73
/ 100
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
72/100
200 owner reviews
Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.
Head-to-head
Updated September 2026
Continental Premium Contact 2 vs Vredestein Ultrac — Compared (September 2026)
Our Relative Score blends 60% objective test data with 40% owner-review signal — so any two tires can be compared even if they were never tested on the same day.
VS
78
/ 100
Objective (60%)
95/100
13 professional tests
User signal (40%)
77/100
23 owner reviews
Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.
VerdictWinner: Vredestein Ultrac — better comfort, wet and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Read full
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Category breakdown
6 categories, side by side
Each bar is the Relative Score for that category. Expand a tile to see the test results and owner ratings behind it.
Dry
Score (0–100)
Ultrac leads by 3
Why this score
| Source | Premium Contact 2 | Ultrac |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | 88 |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 84 | 84 |
Wet
Score (0–100)
Ultrac leads by 7
Why this score
| Source | Premium Contact 2 | Ultrac |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | 87 |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 77 | 80 |
Comfort
Score (0–100)
Ultrac leads by 12
Why this score
| Source | Premium Contact 2 | Ultrac |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | 89 |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 73 | 80 |
Noise
Score (0–100)
Why this score
| Source | Premium Contact 2 | Ultrac |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | 78 |
Treadwear
Score (0–100)
Ultrac leads by 2
Why this score
| Source | Premium Contact 2 | Ultrac |
|---|---|---|
| Tyre Reviews owners | 62 | 64 |
Handling
Score (0–100)
Ultrac leads by 4
Why this score
| Source | Premium Contact 2 | Ultrac |
|---|---|---|
| Tyre Reviews owners | 73 | 77 |
| DriverReviews owners | – | 80 |
Scores at a glance
| Category | Continental Premium Contact 2 | Vredestein Ultrac |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 73 | 78 |
| Dry | 84 | 87 |
| Wet | 77 | 84 |
| Comfort | 73 | 85 |
| Noise | – | 78 |
| Treadwear | 62 | 64 |
| Handling | 73 | 77 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
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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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Recomputed
Headline score
73
/ 100
Tire A
78
/ 100
Tire B
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
From owners
Pros, cons & observations
Themes extracted from owner reviews across retailers and review sites — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
The Continental PremiumContact 2 is widely regarded as a high-performance touring tire that excels in dry and wet grip, offering a communicative and confidence-inspiring driving experience. However, the consensus is heavily polarized by its rapid tread wear, with many users reporting significantly shorter lifespans compared to competitors, leading to concerns regarding overall value for money.
Pros
- Excellent grip and stability in both dry and wet conditions
- High level of steering feedback and communicative handling
- Strong resistance to aquaplaning
- Quiet and comfortable ride quality when new
Cons
- Rapid and premature tread wear
- Performance degradation as the tire reaches the second half of its tread life
- High price point relative to its longevity
- Increased road noise as the tire ages
Observations
- Users with smaller, lightweight vehicles (e.g., VW Up, Fiat 500) report significantly better longevity and satisfaction than those with heavier sedans or SUVs.
- Drivers of performance-oriented or front-wheel-drive vehicles frequently note rapid shoulder wear and a tendency for the tire to 'let go' abruptly when pushed to the limit.
- Some users noted that specific size variations (e.g., 3-groove vs. 4-groove designs) resulted in noticeable differences in wear rates and handling characteristics.
The Vredestein Ultrac is widely regarded as a comfortable, high-performance touring tire that excels in wet weather conditions and provides a refined, quiet ride. While many users praise its daily driving capabilities and steering feedback, the tire experiences a significant divide in user experience regarding tread longevity, with reports ranging from exceptional durability to premature, rapid wear.
Pros
- Outstanding ride comfort and noise reduction
- Strong wet weather performance and hydroplaning resistance
- Predictable and consistent handling for daily driving
- Improved steering feel compared to many entry-level or older performance tires
Cons
- Highly inconsistent tread life, with some users reporting premature wear
- Lack of sharp, high-performance steering feedback for aggressive driving
- Reports of soft sidewalls leading to a lack of stability under heavy cornering
- Occasional reports of increased road noise or 'hollow' sounds
Observations
- Users with smaller, daily-driven vehicles (e.g., C-Max, Audi A1) report high satisfaction with comfort and longevity.
- Drivers of performance-oriented vehicles or those expecting track-day precision often find the sidewalls too soft and the steering feedback lacking compared to dedicated performance tires.
Community buzz
What real owners are saying
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
Tire A
Continental Premium Contact 2
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
Tire B
Positive
Vredestein Ultrac
Community members generally view the Vredestein Ultrac and Ultrac Pro as a compelling, budget-friendly alternative to premium high-performance summer tires like the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Users frequently highlight significant cost savings alongside comparable dry and wet performance, comfort, and noise levels, though a few note trade-offs in extreme cornering stiffness.
r/mazda3
·55 upvotes ·2025-04-02
“New boots! Vredestein Ultrac Pro 225s for the Turbo 3”
r/CarTalkUK
·22 upvotes ·2025-05-27
“Are budget tyres closing the gap to premium? I changed a set of tyres on my daily pd130 winter bash about and managed to get a set of vredestein ultrac for £80 a tyre fitted which I thought was a pretty good price. The tyre fitting service was saying to me that the gap between budgets and premium is much smaller in the last 10 years and that taxis tend to opt for budget tyres all the time and have no issues. Any thoughts on this? I’ve always gone for medium to higher end tyres. Leer más”
r/ZL1
·2 upvotes ·2013-12-15
“I just had a set of Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta put on. Initial thoughts... I got them in 275/40/20 for the fronts and 315/35/20 for the rears. They fit the wheels perfectly. I immediately noticed a much softer ride. Sport Mode now feels like Tour Mode, maybe even softer. I DD my ZL1 so cold weather performance is very important. Temps were near 40°F and they stayed quite grippy. This is a huge improvement over the stock Goodyear's. Initial turn in response is good. I had the opportunity to push them on an off ramp and they felt a little mushy when pushed and didn't seem to want to exceed .75g I had a set of these on a previous car (2004 ZO6) and expect great wet weather performance. I will update this post once I get some more miles on them. Read more”
r/ZL1
·2 upvotes ·2013-12-19
“The Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta are probably the best sport tyres ever made. Ive sold tyres for a living since I was 16, I've tried and tested hundreds of different tyres so i can give my customers the best advice, so I class myself as somewhat of an expert. The Sessantas are brilliant. I had them on an X5 for 8,000 miles, they couldn't have performed all round any better. EDIT: Oh and they wear so evenly it's unbelievable!”
Top themes
#Price and Value Comparison#Comparison to Michelin PS4S#Wet and Dry Grip#Ride Comfort and Noise#Tread Wear and Longevity#Handling and Steering Feel
Based on 17 community posts
Specifications
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Continental Premium Contact 2 | B · Vredestein Ultrac |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer Premium Touring tires | Summer High Performance tires |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
Final verdict
Which one should you actually buy?
73
/ 100
Continental
78
/ 100
Vredestein
Winner: Vredestein Ultrac — better comfort, wet and handling. It leads or ties in every category we score.
Pick tire B
You want the most comfortable ride
Vredestein Ultrac scores 85 vs 73 on comfort.
Pick tire B
Your priority is wet-weather safety
Vredestein Ultrac scores 84 vs 77 on wet.
Pick tire B
You enjoy sharp, responsive handling
Vredestein Ultrac scores 77 vs 73 on handling.
Pick tire B
You want the most grip on dry roads
Vredestein Ultrac scores 87 vs 84 on dry.
Tire A · Continental Premium Contact 2
Tire B · Vredestein Ultrac
More comparisons
Also compared with
Continental Premium Contact 2 also compared with
Vredestein Ultrac also compared with
How do we compare tires?
Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements) normalized against the best tire in each test and weighted toward recent tests. 40% comes from thousands of owner reviews collected from retailers and review sites. When a tire has only one of the two, we use what exists and say so.
Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.