Just now replacing my 2020 CX-5 tires. I’m trying to decide between the Michelin Defender 2 and the Continental Cross Contact LX25. Research tells me that the LX25 would be better for my area over the Defender 2 especially on wet roads.Freeway noise is important to me and the LX25 is said to be a little quieter. I’ve noticed that many still go with the Defender due to its 80,000 mile warranty.
Any thoughts would help.

 

They are both great choices.
I hope your research was based on the same exact year and model Mazda or at least the same basic Mazda models and not a generalization overall.
Don't discount driver experience level driving in adverse weather conditions. The length of time having a drivers licensed and even driving miles is not an indicator of experience only a time period driving.

Noise created by tires is really badly rated and very subjective to how one views noise and how they describe it. Unfortunately, that falls into the category of guessing which report you like the best and what the source was. And again, it is highly influenced by the vehcle model and year of those reporting this personal, description.

Those of us that have sold tires knows the unhappy customer that returns claiming they were given bad recommendation of a choice in tire.

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Welcome to the forum.
Reality is most tires are purchased on what the consumer can afford.
Which means buying the "best" you can for the money you can spend.
The original Toyo's on my CX-5 were just plain terrible in every aspect.
All tires are subject to the actual vehicle they are on, the roads they drive on, the weather they drive in and finally who is doing the driving.
The two you picked are generally great tires and there are many others as well.
I personally have had issues with Continental Tire tread wear (they did prorate them for replacement).
I no longer purchase any Continental tires because of the poor tread life on multiple 4 wheeled vehicles.
The Conti Sport was good on my sport touring motorcycles.
How they will actually handle on your vehicle and respond to your driving abilities only you can say.
For my 2020 my main driving area and how I drive I switched to the Perilli Scorpion AS plus 3.
They handle great for me and my aggressive driving style, are quite to me and are wearing well though I do rotate my tires every oil change.
That may or may not be the case for you or any other tire you purchase.
What is unfortunate is that none of us can ever really tell how any tire will be until we actually put them on our vehicle and use them.
Good luck which ever you choose.

 

I just bought some new tyres Kumho brand thinking the were made in Korea but no on the sidewall it says made in China but it also says with Korean technology so time may tell.

 

I asked to test and evaluate Vredestien tires . Manufactured in Hungry .
I liked them well enough I asked to keep them. So they gave them to me. Very quite ride compared to my past several different tires used on my Mazda. Worked well enough in the rain, not so great in the snow, and when pushed with my driving skills I can break traction in corners, but the average driver would not have the same performance with traction. And they don’t look bad.

To be clear this was not a recommendation just a funny comment from the source country of manufacturing not expecting a fairy nice tire .

 

I'm surprised that any tyre other than slicks in the dry would hold on your car.
My little Mitsu running 17lb boost is the scariest car I have ever driven wanting to break out into effortless wheel spin in 3 forward gears. I won't drive it in the wet ever let alone snow like you have to on occasions.
I'm getting to the point where I should stop driving it but I think if I sold it someone would have a serious accident.
Your 245whp and front wheel drive. How the hell do you get traction? Nitros off is my guess.

 

Interesting, as I tried Continentals on my bike and found them horrible compared to the Michelins that I had been running, so I went back to MIchelins. I've had not complaints on the Conti ESC2 tires that I put on my Miata.

OP, the Conti CrossContact LX25 have a 70k mile tread wear, vs. the 80k for the Defender. To me, that's close enough

I will agree w/ what Lobstah said, the stock Toyo A36 are just plain junk. Mazda can't seem to pick a decent OEM tire, as my old 2017 3-GT came with Dun-slop 5000's that were down right scary in the wet.

I'm buying new tires soon, and am torn between the Pirelli Scorprion and the CrossContact LX25

 

I have been doing a lot of highways driving to family in the last 2 months. So its nice to have a very quiet ride and slightly more MPG considering my gas is now almost 7 dollars a gallon.
But yes with the "peg leg" currently in the differential the traction tire hazes up at even the slightest bit of aggressive throttling.