I was in the tyre industry for many years and that is all familiar to me and quite true. Yes, it’s a good response.

In addition to our Sportage we have an E Niro, new July 20, 24500 miles. Still on original Michelins which look like they’ll make 30k easily enough.

 

Are they taking the readings on the wear indicators or to the point they are slicks.

If they are saying 5.9, then guess they are to wear indicator. As most new tyres are about 7 M/M

 

They are 6mm down to the carcass, have posted this before as many have reported after a year and less than 10K miles they are down to under 5mm. The price we pay for low rolling resistance....

 

A nice answer from them. Unfortunately I am one of the owners with these tyres that's been plagued with punctures. They are very lightweight with a thin casing, I assume to reduce weight and it means I have had numerous punctures through stones which I've not experienced with any other tyres before. After replacing three in my cars first 10000 miles (plus four repairs) I stopped and replaced with Pirelli's on the front and kept one repaired Conti to swap out on the rear in case of another unrepairable puncture. I've had three more punctures in the last 8000 miles. All on the rear Conti's. Luckily all could be repaired.

Why am I moaning about this? Well I guess because i've never actually got to see how well the Conti's wear as I kept having to replace them

 

A nice answer from them. Unfortunately I am one of the owners with these tyres that's been plagued with punctures. They are very lightweight with a thin casing, I assume to reduce weight and it means I have had numerous punctures through stones which I've not experienced with any other tyres before. After replacing three in my cars first 10000 miles (plus four repairs) I stopped and replaced with Pirelli's on the front and kept one repaired Conti to swap out on the rear in case of another unrepairable puncture. I've had three more punctures in the last 8000 miles. All on the rear Conti's. Luckily all could be repaired.

Why am I moaning about this? Well I guess because i've never actually got to see how well the Conti's wear as I kept having to replace them

🤣🤣

Well after reading that I better treat myself to a spare wheel!!😊

 

My Sportage was on it's original rears at 38k when I got it..
But they were ready for replacement..

I'm really liking the Continental contact 6s on my Xceed..prefer them to the michelin premacy on the Proceed..bit quieter and possibly more precise? But there is 10k difference in wear as the proceed is at 11.5k but they ate wearing well

 

The point is not the built depth but the wear rate. That is evidenced in the OP. Most manufacturers now start from about 7mm rather than the old 8mm.I think the Contis start at 6.5mm but that is from memory. All to do with overall weight reduction and low rolling resistance AFAIK.
I second the concern about susceptability to punctures/splits in the side wall. I had to replace one after only 500 miles. Thankfully that meant I only had to buy one though; no need to worry about different depths across the rears.

 

We bought with the sportage alloy and puncture cover which covers unlimited punctures and up to 3 new tyres aswell as alloy refurbishing (up to three) Reading above I’m glad we took the cover but hopefully we don’t need it

 

Nowhere in the KIA Sportage specification does it mention tyre make, type or details. I was shocked at reading service report that I had 57% wear on 8000 miles. Contiental customer service UK said they have had lots of calls from Kia owners. They said that the EcoContact 6 summer tyre only has 5.9mm tread instead of 7.9. He recommended All Season contact 2 7.9mm available from March 2025 if you can't wait All season contact 7.9mm are available now. Kia dealers are currently making a killing on replacement tyres. In reviews the Bridgestone Turanzu came a close 2nd. These cars are listed at £42000 and Kia saved about £15 per tyre by not fitting 7.9mm tyres.
The EcoContact 6 is a good tyre but KIa should have let customers know about the 5.9mm tread before we all bought the car. I suppose its a waste of time complaining to Kia.

 

Have you checked the depth yourself? The implication is that you’re down to below 3.5mm. It wouldn’t be the first time garage mechanics were overly pessimistic.

And don’t think that a 7.9mm new depth will last proportionately more than a 5.9mm. The first part of the tread will wear more quickly because of squirm. The overall life might not be hugely more.

BTW how do you know Kia are saving £15 a tyre and just who lets their main dealer change tyres?

 

^^^^^^
What was the actual tread depth measured? Is that 57% of 5.9mm or of the more usual tread depth of 7/8mm?
Reason I ask, it doesnt matter what you start with, it is how quickly it reduces. I still have 5.5mm on mine after 6500 miles.
Don't get me wrong I am not a fan of these tyres. In fact I cant wait to get rid but not for thr reasons you have posted.
From the Conti site on the eco contact 6

• Go further thanks to the Green Chilli 2.0 compound.

 

^^^^^^
What was the actual tread depth measured? Is that 57% of 5.9mm or of the more usual tread depth of 7/8mm?
Reason I ask, it doesnt matter what you start with, it is how quickly it reduces. I still have 5.5mm on mine after 6500 miles.
Don't get me wrong I am not a fan of these tyres. In fact I cant wait to get rid but not for thr reasons you have posted.
From the Conti site on the eco contact 6

• Go further thanks to the Green Chilli 2.0 compound.

Good spotting, your right they must have based the wear on 7.9mm tread. I looked at reviews out of a 149 tests this tyre came 137th.
The review shows wear is really bad and 40% of people surveyed would never buy again.
On a car that was listed a year ago at about £42k, this is a terrible tyre.

