Head-to-head Updated

Nitto Motivo vs Continental CrossContact LX Sport — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

Motivo leads, 58–55 Narrow edge

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Tire ANitto

Motivo

Summer Touring tires

Tests – · none yet Owners 53 · 52 reviews

Tests – · none yet Owners 49 · 560 reviews

“A broken screw went partially into the tire tread, cutting one of the metal wires / belts in the casing. The tire is not losing air. I am concerned the damaged wire belt could lead to a tire failure. The open divot, deeper than the tire tread, also concerns me since it can get packed with debris, damage the other intact wire, or open the hole even more or further puncturing it. Tire is 2 years old with 17k miles so it's in great shape. Continental Cross Contact LX Sport 245/50 R20. This is on my wife's Pilot so I want her to have a reliable tire with no possibility of having a failure due to this damage, if that is likely here. What do you guys think?”

Category by category

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

  1. 55

    Dry

    CrossContact LX Sport +4
    59
    Why this score
    SourceMotivoCrossContact LX Sport
    Reviews found online4754
  2. 56

    Wet

    CrossContact LX Sport +5
    61
    Why this score
    SourceMotivoCrossContact LX Sport
    Reviews found online5158
  3. 54

    Snow

    CrossContact LX Sport +6
    60
    Why this score
    SourceMotivoCrossContact LX Sport
    Reviews found online4454
  4. 62

    Comfort

    CrossContact LX Sport +1
    63
    Why this score
    SourceMotivoCrossContact LX Sport
    Reviews found online5558
  5. 61

    Noise

    CrossContact LX Sport +3
    64
    Why this score
    SourceMotivoCrossContact LX Sport
    Reviews found online5361
  6. 65

    Treadwear

    Motivo +22
    43
    Why this score
    SourceMotivoCrossContact LX Sport
    Reviews found online6527
  7. 54

    Handling

    Motivo +7
    47
    Why this score
    SourceMotivoCrossContact LX Sport
    Reviews found online5447
Scores at a glance
Nitto Motivo vs Continental CrossContact LX Sport: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryNitto MotivoContinental CrossContact LX Sport
Relative Score 58 55
Dry 55 59
Wet 56 61
Snow 54 60
Comfort 62 63
Noise 61 64
Treadwear 65 43
Handling 54 47

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

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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Recomputed
Headline score

Motivo

CrossContact LX Sport

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A Motivo

Pros

  • Exceptional ride comfort and exceptionally low road noise
  • Strong dry traction and responsive handling in corners
  • Great overall value and competitive pricing compared to premium brands

Cons

  • Subpar traction and grip in wet and snowy conditions for some drivers
  • Faster-than-expected tread wear reported by a subset of users
  • Potential balancing issues or out-of-round manufacturing complaints
All owner themes in the Motivo review

Tire B CrossContact LX Sport

Pros

  • Low road noise and exceptional cabin comfort
  • Strong handling and reliable grip in wet and dry conditions
  • Confident performance in light snow and winter weather

Cons

  • Disappointing tread life and faster-than-expected wear
  • Occasional reports of reduced traction in heavy mud or specific slick conditions
  • Higher price point relative to the longevity experienced by some drivers
All owner themes in the CrossContact LX Sport review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Nitto Motivo

We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.

Tire B

Continental CrossContact LX Sport

Mixed

Community opinion on the Continental Cross Contact LX Sport is mixed, with some drivers praising its comfort, balance of control, and low road noise. However, many owners express dissatisfaction with rapid tread wear, flaking or chunking, poor wet traction, and shallow initial tread depth. Several users consider replacing them early with options like Michelin CrossClimate or Defender models.

r/ModelX ·1 upvote ·2026-09-18

“You don’t want to be too cheap with harder rubber material because they lack stability. I just replaced mine with Continental Cross Contact LX Sport T1 from America Tires with the best balance between comfort and control. Slightly cheaper than Tesla Service Center. You can try the Hankook Evo ION designed specifically for EV but you only have half the warranty mileage due to staggered tires configuration on the MX.”

r/VWatlas ·3 upvotes ·2019-10-07

“Issues with Continental Cross Contact LX Sport tires Anybody having premature wear on their tires? In South Texas these tires are notorious for having flaking/peeling/chunking issues on the tread. Had to replace mine after 26k, but noticed the issues much earlier than that. Not a warrantable condition but Continental did give proration based on tread depth. Used the credit towards some new Michelins. Read more”

r/tires ·1 upvote ·2025-10-26

“CrossContact LX Sport Hey folks, I have a 2024 CRV with 4 CrossContact LX Sport tires from the dealership. I have less than 9500 miles om my vehicle/tires but it appears I have a slight hole on the sidewall. If I place my finger on it the air stops coming out. I ordered a set of CrossClimate2s from Costco knowing that AWD vehicles need to match all 4 generally speaking to prevent issues with the drive train, but after my father member looked at it he insisted that I just need to slap a replacement on the single tire given theyre so new. Tldr: is it worth to buy a new set of CrossClimate2s or should I just get a single CrossContact and have tire rack match the tread depth? Kinda don't wanna be out $1400 but also went with my gut on it given i dont wanna f up my drive train on my vehicle and the CrossContacts according to reviews have high failure rates even at low mileage. Please let me know.”

Top themes
#premature tread wear#wet weather traction#OEM tire replacement#tire inflation pressure#ride comfort and road noise#EV efficiency comparison

Based on 26 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Nitto Motivo B · Continental CrossContact LX Sport
CategorySummer Touring tiresAll Season
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverSUV and 4x4
Sizes available—39
Rim diameters—16″ – 22″
Tread depth10.3/32″9/32″
UTQG560 A A480 A A
Treadwear warranty60,000 mi—
SidewallBlackwallBlackwall
Max pressure50 psi51 psi

Which one should you actually buy?

Nitto Motivo

Continental CrossContact LX Sport

Winner: Nitto Motivo — better treadwear and handling. Pick the Continental CrossContact LX Sport if snow, wet and dry matter most to you.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Nitto Motivo scores 65 vs 43 on treadwear.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Nitto Motivo scores 54 vs 47 on handling.

Pick tire B You drive through snowy winters

Continental CrossContact LX Sport scores 60 vs 54 on snow.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Continental CrossContact LX Sport scores 61 vs 56 on wet.

Tire A · Nitto Motivo
Tire B · Continental CrossContact LX Sport

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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.

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

58

Narrow edge

Motivo

Amazon