Bridgestone Alenza AS Ultra vs Continental CrossContact LX25: All season tires have always been the go to tires for the American market and this segment has been well established across the years. Michelin being the pioneer in this segment has been in the lead with its very well established CrossClimate 2. In such a competitive segment, the urge to overtake Michelin with a better all season product is ever present. For this duel, we would like to pair the newly launched (2021) Alenza AS Ultra from Bridgestone against Continental’s CrossContact LX25 (launched in 2019). Both products are an all season product with a SUV focus size range. As both products are relatively new to the market, we will put them in a head to head duel to see who comes out on top !
Table of Contents
Results
Results below were taken from the Tire Rack’s “Testing Crossover/SUV and Grand Touring All-Season Tires 2021” test. A total of 3 tires were tested this time around. The graph below shows the comparison between Bridgestone Alenza AS Ultra vs Continental CrossContact LX25 based on the relevant performance category. The Alenza AS Ultra was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark. Note that for subjective evaluation, we equate 1 point as 5%. Hence for example if tire A is graded 7 while tire B is graded 6, A is better than B by 5%.
As both tires are categorized as all season tires, Tire Rack has included snow & ice in its testing portfolio. A detailed testing on snow including acceleration, braking & handling were evaluated. The tire size of interest is a 235/60R18 which is a common tire size for Honda CR-V & Volvo XC60. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information. The testing vehicle is a powerful 2019 Audi Q5 Premium 2.0T.
Wet
The friction of coefficient of the tire/road dramatically decreases in wet roads compared to dry roads. Hence it is more likely to get into a road accident during wet conditions rather than on a sunny day. It was so important that the EU label has wet braking as one of its three criteria. With regards to our comparison, CrossContact LX25 was slightly better in wet braking compared to Alenza AS Ultra with a 1.9 feet (0.58 m) deficit in braking distance.
While in wet handling, CrossContact LX25 had a super tiny 0.05 seconds advantage in lap time against Alenza AS Ultra. This margin was relatively small which would not be significant for normal road users. For the subjective wet handling rating, CrossContact LX25 was rated better with a 7.41/10 rating compared to the 7.25/10 rating of Alenza AS Ultra. Overall, CrossContact LX25 is a much better wet tire from a total package standpoint.
CrossContact LX25 :
- +1.5% in wet braking
- +0.8% in wet handling (subj)
- +0.1% in wet handling (lap time)
Dry
As for dry, safety is usually not an issue as the braking distance is much longer than wet. However this is the default daily usage and the tires have to perform at a very consistent level. This is where we witness a huge 5.3 feet (1.6m) braking distance advantage for CrossContact LX25. Due to its superior compound grip properties, CrossContact LX25 was better than Alenza AS Ultra in both wet & dry braking. This is where we applaud Continental as they were able to manage the target conflict at a much higher level.
While in subjective dry handling, Alenza AS Ultra managed a surprisingly better rating with a 7.59/10 rating which was slightly ahead of the 7.35/10 obtained by CrossContact LX25. In regards to the lap times, CrossContact LX25 was 0.47 seconds faster per lap relative to Alenza AS Ultra. Overall, CrossContact LX25 excels in objective dry while Alenza AS Ultra had the subjective edge.
CrossContact LX25 :
- +6% in dry braking
- -1.2% in dry handling (subj)
- +1.5% in dry handling (lap time)
Noise/Comfort/Ride Quality
Ride comfort, noise & comfort was tested and CrossContact LX25 was the frontrunner again especially in noise & steering/road handling. CrossContact LX25 came out slightly ahead at 7.73/10 rating compared to the 7.33/10 rating of Alenza AS Ultra.
CrossContact LX25 :
- +2% in average of Noise, Comfort & Ride Quality.
Snow
As both tires have been rated as an all season tire, we were thrilled when the tire rack included snow on its testing list. From initial checks, both tires do not have the elusive 3 peak mountain logo. They only have the M+S logo which does not require any legal certification. Tires with the 3 peak mountain logo are legally certified as a winter tire & will need to pass a certain threshold of snow traction level as determined by the legislation.
Continuing the domination trend, CrossContact LX25 dominated across all snow tests. It stopped 2.16 feet (0.66m) earlier than Alenza AS Ultra from a speed of 25 mph (40 km/h) to 0. It was also good when it came to snow acceleration as it took 0.49 feet (0.15m) less distance to accelerate from 0 to 12 mph (20 km/h). While it was also quicker in lap time (3.2 seconds !) and also subjectively better in snow handling (+0.59 points). Overall, CrossContact LX25 is clearly the better snow tire.
CrossContact LX25 :
- +3.9% in snow braking
- +3.2% in snow acceleration
- +3% in snow handling (subj)
- +5.1% in snow handling (lap time)
Ice
While snow was dominated by CrossContact LX25, the ice advantage continued with Continental as well. At a braking speed of 12 mph (20 km/h) to 0 , the CrossContact LX25 was stopping 4.3 feet (1.3m) earlier than Alenza AS Ultra.
CrossContact LX25 :
- +9.7% in ice braking
UTQG rating
We have previously shown that UTQG tread wear rating can be a good indication of your expected mileage. Below are the UTQG values of both of the tirelines.
| Brand | Tireline | Size | Tread Wear | Traction | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgestone | Alenza AS Ultra | All | 800 | A | A |
| Continental | CrossContact LX25 | All | 740 | A | A |
The mileage warranty for Alenza AS Ultra is 80,000 miles while CrossContact LX25 is 70,000 miles. This could be evident from the higher UTQG tread wear value of 800 from Alenza AS Ultra compared to 740 of CrossContact LX25. Overall we can expect a much higher mileage for Alenza AS Ultra in comparison to CrossContact LX25.
For more in depth information about UTQG, please check out this article here. We even have a free download on the latest UTQG values from the leading tire manufacturers.
Price
CrossContact LX25 was found out to be $21 dollars more expensive than Alenza AS Ultra.
Tire size: 235/60R18
CrossContact LX25: $229
Alenza AS Ultra: $250
Difference: -9% more cheaper for CrossContact LX25.
Summary
Overall, CrossContact LX25 out class Alenza AS Ultra in dry, wet, comfort/noise, snow & ice. Alenza AS Ultra on the other hand would have a better expected mileage. Without a doubt, the clear winner is Continental’s CrossContact LX25 !