^ ^ if not for the distance and time involved AJS at that price would have been my choice as locally* around £180 all inc and LR dealer nearer to £200.

* only looked at those with prices on line and identical tyre as phoning round the others is too time consuming.

Nice - well I got a deal on mine then @ £136 a corner fitted and balanced.

What are these like in WINTER conditions? I don't want to rive the car around, just not get stuck in snow and on hills etc...?

Well IMHO the Conti is one of the worse tyres in the snow and ice, and also backed up by many of my customers.

I am sure to get slapped down by the odd user but we are always testing different summer and winter tyres and I only give honest feedback. Andy.
www.ajstyres.co.uk www.ajs4x4.co.uk
J8 M25 SURREY
01737 241370

Well IMHO the Conti is one of the worse tyres in the snow and ice.


Factually that statement is totally false.

I am not employed by any tyre manufacturer, and neither am I involved in the trade of retailing or distributing tyres so I have no vested interest in the Continental Group - but - I do seek honesty and transparency in data reporting.

The Continental Cross Contact Winter tyre that is specified for the Freelander 2 has consistently been rated by all the independent European car media and by the European motoring organisations as "Best in Class" or "Excellent". Finishing always in the top three of winter tyres for SUV vehicles.

The independent test data is out there in the public domain - it is easy to find, even links exist on FreeL2, or at least they used to be unless red ink man has been at it again!

On the other hand, the All Season M&S Continental 4x4 Contact is not in the top three recommended tyres. No surprise, as All Season tyres are a compromise to accommodate all motoring conditions in all seasons and will not be excellent in any category.

I don't doubt that the Continental Winter is good Richard, but the standard Continental Cross Contact M+S is poor. To which most of this thread is regarding.  p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

I have only used the Wranglers and the M&S Conti's in the snow, and would rate the Wranglers highly over the Conti's. They really are in different leagues.

ad210358
I agree with you and have already stated quiet clearly that Continental 4x4 All Season M&S Contact is indeed an average performing tyre. For balance I also mentioned another Conti tyre that is winter specific as the subject of contention was snow and ice.

The primary and clear point I made also in my post was that one cannot justifiably simply state that "the Conti is one of the worse tyres in snow and ice". It simple is not true.

Independent testing identifies many more tyres from other manufactures in the sizes applicable to the FL2 that are ranked below the Conti tyre's abilities, than are better than the Conti 4x4 M&S in the specific criteria of performance on ice and snow. It is not a poor tyre - it is an above average tyre in snow and ice.

1. Winter tyres are for driving on in Winter. Shocking as it may seem, Winter tyres don't stop a car as effectively in Summer as the do in Winter. Never drive on Winter tyres all year around because the rubber compound isn't designed to be used outside of Winter. Again, 'Winter tyres' means that they are designed to be driven when the temperature drops to below around 7 degrees, for example in Winter. Winter is the cold, dark time of year when you are most likely to encounter snow and ice. This is when you'll need Winter tyres. If it's snowing outside, it's probably Winter. If you're not sure, please don't drive your car.

2. Continental Cross Contact UHP. On my car for over 20k and about half way through their life. These are NOT Winter tyres and will NOT function as off road, grassy field, mud, sand, snow, ice etc tyres. They are designed for dry and wet tarmac. Roads are made out of tarmac and cement. It's the black stuff on the floor under your car. If you can't see it, it's probably Winter in which case, see point 1 above.

3. General Grabber AT. I use these on a spare set of rims for when the going gets muddy or snowy. They are slightly less useless than non-Winter tyres in Winter eg. Continental Cross Contact UHP but once the treads are packed with snow, they are totally useless for driving on. NOT for driving on ice or compacted snow when compared to Winter tyres.

4. If you want to drive on compacted snow or ice, buy Winter tyres. If you want to drive on mud and snow, buy off road tyres. If you want to have zero control of your 4x4 on icy roads, use anything but Winter tyres. Whereabouts unknown stop going to follow stream until reach civilisation stop message ends

Horses for courses with this stuff really isn't it.