 

As the OP, an interesting follow up.

My car is back in to see if the Park assist can be made to work, and the car has had the usual "free inspection". The report came up with an "advisory". OSF tyre with 4.5mm of tread at 11,000 miles. It was 4.6 at the service at pretty much 10000 spot on. So I've used 1.4mm in 11k miles (5.9-4.5=1.4). As I tow a caravan I would not let the tyre go to 1.6mm, but renew at 2.5mm, so another 2.00mm to go. On current wear that means I have another 15,700 miles to go... 26,700 miles on the fronts IMHO is pretty good!

 

Just checked my tyres. Fronts are 5.4mm and rears 5.9 at 5500 miles. I only did a quick check on a central main groove but will do a closer check when I get time.

 

My Sportage (23 GTLS HEV 227bhp) was in for it's 10,000 mile service today, and I got the usual condition review which mentioned that my front tyres were down to 4.8mm.

My front tyres are down to 4.4 mm in 1st service - car done less than 9000 miles!

Which tyres now come with at least 8 mm tread to start with?

 

Mine was at 4.5 at 11,000. My calculation in my earlier post was 15,700 more miles at the current rate to 2.5mm...

 

I am considering all season Continentals or Bridgestone T005 235/55 R18 104VXL both are highly recommended in review tests.
Your HEV motor in the front and battery in the back adds extra load.
Also, if you don't do like for like some insurance companies may not pay out, stating it's a modification you did not disclose.

 

These eco tyres are crap, I only got 18000mls out of all 4 of them terrible in the wet, had Goodyear all season tyres on for 18000mls and they still look like new and outperform the continental tyres 💯%, I had words with the continental people about this Garbage they are putting on new cars and they told me the same thing as they told you, Avoid these tyres like a Rash, they are no good for the British climate and don't last very long 😮

 

You will be lucky to get 18000mls from the fronts with the dreaded continental Eco crap, mine only lasted 18000mls all 4 of them, i had that same response off continental with all that Green Chilli nonsense, they trimmed the Tread down and made the sidewalls like thin elastic to win Rolling Resistance tests, but these tyres are hopeless on cold wet British Roads and should be avoided at all costs and i,m speaking from experience, I replaced them with Goodyear all season tyres and it totally transformed the car in every respect, and these have been on the car 18000mls and still look like new 9mm, those continental eco tyres are terrible end of, and they shouldn't be putting them on new cars sold in Britain

 

I’m afraid I have a 'bit of a downer’ when it comes to Continental tyres as the only time I have ever had high-speed blow-out was on a French Autoroute a few years ago.

Apart from that, I think they are unjustifiably overpriced, considering that they perform generally no better than many other alleged ‘premium’ brands and mid-range offerings.

All that said, the balance of features that I want in my tyres is achieved in the all-season models from Michelin and Goodyear - possibly in some less expensive brands also. When the time comes, I shall switch from the perfectly ok OE Michelins on my Tucson and pay for whichever all-season tyre provides the best value at that time.

 

Yes your right there, those continental eco tyres, are too soft, puncture very easily and the sidewalls are that thin when the sun shines on them they look like a creased shirt with all the dents in them, definitely not worth what they charge for them, wouldn't buy them at any cost, I,ve been driving over 40 years and they are the worst tyres I,ve ever come across or driven on, I,ve had better mid range tyres.

 

a rusty nail doesn’t know if it’s £40 tyre or a £250 tyre or if it’s a hard or soft tyre unfortunately.

 

Agreed but of the six punctures I had on the conti's (in 12000 miles) five of them were stones piercing the carcass (and one nail). I switched to pirelli's and have had no issues in the subsequent 15000 miles. I've never had any other tyre puncture through a stone before those conti's. Accepting that I do live rurally and there is plenty of rubbish on my local roads.

 

Like I said these continental eco tyres are no good on British Roads, too soft and too light, only advantage of these eco tyres is rolling resistance and over the year you don't save that much, i,ve had Goodyear vector gen 3 all season tyres on for just over a year, and they outperform those continental eco tyres in every way, hardly any wear in 12 months similar fuel economy, better wet handling, which is the most important in the current British climate, i will never drive on them continental eco tyres ever again, total elastic rubbish and a waste of money.

 

I agree, the low rolling resistance eco tyres for EVs are a rip off; I reach and exceed WLTP range in my EV using Pirelli summer tyres

 

Continental told me exactly the same ridiculous story, a tired with more tread creates more heat ! Never heard such crap, less tread the hotter they get, look at F1 racing cars, plus these eco tyres have very soft sidewalls so on hard cornering they fold into the wheel rim causing excessive wear on the edges resulting in more wear on the edges, so after a short while you still have some tread on three quarters of the tyres but they are bald round the edge, and then continental blame your car tracking and won't acknowledge the warranty, Avoid these tyres like a Rash

 

30k out of the fronts, that's a laugh with continental eco rubbish, you would with Michelin primacy tyres, be prepared for punctures galore damaged sidewalls and needing new ones very quickly, I had it with them and continental tried to blame my car, in over 40 years of Driving i,ve never known a Tyre so crap ever, Avoid like a Rash 😢