Kumho Ecsta XS KU36 looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.
Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 22 + 0 road tests and 1,611 + 10 owner reviews. How we score
SportContact 7 is ahead, 88–69
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Tests 84 · 22 tests Owners 84 · 1,611 reviews
Best test result: #1 of 18 in 2025 ADAC Summer Tyre Test (wet braking)
“On my 2nd set. Got decent mileage from them. 15k miles from the first set of rears and i've 11k on the 2nd set with 4.5mm still left on them.”
Tests – · none yet Owners 68 · 10 reviews
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
| Source | SportContact 7 | Ecsta XS KU36 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 21 / – tests | 100 | ≈ 70 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 92 | 73 |
SportContact 7: 60% × 99.6 + 40% × 92.1 = 97
Ecsta XS KU36: 60% × 70.3 (est.) + 40% × 73.4 = 72
No road tests of dry for Ecsta XS KU36. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).
| Source | SportContact 7 | Ecsta XS KU36 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 22 / – tests | 96 | ≈ 70 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 94 | 69 |
SportContact 7: 60% × 96.3 + 40% × 93.6 = 95
Ecsta XS KU36: 60% × 69.8 (est.) + 40% × 69.1 = 70
No road tests of wet for Ecsta XS KU36. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
| Source | SportContact 7 | Ecsta XS KU36 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 5 / – tests | 56 | ≈ 67 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 80 | 58 |
SportContact 7: 40% × 56.4 + 60% × 80.1 = 71
Ecsta XS KU36: 40% × 67 (est.) + 60% × 57.5 = 61
No road tests of comfort for Ecsta XS KU36. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
| Source | SportContact 7 | Ecsta XS KU36 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 19 / – tests | 59 | – |
| Reviews found online | ≈ 67 (est.) | – |
SportContact 7: 60% × 59.1 + 40% × 66.6 (est.) = 62
No owner ratings of noise for SportContact 7. 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.
| Source | SportContact 7 | Ecsta XS KU36 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests | 72 | ≈ 65 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 64 | 63 |
SportContact 7: 60% × 72.1 + 40% × 63.6 = 69
Ecsta XS KU36: 60% × 65 (est.) + 40% × 62.9 = 64
No road tests of treadwear for Ecsta XS KU36. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).
| Source | SportContact 7 | Ecsta XS KU36 |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews found online | 92 | 71 |
| Source | SportContact 7 | Ecsta XS KU36 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 21 / – tests | 72 | – |
| Category | Continental SportContact 7 | Kumho Ecsta XS KU36 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 88 | 69 |
| Dry | 97 | 72 |
| Wet | 95 | 70 |
| Comfort | 71 | 61 |
| Noise | 62 | – |
| Treadwear | 69 | 64 |
| Handling (owners) | 92 | 71 |
| Efficiency | 72 | – |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
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.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
SportContact 7
Ecsta XS KU36
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
Community members widely praise the Continental SportContact 7 for outstanding dry and wet grip, sharp steering precision, and strong value compared to key rivals like the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. However, users frequently highlight faster tread wear, reduced initial tread depth, and occasional issues with road noise and comfort as main drawbacks.
“The Tire Rack no longer has the selection with the major name brands it once did. I can order the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 in 225/45R18 from Costco but the Tire Rack doesn't offer it in that size. I can order the Continental Sport Contact 7 at Discount Tire in 225/45R18 but not at the Tire Rack. When my wife and I had a Corolla Hybrid, it took a 195/65R15. Michelin quit offering the CC2 in that size so the next best all-weather tire at the time that fit was the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 750. The Tire Rack never offered that tire but Discount Tire had it in stock locally. None of the tires I mentioned are exclusive tires for certain retailers. I enjoy the Tire Rack website and the testing they do, but they are no longer the go to merchant when buying tires like they once was.”
“I have Continental Sport Contact 7's on my S550 and the are better than the PS4S in my view (plus they stack up well in independent reviews as well)”
“Just took the factory SC7’s off my gfs puma ST, they are super grippy, they feel even stickier than the PS4S on my car but I’d say they are less predictable at the limits and I always felt like they tramlined a bit too much and they weren’t a very comfortable tyre. Fronts have just under half their tread left after 11000 miles. Swapped em out for conti all season contact 2’s as she needs to be able to go out during any conditions and she doesn’t want to have two sets.”
Based on 114 community posts
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
| Attribute | A · Continental SportContact 7 | B · Kumho Ecsta XS KU36 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | Summer |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 123 | — |
| Rim diameters | 18″ – 24″ | — |
| Tread depth | 8 - 9/32″ | — |
| UTQG | 240 AA A | — |
| Sidewall | Black Side Wall | — |
| Max pressure | 50 - 51 psi | — |
Continental SportContact 7
Kumho Ecsta XS KU36
Winner: Continental SportContact 7 — better dry, wet and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score. Kumho Ecsta XS KU36 rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 10 reviews), so read this result as provisional.
Continental SportContact 7 scores 97 vs 72 on dry.
Continental SportContact 7 scores 95 vs 70 on wet.
Continental SportContact 7 scores 92 vs 71 on handling.
Continental SportContact 7 scores 71 vs 61 on comfort.
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Continental SportContact 7, 95 vs 70 on our wet score.
Continental SportContact 7, 97 vs 72 on our dry score.
Continental SportContact 7, 71 vs 61 on our comfort score.
Continental SportContact 7, 69 vs 64 on our treadwear score.
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