Our FL2 is rarely going to exceed 40 miles per week and that will be around town. One careful / fair weather lady driver most of the time. Our last 4x4 car, a CRV, we had from new for 8 years. Chopped in with just over 37k miles on it. It never had winter tyres fitted and it never caused us a problem in winter.

If we take the caravan out (one less careful male driver) then it gets to travel a bit further but caravan / snow? Don't think so - that's what we have canary islands for surely 😄

The tyres (just contacts - not 'cross contact' by the way) suit our usage profile quite adequately as all seasons - just bung 'em on and forget about them for 20k miles. If it works….

That of course doesn't mean they are right for every application. To each their own.

athelstan wrote:

ad210358
I agree with you and have already stated quiet clearly that Continental 4x4 All Season M&S Contact is indeed an average performing tyre. For balance I also mentioned another Conti tyre that is winter specific as the subject of contention was snow and ice.

The primary and clear point I made also in my post was that one cannot justifiably simply state that "the Conti is one of the worse tyres in snow and ice". It simple is not true.

Independent testing identifies many more tyres from other manufactures in the sizes applicable to the FL2 that are ranked below the Conti tyre's abilities, than are better than the Conti 4x4 M&S in the specific criteria of performance on ice and snow. It is not a poor tyre - it is an above average tyre in snow and ice.

Think that's what I said.  Andy.
www.ajstyres.co.uk www.ajs4x4.co.uk
J8 M25 SURREY
01737 241370

There is a difference between the Continental Contact UHP and Continental 4x4 Contact, the UHP is a summer tyre while the 4x4 is classed as an All Season tyre. Having had both Conti 4x4 Contacts and Goodyear Wranglers on my Freelanders I would, given the choice go for Wranglers every time. However, when I last changed my Conti 4x4 Contacts, I went for the same again on cost grounds (I only needed to buy 3), the difference between the old set in snow with 3mm tread and the new ones with 8mm tread was amazing and with a new tread pattern they felt OK in the snow.

Anyone who has been on a LR Experience in a Freelander in the last 12 months will probably have been out in a vehicle shod with Continental Contact UHP tyres and in the right hands, driven correctly they will perform very well in wet, slippery and muddy conditions as witnessed on the Experience. So they can function off road but......not as well as some of the other tyres that are available.

Were I ordering a new Freelander 2 I'd try and specify Goodyear Wranger HP AW, as my experience of them puts them above the others.

Wranglers every time  p****d off with a Digital Keyboard Warrior

I did a S***load of research before choosing my tyres for my FL2 and, after it all, I chose the GY Wrangler HP All Weather for the following reasons:

1. My previous Pirelli Scorpion Zeros were all over the place on snow / ice because once they are down to 4 mm all sipes are gone and you are left with just tread blocks like some cheap Chinese tyres.

2. I once foolishly and irresponsibly went solo across the Marlborough Downs gloop (If u have been there u know what I mean - I cannot even cross it on a mountain bike) on GY Wranglers in my RR Classic. A local farmer in his tractor looked at me when I was on the top wondering how much he was going to charge me to pull me out - I got through on my Wranglers no problem !

3. I only do 6,000 miles per year in my FL2 and so a separate winter set are not viable. If I did more miles I would of course have a separate winter set.

My last pieces of advice consist of the following to pearls of wisdom:

1. Tyre dealers are great blokes but they will NEVER EVER EVER recommend a brand that they are not a dealer for (Even if it is the best tyre or brand that is available).


2. When I ran a summer and winter set of tyres on a previous rear wheel drive car for 9 years my tyre wear almost disappeared due to optimum temperature usage ! So, if u are doing the mileage definitively go for a summer and winter set - you WILL save money in the long run. FL2 HSE Auto Galway Green
Evoque SD4 Auto Blue.
FL1 HSE TD4 Manual Black - Gone.
RR Classic V8 EFI - Gone

ad210358 wrote:

To put it another way, out of all the tyres that LR fit on the Freelander 2, which is Pirelli Scorpions, Continental Cross Contacts and Good Year Wranglers, which are all M+S rated and I have had them all, the Continental Cross Contact is the worst performer in the winter.