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

Head-to-head Updated

Continental ExtremeWinterContact vs Continental WinterContact TS 860 — 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 + 7 road tests and 8 + 49 owner reviews. How we score

WinterContact TS 860 is ahead, 79–69

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Continental WinterContact TS 860
Tire BContinental

WinterContact TS 860

Winter

± 5

Tests 79 · 7 tests Owners 79 · 49 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2019 Auto Bild Winter 17 inch Tyre Test (dry handling)

Category by category

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

  1. 67

    Dry

    WinterContact TS 860 +10
    77
    Why this score
    SourceExtremeWinterContactWinterContact TS 860
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 6 tests≈ 67 (est.)75
    Reviews found online6681

    ExtremeWinterContact: 60% × 67.4 (est.) + 40% × 66.4 = 67

    WinterContact TS 860: 60% × 74.8 + 40% × 81.1 = 77

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

  2. 73

    Wet

    WinterContact TS 860 +15
    88
    Why this score
    SourceExtremeWinterContactWinterContact TS 860
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 7 tests≈ 73 (est.)89
    Reviews found online7487

    ExtremeWinterContact: 60% × 72.7 (est.) + 40% × 74.2 = 73

    WinterContact TS 860: 60% × 89 + 40% × 86.9 = 88

    No road tests of wet for ExtremeWinterContact. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.54).

  3. 73

    Snow

    WinterContact TS 860 +3
    76
    Why this score
    SourceExtremeWinterContactWinterContact TS 860
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 7 tests≈ 72 (est.)78
    Reviews found online7572

    ExtremeWinterContact: 60% × 71.7 (est.) + 40% × 74.5 = 73

    WinterContact TS 860: 60% × 78.1 + 40% × 72.1 = 76

    No road tests of snow for ExtremeWinterContact. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).

  4. 65

    Comfort

    WinterContact TS 860 +13
    78
    Why this score
    SourceExtremeWinterContactWinterContact TS 860
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 2 tests≈ 68 (est.)77
    Reviews found online6479

    ExtremeWinterContact: 40% × 68.2 (est.) + 60% × 63.7 = 65

    WinterContact TS 860: 40% × 76.9 + 60% × 78.7 = 78

    No road tests of comfort for ExtremeWinterContact. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.

  5. 63

    Noise

    WinterContact TS 860 +10
    73
    Why this score
    SourceExtremeWinterContactWinterContact TS 860
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 4 tests≈ 67 (est.)78
    Reviews found online58≈ 67 (est.)

    ExtremeWinterContact: 60% × 66.5 (est.) + 40% × 58.2 = 63

    WinterContact TS 860: 60% × 77.9 + 40% × 66.5 (est.) = 73

    No road tests of noise for ExtremeWinterContact. The test half is the tested tires’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.

    No owner ratings of noise for WinterContact TS 860. The owner half is the owners’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.

  6. 64

    Treadwear

    WinterContact TS 860 +10
    74
    Why this score
    SourceExtremeWinterContactWinterContact TS 860
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests≈ 65 (est.)73
    Reviews found online6376

    ExtremeWinterContact: 60% × 65.1 (est.) + 40% × 62.5 = 64

    WinterContact TS 860: 60% × 72.8 + 40% × 76.3 = 74

    No road tests of treadwear for ExtremeWinterContact. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).

  7. 68

    Handling (owners)

    WinterContact TS 860 +14
    82
    Why this score
    SourceExtremeWinterContactWinterContact TS 860
    Reviews found online6882
  8. –

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    76
    Why this score
    SourceExtremeWinterContactWinterContact TS 860
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 6 tests–76
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental ExtremeWinterContactContinental WinterContact TS 860
Relative Score 69 79
Dry 67 77
Wet 73 88
Snow 73 76
Comfort 65 78
Noise 63 73
Treadwear 64 74
Handling (owners) 68 82
Efficiency – 76

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
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less 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

ExtremeWinterContact

± 5

WinterContact TS 860

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 ExtremeWinterContact

Pros

  • Outstanding traction and grip in deep snow, ice, and wet conditions
  • Performs exceptionally well in extreme cold temperatures
  • Surprisingly good dry-pavement handling comparable to high-quality all-season tires

Cons

  • XL (extra load) variants may exhibit increased road noise
  • Slightly poorer cornering and braking performance noted on heavier load applications for XL versions
All owner themes in the ExtremeWinterContact review

Tire B WinterContact TS 860

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and safety in wet and slushy conditions
  • Outstanding performance on snow, providing high levels of confidence
  • Remarkably low noise levels and high ride comfort

Cons

  • Performance degradation noted by some users after 3-4 seasons
  • Soft sidewalls can lead to a slight loss of steering precision or 'wobble' in tight corners
  • Tread pattern prone to picking up and throwing stones/sand
All owner themes in the WinterContact TS 860 review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental ExtremeWinterContact B · Continental WinterContact TS 860
CategoryWinter High Performance tiresWinter
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—47
Rim diameters—13″ – 17″
Tread depth11/32″—
SidewallBlackwall—
Max pressure44 psi—

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental ExtremeWinterContact

Continental WinterContact TS 860

Winner: Continental WinterContact TS 860 — better wet, handling and comfort. It leads or ties in every category we score. Continental ExtremeWinterContact rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 8 reviews), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Continental WinterContact TS 860 scores 88 vs 73 on wet.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Continental WinterContact TS 860 scores 82 vs 68 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Continental WinterContact TS 860 scores 78 vs 65 on comfort.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Continental WinterContact TS 860 scores 77 vs 67 on dry.

Tire A · Continental ExtremeWinterContact
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Tire B · Continental WinterContact TS 860
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ExtremeWinterContact or WinterContact TS 860?

Which is better in the wet, ExtremeWinterContact or WinterContact TS 860?

Continental WinterContact TS 860, 88 vs 73 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, ExtremeWinterContact or WinterContact TS 860?

Continental WinterContact TS 860, 77 vs 67 on our dry score.

Which is better in snow, ExtremeWinterContact or WinterContact TS 860?

Continental WinterContact TS 860, 76 vs 73 on our snow score.

Which is quieter, ExtremeWinterContact or WinterContact TS 860?

Continental WinterContact TS 860, 73 vs 63 on our noise score.

Which is more comfortable, ExtremeWinterContact or WinterContact TS 860?

Continental WinterContact TS 860, 78 vs 65 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, ExtremeWinterContact or WinterContact TS 860?

Continental WinterContact TS 860, 74 vs 64 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