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Head-to-head Updated

Continental Sport Contact 3 SSR Run flat vs Kumho Ecsta PS71 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

Ecsta PS71 is ahead, 70–63

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Tire BKumho

Ecsta PS71

Summer

Tests 67 · 14 tests Owners 69 · 8,166 reviews

“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.”

Category by category

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

  1. 64

    Dry

    Ecsta PS71 +11
    75
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 3 SSR Run flatEcsta PS71
    Professional tests (TWG score)–78
    Reviews found online6371
  2. 66

    Wet

    Ecsta PS71 +18
    84
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 3 SSR Run flatEcsta PS71
    Professional tests (TWG score)–90
    Reviews found online6473
  3. 59

    Comfort

    Ecsta PS71 +12
    71
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 3 SSR Run flatEcsta PS71
    Professional tests (TWG score)–75
    Reviews found online4965
  4. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    38
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 3 SSR Run flatEcsta PS71
    Professional tests (TWG score)–18
  5. 61

    Treadwear

    Sport Contact 3 SSR Run flat +9
    52
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 3 SSR Run flatEcsta PS71
    Professional tests (TWG score)–45
    Reviews found online5863
  6. 61

    Handling

    Ecsta PS71 +10
    71
    Why this score
    SourceSport Contact 3 SSR Run flatEcsta PS71
    Reviews found online6171
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental Sport Contact 3 SSR Run flatKumho Ecsta PS71
Relative Score 63 70
Dry 64 75
Wet 66 84
Comfort 59 71
Noise – 38
Treadwear 61 52
Handling 61 71

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

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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Less important
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Neither tire has a score here yet, so this weight changes nothing.

Important
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Neutral
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Recomputed
Headline score

Sport Contact 3 SSR Run flat

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 Sport Contact 3 SSR Run flat

Pros

  • Ultra-sharp and precise steering response
  • Excellent dry grip and handling performance
  • Progressive and predictable behavior at the limit

Cons

  • Extremely harsh ride quality and poor impact comfort over bumps or potholes
  • High levels of road noise on coarse or sub-standard pavement
  • Nervous or inconsistent wet-weather grip with tendencies to aquaplane
All owner themes in the Sport Contact 3 SSR Run flat 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 Sport Contact 3 SSR Run flat

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

Tire B

Kumho Ecsta PS71

Positive

Community sentiment towards the Kumho Ecsta PS71 is generally positive, with drivers viewing it as an affordable, high-value mid-range/UHP tire that performs reliably compared to premium brands. Users praise its wet grip rating, competitive pricing, and overall road manners once warmed up, though some note it provides adequate rather than top-tier grip and raise questions regarding cold performance and tread life.

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.”
r/TeslaUK ·2 upvotes ·2026-08-28

“go with Kumho Ecsta PS71 EV around £140 – £165. Good value for money”
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?”
Top themes
#Value for money#Wet grip performance#UHP budget alternative#Tread wear durability#Warm-up temperature behavior#Tire pressure specifications

Based on 24 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental Sport Contact 3 SSR Run flat B · Kumho Ecsta PS71
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—133
Rim diameters—16″ – 22″
Sidewall—Blackwall

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental Sport Contact 3 SSR Run flat

Kumho Ecsta PS71

Winner: Kumho Ecsta PS71 — better wet, comfort and dry. Pick the Continental Sport Contact 3 SSR Run flat if treadwear matters most to you.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Kumho Ecsta PS71 scores 84 vs 66 on wet.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Kumho Ecsta PS71 scores 71 vs 59 on comfort.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Kumho Ecsta PS71 scores 75 vs 64 on dry.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Kumho Ecsta PS71 scores 71 vs 61 on handling.

Tire A · Continental Sport Contact 3 SSR Run flat
Check price on Amazon
Tire B · Kumho Ecsta PS71
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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.

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

70

Leads

Ecsta PS71

Amazon