The wet half had us gushing. It was by far the handiest tire on the irrigated autocross and secured a marginal, 0.1-second victory over the Michelin. This tire did as it was told every time. “Excellent wet performance!” declared Geswein. Communication was top-notch, which earned the Conti a subjective perfect 10 in the wet.

It also earned top honors in ride comfort and noise, and it was the most affordable radial in this test, at $133 per tire.

The DW performed clean dry runs with no nicked cones, though we applied more steering corrections than expected. More than any other tire in the dry, this DW was resilient when driven aggressively. Grip fell off predictably, and holding the edge of performance was easy. Recovery from a slide was also quick work.