Built from every independent test result and vetted owner review we hold for this tire - the evidence is all further down the page. Data updated January 2025.
How comfortable and quiet are the Matador MP 44 Elite 3?
Owners rate the Matador MP 44 Elite 3 7.8 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 14 reviews.
How well do the Matador MP 44 Elite 3 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Matador MP 44 Elite 3 8.1 out of 10 for wear across 14 reviews. 2 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 2,000 miles.
Would owners buy the Matador MP 44 Elite 3 again?
93% of owners say they would buy the Matador MP 44 Elite 3 again, based on the 14 owner reviews that answered the question. 50% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
What do owners say about the Matador MP 44 Elite 3's dry grip?
Of the 14 owner reviews analyzed for the Matador MP 44 Elite 3, 10 mention dry grip: 10 praise it (strong dry grip) and 0 criticise it (limited dry grip). One owner wrote: "Fantastic wet and dry grip!". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Matador MP 44 Elite 3's wet grip?
Of the 14 owner reviews analyzed for the Matador MP 44 Elite 3, 9 mention wet grip: 9 praise it (confident wet grip) and 0 criticise it (weak wet grip). One owner wrote: "Fantastic wet and dry grip!". Read those reviews
Questions and Answers for the Matador MP 44 Elite 3
Sorry, we don't currently have any questions and answers for the Matador MP 44 Elite 3. Why not submit a question to our tire experts using the form below!
Across 16 owner ratings the Matador MP 44 Elite 3 averages 82%. Owners rate Dry Grip highest at 9 out of 10 and Handling lowest at 7.1. 2 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 93% of owners score it 70% or better.
Owner ratings averaged from 16 ratings
Owner score82%
Dry Grip90%
Road Feedback85%
Wet Grip84%
Wear81%
Comfort78%
Handling71%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 77%
“Good tire, made some research, this page convinced me to buy them, very good in dry, good in wet, not bad on wear, litle bit noisy. Excelent price, for 205/55 r16 some 45 euro/piece with install. Driving style not...”
“Previous tires lasted over 25,000 mixed miles before wear was near limit. Tire fitter said these were good and went with them. From the off the tires felt slow and heavy with loads of road rumble and thumps from minor...”
“I am lost for words excelent tires through an through great grip in the wet an dry i just cant not rate these tires high enough!!! wish i had gone with them long time ago. got mine in tires direct ni in lurgan who are...”
Good tire, made some research, this page convinced me to buy them, very good in dry, good in wet, not bad on wear, litle bit noisy. Excelent price, for 205/55 r16 some 45 euro/piece with install. Driving style not agressive, but sometimes on the open road and corners a bit speedier, allways confident with this tire. Some 20000 km on them, still good.
For the money these Matadors have proved to be an excellent buy. I was running on Kumho Solus KH17 and I found they wore out quickly and weren't great in the wet. I researched these at length and I'm well pleased with the end result.
on the back of an old rover 200 turbo coupe(nexens reviewed for the front)
good honest tire and no complaints
on all but something special a fellow would not know the difference between these and much more fancy tires
+ i would not say the turbo is slow either and older fashioned handling(hrumph)
Incredible grip most of the time wet or dry, amazingly seem to need to warm up. In cold weather for the first mile there's no grip.
Give good feedback, but when you keep pushing they let go quite quickly. I got XL ones as its all they had in stock. Supposed to take 95 load rated was a disaster on the 93's I had when I got a set of Michelin's. The XL ones are taking there toll on jelly mould chassis of the Omega but at long last its fun to drive with these tires.
these are the best value tires on the market , excellent grip in the wet and the dry and surprisingly grippy in the frost , i would recommend these tires to anyone .
I have just fitted those tires in my 2007 Mazda mx5.
First impression is very very good grip in slippery dry roads.
Also, i feel that those tires feel a bit harsh comparing to my old Michelin Pilot Exalto but with much more feedback!
Previous tires lasted over 25,000 mixed miles before wear was near limit. Tire fitter said these were good and went with them. From the off the tires felt slow and heavy with loads of road rumble and thumps from minor imperfections!! Grip is fine but after less than 14,000 miles wear is getting close to limit!!
Bad choice, won't be getting these again.
I bought these for my XM as I wanted something value for money but also a decent tire. These were recomended to me by my chosen tire supplier as fitting that description. They also said that Matator is owned/part of Continental and having had good experiences with that brand before, I bought these MP44s.
I have only covered around 2500 miles since fitting them to the front, however there is no noticeable signs of wear yet.
I usually fit Michelins to my Citroens and have another XM with Michelin Energy Savers, which suit the car well. However, these Matadors are quite hard to tell apart from the Michelins, in terms of grip, road noise and ride, its all very good.
I had trip around Wales just after fitting these, it was very wet and flooded but the tires never gave any worries. Wet grip is pretty excellent for the price you pay for these tires. I do tend to be a bit of a spirited driver and they did not let me down on the soaked and twisty country lanes.
They seem to be a step up in quality from older Matador tires, the siewall looks more upmarket. Alone with the legal 1.6mm tread markers they also have ones slightly higher at 3mm, which is referred to as the recommended tire change thread wear. Along with this safety feature there are numbers which appear in the tread itelf, as the tire wears lower numbers are exposed which give a rough guide to how many mm of tread is left, a great idea! Mine are just starting to show 6mm of tread.
Its not a sporty feeling tire but for my car that is not what I was wanting. Its a very good alrounder which grips very well in the wet and dry, gives a good ride, low road noise and seems to wear quite well. Impressive for the money, glad I didn't pay twice as much on some Michelins!
I would recommend them and will consider them again.
I am lost for words excelent tires through an through great grip in the wet an dry i just cant not rate these tires high enough!!!
wish i had gone with them long time ago.
got mine in tires direct ni in lurgan who are the only matador dealers in the whole town.
i was reassured by the sales person and since have visited the tire center again to thank them on the great recommendation,
Dealer fitted on the car when purchased. Was ready to get them swapped for "proper" tires (Bridgestone Turanza ER300 or T001), but having driven on the Matadors I don't think there's any reason to change. In fact, I think I might try and source more of these tires in the future, rather than my normal Bridgestones.
