanding wet weather grip and aquaplaning resistance
  • High value for money compared to tier-one premium brands
  • Predictable handling and solid cornering stability in both dry and wet conditions

Cons

  • Noticeable road noise or droning at motorway speeds on certain vehicles
  • Occasional reports of balancing difficulties or out-of-round/egg-shaped tires
  • Softer sidewalls can lead to slightly vague steering response around center or tread block movement
All owner themes in the Ecsta PS71 review

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

Continental Eco Contact EP

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

Tire B

Kumho Ecsta PS71

Positive

Community members generally view the Kumho Ecsta PS71 as a capable and reliable mid-range ultra-high performance tire offering solid grip and value for money compared to premium alternatives. While perceived as good once warmed up, some drivers note that it does not quite reach the ultimate grip level of top-tier brands and question its tread wear longevity.

r/tires ·5 upvotes ·2022-10-17

“Those are Kumho Ecsta PS71s, thread width is supposed to be 245mm, the actual one is hardly 235. How so?”
r/TyreReviews ·1 upvote ·2026-06-17

“Kumho PS71 Question Replaced an older (2021 or 2022 production) set of ps71 with a new set (production 39-42 week of 2024) and noticed something on the new sidewalls I hadn't seen on the old ones. The new ones have ps71 with either a 1 or a 2 under it right above the bead in very small text. I'm curious what they mean if anything at all.”
bimmerforums.co.uk ·1 upvote ·2024-05-05

“On Blackcircles all the 245/40 R19 ditch finders cost around £100 and have a poor wet grip & all the decent mid range cost around £170 and have A rated wet grip. Would you risk it for £240? I know I wouldn't. The cheapest A wet rated is a Kuhmo Ecsta PS71 at £136 if you really want to keep the cost down. If you want a relatively soft comfortable tyre then a Hankook S1 Evo 3 is an excellent choice.”
Top themes
#value for money#wet and dry grip#tire wear longevity#sporty handling performance#warm up temperature behavior#mid-range alternative comparison

Based on 23 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental Eco Contact EP B · Kumho Ecsta PS71
CategoryAll SeasonSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—133
Rim diameters—16″ – 22″
Sidewall—Blackwall

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental Eco Contact EP

Kumho Ecsta PS71

Winner: Kumho Ecsta PS71 — better wet, handling and dry. Pick the Continental Eco Contact EP if treadwear matters most to you. Continental Eco Contact EP rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 8 reviews), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Continental Eco Contact EP scores 69 vs 52 on treadwear.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Kumho Ecsta PS71 scores 85 vs 68 on wet.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Kumho Ecsta PS71 scores 73 vs 61 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Kumho Ecsta PS71 scores 75 vs 66 on dry.

Tire A · Continental Eco Contact EP
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Tire B · Kumho Ecsta PS71
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Eco Contact EP or Ecsta PS71?

Which is better in the wet, Eco Contact EP or Ecsta PS71?

Kumho Ecsta PS71, 85 vs 68 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Eco Contact EP or Ecsta PS71?

Kumho Ecsta PS71, 75 vs 66 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, Eco Contact EP or Ecsta PS71?

Neither, by our numbers: 68 vs 69 on the comfort score, within 3 points.

Which lasts longer, Eco Contact EP or Ecsta PS71?

Continental Eco Contact EP, 69 vs 52 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