Continental ContiSportContact 5 vs Pirelli Scorpion Verde — Compared

“Time to start considering my next set of tires Bought my used 2010 Lexus RX450h a few years ago, and the tread is starting to get shallow, after putting about 30k on the Pirelli Scorpion Verde All-Season tires that came with the vehicle (vehicle is at 116k total). I've been very happy with the performance I've received on the Pirelli tires; especially in heavy rains. The one thing I haven't really done is take them to the snow. But, with that said, I've been looking at other brands. The Bridgestone Blizzak and UltraWeather tires carry 80k mile warrantees, and are less expensive. Plus, the latter has the 3PMSF rating along with the M+S, so it's actually rated for snowy conditions. There's also the Michelin CrossClimate 2 to consider. Am I giving up performance in rainy conditions by going with the higher snow rated tire? The Pirelli tires are about $30ish more per tire. In the scheme of things is $100-120 per set in the scheme of things? What other brands/models are people using that gives them really good performance in rain, with some trips to the snow/ice country? FWIW: My tire size is the bigger 235/55R19 that came as an option on the vehicle Read more”

“We had the stock Pirelli Scorpion Verdes on our XC40 and I can corroborate that they were pretty terrible in the snow. No complaints about them in the dry or wet though, so they would probably be fine for warmer climates. The dealer put Michelin CC2s on our XC60 before we picked it up and I concur with everyone saying they are excellent in the snow. They’re good enough that when our XC90 makes it stateside we’re going to have the dealer take off the brand new Pirelli’s and put on CC2s so I don’t have to worry about swapping snow tires on every year.”

“My Freelander used Scorpion Verde all-seaons from new. They weren't bad tyres, but I wouldn't buy them myself if that makes sense. They did last me a good while, but when they hit about 4mm of tread I did notice they were needing replacement soon. I ended up going with Vredestein QuaTrac Pro's. Slightly worse on fuel economy, according to the label, but they appear to hold up better. 19 inch alloys really limit what you can do. Personally I would drop down to 18 inch wheels. You get a good choice of rubber plus the bigger tyres make for a more comfortable ride.”