Tires Tested
Vehicle(s) Used
2025ToyotaCamry
Intro
When you deal with tires all the time, it's easy to focus on, or be excited about, the more specialized products: tires for racing, tires for off-roading, tires for winter, because when driving is a passion, it's natural to put effort into learning what specific tools you need to do that thing best. Ask an artist what kind of tablet or brand of brushes they prefer, or a PC enthusiast about the latest hardware, and you'll get significant detail about the pros and cons of all kinds of different options, and like any kind of passion, that discussion might involve way more than you need if you don't share it.
Outside of very niche circles, All-Season Touring tires are probably something you don't hear a lot about simply because they're everyday tires. They aren't designed to be the fastest option on the track, or to go off road, or to do anything particularly cool. They only need to be comfortable, durable, long-lasting, usable in a wide range of temperatures and weather conditions ranging from the blazing heat of summer to freezing winters, while being quiet and composed, reactive during emergencies, and... is this list long enough yet?
Having to account for all of those variables requires a ton of research, engineering, testing, and balancing characteristics to make happen. Building a tire that's quietly good at most things isn't showy, it isn't sexy: it's just kind of boring.
And yet, that's kind of the humble miracle of touring all-season tires: balancing all of those different aspects to make an understated tire that feels comfortable and refined is cool. It's the little black dress of tires, the simple two-button sport-coat that goes with everything.
At least, when it's done right. That brings us to Continental's latest touring all-season tire, the SecureContact AW. We've put it through our usual testing gamut on our Toyota Camry: starting with an on-road "real world road ride" to evaluate noise, handling, and the various surfaces drivers may encounter during the daily commute.
We then continue with wet track testing to evaluate the tire's traction and how it deals with being stressed in a straight-line (longitudinally), as well as while weaving and cornering (laterally) on a slippery surface. The Emergency Lane Change portion is performed after the track dries off, simulating the need to dodge an unexpected obstacle on the road and safely return to the lane. Finally, we took the SecureContact AW's to a dedicated winter testing facility to see how they handle in the snow and ice.
The SecureContact AW was built from the ground-up as an all-weather tire to tangle with some of the best tires in the Grand Touring All-Season (GTAS) tire subcategory. The difference between an "all-weather" tire and an "all-season" tire may not seem big (a touring all-season tire that qualifies for the three-peak mountain snowflake/3PMSF symbol), but the expectation of improved winter-weather capacity is typically much higher for any tire under that umbrella. While we typically assess tires alongside their predecessors for these preview drives - there just isn't one for this. So we've chosen 2 of Continental's other tires that operate somewhat adjacent to offer a basis of comparison:
Our On the Road Driving Impressions
The SecureContact AW was reassuringly firm, the kind of drive that feels composed - working with the road instead of trying to oppose it, absorbing most impacts and imperfections without transmitting them into the cabin. Over bumps and potholes we detected a hint of excess motion, but nothing egregious. Very similar to the experience of driving the TrueContact Tour 54 in that regard, which was arguably just a touch more refined, though the two were extremely close.
Noise was likewise well-managed by the SecureContact AW. We're looking for notable or repetitive tones, and found little that stood out in either tire. During the highway speed portion of the ride, we had to check if the windows weren't cracked because the prevailing sound was the wind, a good sign for any tire to be less intrusive than the simple ambient tones of the drive. Over cross-cut concrete at both lower and higher speeds, we picked up some higher-pitched notes from the SecureContact AW that, overall, put it very slightly below the TrueContact Tour 54 in tonal variety, though it should be stressed again that both of these are very quiet tires.
Steering was responsive, quick to take driver inputs at speed and direct: accurately placing the vehicle where we commanded it. There was a very minor delay moving from right-to-left in the off-ramp, though easily tied with the equally lively TrueContact Tour 54. Both tires felt eager enough to border on "sporty", though (appropriately) not quite enough to push into that territory.
On the Track (Wet)
The Continental SecureContact AW delivered a welcome experience during wet testing, with significant grip that allowed us to get to throttle sooner, carry faster cornering speeds, and brake later with real confidence. Just like on the road, steering was firm without being overly sporty, allowing us to place the car precisely. There was enough traction to allow us to maintain more momentum through turns, and get back to power earlier. It performed exceptionally well all around, to the point where we needed to dial it back and not overdrive it to keep from upsetting the nanny systems in the Camry.
We've tested the TrueContact Tour 54 previously, found it to be a good partner in the wet, and weren't disappointed this time either. Steering felt nicely mated to the Camry and the available traction, responsiveness felt even, controllable. When compared to the SecureContact AW however, the TrueContact Tour 54 was just a half-step back in most aspects. Steering was a little bit looser, traction was lesser, there were more understeer moments and spin-ups. It's still a bright, cheery tire to drive, but it felt appropriately outclassed here.
Emergency Lane Change (ELC)
While the SecureContact AW handled both of the prior tests with fairly glowing ease, the Emergency Lane Change did challenge the tire a bit. The maneuver consists of three cone gates: one for the initial swerve to the right, a second gate to swerve back and return to the "lane", and a third cone gate indicating a successful return in line with the first set of cones.
The majority of attempts were successful, with a roughly 75% success rate, but occasionally if we gave it too much steering input or too fast, it could get sideways or dissolve into understeer, resulting in a failed attempt. The TrueContact Tour 54 on the other hand, delivered a little bit of drama on a couple attempts, but largely handled every attempt at the ELC with no significant issues.
Winter
Winter driving was a 3-way affair between the SecureContact AW, the TrueContact Tour 54 and Continental's newest dedicated winter offering: the VikingContact 8.
We'll start off with the TrueContact Tour 54, which was (perhaps unsurprisingly) the weakest of the three tires in the snow. Which isn't to say it did a poor job: winter weather is generally considered one of the toughest conditions a normal driver is going to deal with, and managing to be remotely usable in snow and ice is better than most tires can manage.
That said, it was controllable in the snow, with a wide enough traction plateau that we didn't feel forced to baby it through the course, though it would still break loose into understeer if we got greedy. Longitudinal grip was the lowest among these three, so accelerating and braking needed more care on the pedal and a little more patience to fully manifest. Still, with a little care and reasonable driving, it managed the snowy track just fine.
The SecureContact AW was a clear improvement in winter traction capability: stronger acceleration, stronger braking, reactive steering, but not quite the revelatory jump over the TrueContact Tour 54 one might expect. The front end had a tendency to oversaturate in turns, resulting in understeer without much left to correct mid-corner. It had enough overall traction that attentive driving could avoid hitting the limits too early or too often. With some practice and good driving principles, it was definitely a manageable option in the snow, but felt like there was still room for additional polish.
Not to belabor the term "unsurprisingly", but the VikingContact 8 was a rockstar in the snow when set alongside its all-season/all-weather siblings. This was what it was created to do, and it drove through the snow with comparative ease. It wasn't perfect: no tire is, we'd have liked a bit more rear-end stability, a little pointier front-end; driven harder and faster at the limits, we still needed to be mindful of breaking traction, but the jump in traction was palpable.
Ice Braking from 12 mph for all three Continental tires proceeded in order from the TrueContact Tour 54 at 55.7 feet, the SecureContact AW at 55.6 feet and the VikingContact 8 at a commanding 43.3 feet.
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