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Head-to-head Updated

Continental CrossContact LX25 vs Michelin Defender T+H — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 1 + 1 road tests and 26 + 1 owner reviews. How we score

CrossContact LX25 leads, 73–70 Narrow edge

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Michelin Defender T+H
Tire BMichelin

Defender T+H

Premium Touring All Season tire

± 8Provisional

Tests – · 1 test Owners 69 · 1 review

Best test result: #1 of 8 in 2022 Consumer Reports All-Season Tires (tested tread life (miles))

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 76

    Dry

    CrossContact LX25 +6
    70
    Why this score
    SourceCrossContact LX25Defender T+H
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests70≈ 69 (est.)
    Reviews found online8471

    CrossContact LX25: 60% × 70.4 + 40% × 83.5 = 76

    Defender T+H: 60% × 69.3 (est.) + 40% × 70.9 = 70

    No road tests of dry for Defender T+H. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).

  2. 80

    Wet

    CrossContact LX25 +7
    73
    Why this score
    SourceCrossContact LX25Defender T+H
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 78 (est.)≈ 72 (est.)
    Reviews found online8473

    CrossContact LX25: 60% × 77.9 (est.) + 40% × 83.6 = 80

    Defender T+H: 60% × 72.2 (est.) + 40% × 73.4 = 73

    No road tests of wet for CrossContact LX25. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

    No road tests of wet for Defender T+H. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 53

    Snow

    Defender T+H +12
    65
    Why this score
    SourceCrossContact LX25Defender T+H
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests40≈ 68 (est.)
    Reviews found online7262

    CrossContact LX25: 60% × 40.3 + 40% × 72.2 = 53

    Defender T+H: 60% × 67.5 (est.) + 40% × 62.1 = 65

    No road tests of snow for Defender T+H. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.37).

  4. 77

    Comfort

    CrossContact LX25 +9
    68
    Why this score
    SourceCrossContact LX25Defender T+H
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 71 (est.)≈ 69 (est.)
    Reviews found online8067

    CrossContact LX25: 40% × 71.2 (est.) + 60% × 80.2 = 77

    Defender T+H: 40% × 68.7 (est.) + 60% × 67 = 68

    No road tests of comfort for CrossContact LX25 or Defender T+H. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.

  5. 71

    Noise

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceCrossContact LX25Defender T+H
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 67 (est.)–
    Reviews found online78–

    CrossContact LX25: 60% × 66.6 (est.) + 40% × 78 = 71

    No road tests of noise for CrossContact LX25. The test half is the tested tires’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.

  6. 72

    Treadwear

    Defender T+H +1
    73
    Why this score
    SourceCrossContact LX25Defender T+H
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 69 (est.)76
    Reviews found online7668

    CrossContact LX25: 60% × 69.4 (est.) + 40% × 75.5 = 72

    Defender T+H: 60% × 76.1 + 40% × 68 = 73

    No road tests of treadwear for CrossContact LX25. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).

  7. 79

    Handling (owners)

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceCrossContact LX25Defender T+H
    Reviews found online79–
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental CrossContact LX25Michelin Defender T+H
Relative Score 73 70
Dry 76 70
Wet 80 73
Snow 53 65
Comfort 77 68
Noise 71 –
Treadwear 72 73
Handling (owners) 79 –

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Recomputed
Headline score
± 7

CrossContact LX25

± 8

Defender T+H

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

The professional test results behind the scores

Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.

DisciplineCategoryCrossContact LX25Defender T+HΔHead-to-head
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #2/3 Michelin CrossClimate 2 vs Continental CrossContact LX25 vs Goodyear WeatherReady #1/8 2022 Consumer Reports All-Season Tires – Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A CrossContact LX25

Pros

  • Extremely quiet and smooth ride quality at all speeds
  • Significantly improved wet and snow traction
  • Enhanced braking performance and responsiveness

Cons

  • Tends to pick up and throw gravel from the road surface
  • Can feel a bit harsh or firm when hitting deep potholes
  • Occasional reports of unexpectedly rapid treadwear in rare instances
All owner themes in the CrossContact LX25 review

Tire B Defender T+H

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental CrossContact LX25 B · Michelin Defender T+H
CategoryAll SeasonPremium Touring All Season tire
Vehicle typeSUV and 4x4SUV and 4x4
Sizes available40—
Rim diameters16″ – 22″—
Tread depth10 - 12/32″—
UTQG740 A A - B—
SidewallBlack Side Wall - Raised Outline White Lettering—
Max pressure44 - 51 psi—

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental CrossContact LX25

Michelin Defender T+H

Narrow edge: Continental CrossContact LX25 — better comfort, wet and dry. Pick the Michelin Defender T+H if snow matters most to you. Michelin Defender T+H rests on little evidence so far (1 test, 1 review), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire B You drive through snowy winters

Michelin Defender T+H scores 65 vs 53 on snow.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Continental CrossContact LX25 scores 77 vs 68 on comfort.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Continental CrossContact LX25 scores 80 vs 73 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Continental CrossContact LX25 scores 76 vs 70 on dry.

Tire A · Continental CrossContact LX25
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Tire B · Michelin Defender T+H
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CrossContact LX25 or Defender T+H?

Which is better in the wet, CrossContact LX25 or Defender T+H?

Continental CrossContact LX25, 80 vs 73 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, CrossContact LX25 or Defender T+H?

Continental CrossContact LX25, 76 vs 70 on our dry score.

Which is better in snow, CrossContact LX25 or Defender T+H?

Michelin Defender T+H, 65 vs 53 on our snow score.

Which is more comfortable, CrossContact LX25 or Defender T+H?

Continental CrossContact LX25, 77 vs 68 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, CrossContact LX25 or Defender T+H?

Neither, by our numbers: 72 vs 73 on the treadwear score, within 3 points.

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology