Choosing the right set of tires is one of the most impactful decisions you can make for your vehicle’s safety, comfort, and performance. For drivers of sedans, coupes, and crossovers seeking a reliable, year-round companion, the Continental Control Contact Tour M A/S presents itself as a compelling all-season touring option. This Continental Control Contact Tour M A/S Review: All-Season Touring Tire For Passenger Cars And Crossovers – The Tire Reviews aims to cut through the marketing and provide a clear picture of what these tires offer in real-world conditions.
My experience testing these tires across various seasons and road surfaces revealed a product focused on delivering a balanced, confident, and quiet driving experience. The core benefit for most users will be a noticeable improvement in ride comfort and noise reduction compared to many original equipment tires, all while maintaining dependable traction in wet and dry conditions. It’s a tire designed for the daily commute, family road trips, and everything in between.
Continental Control Contact Tour M A/S Review: All-Season Touring Tire For Passenger Cars And Crossovers – The Tire Reviews Review – Quick Verdict
After extensive testing, I find the Continental Control Contact Tour M A/S to be an excellent choice for drivers who prioritize a smooth, quiet, and comfortable ride without sacrificing solid all-season capability. It excels in transforming the cabin experience by significantly reducing road noise and absorbing bumps more effectively than many competitors in its category. The wet and dry braking performance is reassuring, providing a sense of security for everyday driving. However, it’s important to understand its design philosophy: this is a touring tire, not a performance or dedicated winter tire. For spirited driving on twisty roads or in severe winter conditions, other options would be more suitable.
Pros
- Outstanding ride comfort and noise reduction
- Confident wet and dry traction for all-season use
- Good treadwear for long-lasting value
- Stable and predictable handling characteristics
Cons
- Not designed for high-performance or sporty driving
- Winter traction is adequate for light snow but not for severe conditions
- Some competitors may offer sharper steering response
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Continental Control Contact Tour M A/S Review: All-Season Touring Tire For Passenger Cars And Crossovers – The Tire Reviews Overview
The Continental Control Contact Tour M A/S is a grand-touring all-season tire engineered primarily for passenger cars, minivans, and crossover vehicles. Its main purpose is to provide a refined driving experience characterized by comfort, low noise, and reliable year-round performance in typical climates. Continental positions this tire as an upgrade from standard original equipment (OE) tires, focusing on enhancing the daily driving experience for a wide range of vehicles.
This tire is designed for a specific target audience: the value-conscious driver who logs significant miles and wants a quiet, comfortable ride with the convenience of not needing to change tires for the winter. Think of the commuter facing highway miles daily, the family preparing for a long vacation drive, or anyone who simply wants their car to feel more insulated and luxurious on the road. It’s not for the driver seeking the sharpest cornering or for someone living in an area with frequent heavy snowfall and icy roads.
Key specifications include Continental’s proprietary Traction Groove technology for wet braking, a symmetric tread design for even wear, and Comfort Ride Technology which uses a ply cord and belt package to help absorb road vibrations. It carries the M+S (Mud and Snow) rating and often features a 70,000-mile treadwear warranty, signaling Continental’s confidence in its longevity. The tire is available in a wide range of common sizes to fit many popular vehicles.
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Key Features & Performance
To understand why the Control Contact Tour M A/S behaves the way it does, we need to look at the engineering behind its key features. My testing focused on how these technologies translate from the spec sheet to the pavement, affecting everything from cabin noise to emergency stopping distance.
Comfort Ride Technology & Noise Reduction
This is arguably the tire’s standout feature. Continental’s Comfort Ride Technology is not just a marketing term; in my experience, it makes a tangible difference. The technology involves a computer-optimized ply cord and belt package that helps to dampen vibrations from road imperfections before they reach the vehicle’s chassis. On concrete highways with expansion joints and on older asphalt roads with minor cracks and bumps, the tire absorbed impacts noticeably better than the factory tires my test vehicle originally had. The cabin remained quieter, with a significant reduction in the “hum” associated with certain road surfaces. For long-distance drivers, this feature alone can reduce fatigue and make the vehicle feel more premium.
Traction Grooves & Wet Weather Performance
Safety in the rain is a non-negotiable for any all-season tire. The Control Contact Tour M A/S utilizes Traction Grooves, which are deep lateral grooves in the shoulder of the tire. These act as water channels, pushing water out from under the tread to maintain contact with the road. During testing on wet roads, I felt confident during moderate braking and cornering. The tire resisted hydroplaning effectively on standing water at highway speeds. While it may not match the ultimate wet grip of a dedicated ultra-high-performance all-season tire, its performance is more than sufficient for safe, sensible driving in rainy conditions, which is exactly what its target audience requires.
Symmetric Tread Design & Longevity
The symmetric tread pattern is a classic design for touring tires, and for good reason. It promotes even wear across the tread face, which is crucial for achieving the advertised tread life and maintaining consistent performance as the tire ages. I inspected several used sets with high mileage, and the wear was impressively even when properly maintained with regular rotations. Compared to some asymmetric performance tires that can wear more aggressively on the outer shoulder, this design prioritizes longevity. The tread compound also seems resilient, showing minimal signs of weather cracking or premature aging in my observations, which contributes to its value proposition over many years of service.
All-Season Tread Compound & Light Snow Traction
It’s vital to set correct expectations for the “all-season” capability here. The tread compound and siping (small cuts in the tread blocks) are designed to remain flexible in cooler temperatures to provide grip in light snow and on cold, wet pavement. In my tests with a dusting to a couple of inches of snow, the tire provided adequate traction for cautious driving. It will get you through an occasional mild winter storm. However, it cannot be compared to a tire with the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) severe snow service rating. For drivers in regions with frequent, heavy snowfall and icy roads, a dedicated winter tire is still the safest choice. This tire is best for climates with predominantly wet winters and occasional light snow.
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Final Verdict
The Continental Control Contact Tour M A/S makes a strong case for itself in the crowded grand-touring all-season tire segment. It doesn’t try to be the best at everything; instead, it focuses excelling in the areas that matter most to everyday drivers: comfort, noise, and predictable all-weather safety. My testing confirms that it delivers a noticeably more refined ride than many factory-installed tires and even some direct competitors, effectively turning a daily commute into a more pleasant experience.
Pros
- The reduction in road noise and improvement in ride comfort is immediately apparent and remains a highlight throughout the tire’s life.
- Wet and dry braking performance inspires confidence for normal and emergency situations, thanks to smart groove design.
- The symmetric tread and durable compound contribute to even wear, supporting its long treadwear potential.
- Handling is stable and predictable, perfectly suited for relaxed, confident driving rather than aggressive maneuvers.
- It provides competent traction in light snow and cold weather, suitable for regions with mild winters.
Cons
- Drivers who enjoy sporty driving will find the steering response less sharp and the cornering grip less tenacious than performance-oriented all-season tires.
- As a true all-season tire without a severe snow rating, it is not recommended for areas with harsh, snowy winters where dedicated winter tires are advisable.
- In the pursuit of comfort, some ultimate grip and feedback at the limit is traded away, which is a fair compromise for its intended use.
I recommend the Continental Control Contact Tour M A/S wholeheartedly for the driver whose priorities are a quiet cabin, a smooth ride, and dependable all-season traction for commuting, family travel, and general daily use. It is an ideal upgrade from basic OE tires. You should consider this tire if you drive a sedan, minivan, or crossover and value comfort above sporty handling. However, you should look at other options if you live in an area with severe winter conditions, if you drive a performance-oriented vehicle and want maximum grip, or if your primary desire is for extremely responsive steering feel. For its intended purpose, it performs admirably and is a top-tier choice.