2002 VW Passat 1.8T (113k mi) - Practical New Tires for Family Car

Maintenance/Repairs
,
1

After I asked about new cars to replace one of our cars a few years ago, we ended up keeping our Passat. It’s been reliable and the repair costs have been substantially lower than a new car.

But now I need new tires. I have Continental ProContact Ecopluses on the car right now and I got good life (72k) out of them. I put them on the car in 2005 – seriously – and we just don’t put a lot of mileage on either of our cars because of short commutes. So now my car has 112k on it and it’s likely to become increasingly expensive. I assume that by the time we wear these out, we’ll be in the market for a new car.

I have liked the Continentals a lot, and it appears that NTB still carries the ProContacts. We have a Goodyear, an NTB, and a Merchants nearby right now. NTB/Merchants is running a buy 3, get 1 right now, so I’d prefer to work with them. So now I’m trying to decide if the Continentals are the best choice.

For my car the following are available at NTB/Merchants, listed in order of expense.
Provato Radial NST S6065
Aspen Touring A/S
Sumitomo HTR A/S P01
Continental Pro Contact

What I’m looking for:
Comfortable ride.
Not noisy
Appropriate for the highs and lows of DC metro weather, including the occasional Snowmageddon and ice storm

I don’t think I’m picky and I am not road racing this car. Just the occasional drive to the beach and a 7 mile commute to work on back roads.

Thanks.

2

few people drive on a lot of different tires, so we like some brands based on good experience, and dislike brands based on bad experiences. Personally I’ve had poor experiences with Continental tires, but you have liked what you have and got 72K miles from them - that’s hard top beat.

Lately, I’ve been buying Cooper tires. If you want some reviews, TireRack.com has is a good source of reviews on tire brands and models they sell. Just some reviewers are raving about a tire they have 500 miles on. That isn’t enough miles and time to be very helpful.

Based on your experience I’d say stick with Continentals for your Passat. Otherwise just buy on price and convenience of the store.

3

I would stick with the Continentals too since you like them and got good tread life.

I’ve never even heard of the Provato or the Aspen. And the Sumitomo is ranked at the bottom of the list on the tirerack.com survey. Avoid all three.

4

Thank you!!! I just made an appt to get the Continentals.