Nitto Motivo Vs Nitto Neo Gen: Both Motivo and Neo are all-season and high-performance tires with asymmetrical tread designs. Motivo is designed for sports coupes, luxury sedans, and crossovers. On the other hand, Neo is made for mini vehicles.
Motivo is known because of its large mileage warranty which is 60,000 miles. It provides great hydroplaning resistivity because of the increased void ratio. The silica compound and a special binding agent are responsible for enhanced durability. Due to its advanced 3D Siping Technology, it delivers remarkable steering ability on wet & icy roads, and superior wet, snow, and ice grip. It is a high fuel-efficient tire.
Examine the treads on these tires closely. They hold the key to knowing which to choose. In fact if you visit my "tread design" page, picking the right tire would never bother you.
Through its advanced cornering, Neo is known for its exceptionally well handling on dry pavements and snowy roads as well. Its flat footprint allows it to have continuous contact with the road which is the reason for its superior dry road grip. It also ensures a quiet and comfortable ride for its customers.
Compared to Motivo, Neo offers superior dry grip, handling performance on dry & snowy roads, comfortable & noiseless ride, and is also marginally economical. But if we talk about handling ability on wet and icy roads, aquaplaning resistivity, durability, fuel efficiency, and grip on wet, snowy, and icy roads, Motivo takes the lead.
Table of Contents
Side By Side Comparison
Nitto Motivo
| Specifications | Motivo | Neo Gen |
| Tire Type | High-Performance Tire | High-Performance Tire |
| Tire Season | All-Season Tire | All-Season Tire |
| Tread Type | Asymmetrical | Asymmetrical |
| Available Sizes, Inches | 17, 18,19, 20 | 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22 |
| Application | Sport Coupes, Luxury Sedans, and Crossovers | Mini Vehicles, Passenger Cars/Crossovers |
| Standard Limited Warranty | 5 Years | 5 Years |
| UTQG Rating | 560 A A | 280 AA A |
| Cost (225/45R17) | 128.00 $ | 121.00 $ |
Tread Design
Motivo has an asymmetrical tread design consisting of four circumferential grooves of different widths. In addition to large shoulders, the Motivo consists of two tread block columns and a single central rib. The rib and adjacent tread block columns having notches on them. 3D advanced multi-wave sipes form interlocked ripples on the tread. Lateral grooves present on the tread block column are streamlined and open. The siping density of Motivo is relatively much higher in comparison to its competitor. Its overall contact is lesser than its opponent due to having a high void ratio.
Neo also possesses a unique asymmetrical pattern with two zig zag and one straight-line circumferential groove. This makes the contact patch variable throughout the length of the tire. There are two tread block columns. The column adjacent to the external shoulder contains vertically placed rectangles. Each rectangle has a notch and a sipe joined together. The central column consists of slanted 3D tread lugs with multiple sipes. Its exterior shoulder consists of several tread blocks placed vertically upon one another but is devoid of sipes. The internal shoulder is a single continuous block with angled notches and siping present in an alternate manner. Although the lateral grooves present between slanted tread lugs is wide, which enhances Neo’s void ratio, but not greater than its competitor. The tire tread contains a decreased number of lateral grooves and notches. So, the whole contact patch of Neo is larger and consequently, the void ratio is lower than its competitor.
Road Grip
Due to the increased number of grooves and notches in Motivo, it possesses a high void ratio and eventually decreased contact patch. That is why; Motivo would have a comparatively lesser grip on dry roads. But still, it is quite significant. On wet and icy roads, it has a better grip since high-density 3D interlocked sipes are present. Also, the contact patch is not that low and biting edges are present on both tread block columns. If we talk about Motivos’s road grip on snowy roads, it beats its competitor in this scenario as well because of having a high void ratio which would have a more snow-holding capacity.
Because of the larger contact patch, Neo holds a superior dry grip. But on wet roads, it is inferior to its competitors because of having less siping density and decreased hydroplaning resistivity. During snowfall, decreased void ratio leads to less evacuation of snow and ultimately less grip than its competitor. Finally, low siping density on the tread block column is responsible for decreased ice grip of Neo than Motivo.
| Parameter | Motivo | Neo Gen |
| Dry Grip | Moderate | High |
| Wet Grip | High | Low |
| Snow Grip | High | Moderate |
| Ice Grip | High | Low |
Road Handling
Motivo will deliver the lesser facility of road handling on dry pavements as compared to Neo. This is because its shoulders blocks would have a less contact patch during steering operation due to having relatively smaller shoulder blocks. But it will surpass its competitor in steering precision on wet and icy roads because of greater siping density on shoulders. If we consider snowy roads, it loses battle due to comparatively narrow lateral grooves.
Contrarily, Neo provides better handling on dry pavements because of its large shoulder blocks. But it lags behind Motivo when it comes to driving on wet or icy roads because the external shoulder has no sipes, and the internal one has relatively fewer sipes on it. On snowy roads, Neo’s steering ability is better compared to its rival because it has wide grooves and notches present on its shoulders.
| Parameter | Motivo | Neo Gen |
| Dry Handling | Moderate | High |
| Wet Handling | High | Low |
| Snow Handling | Moderate | High |
| Ice Handling | High | Low |
Hydroplaning Resistivity
The hydroplaning resistivity of Motivo would be much better because of the comparatively increased void ratio. A large number of grooves, sipes, and notches increase the water holding capacity of this tire. Hence, these spaces will help in throwing water away from tires.
Neo provides inferior aquaplaning resistivity to its competitor, but it also provides a decent hydroplaning resistivity due to its wide lateral grooves on the central tread column and also on the shoulders.
Comfort and Noise
Neo has a comparatively more tread depth which absorbs the bumpy effect of rough roads. Thus, riders would feel comfortable while driving since more tread depth would offer more cushion between the road and the vehicle.
The noise of a tire is caused by trapped air inside grooves and it depends upon the void ratio. The large void ratio would mean loud noise production since there would be more space for air encapsulation. Hence Neo wins this race by having a less void ratio.
Hence, in both respects, Neo would be better than its competitor.
Rolling Resistance and Fuel Efficiency
The fuel consumption depends upon rolling resistance because energy is needed to do work against the friction between the road and tire. The higher the rolling resistance, the higher will be energy consumption and vice versa.
The rolling resistance is directly proportional to the contact patch of a tire. Since the contact patch of Motivo is relatively smaller as compared to its competitor so it has low rolling resistance. Consequently, it would have less energy loss and would be highly fuel-efficient as compared to Neo.
Load and Speed
Both Motivo and Neo can carry the maximum weight of 1477 lbs. This means that both have the equal weight-bearing ability. Also, both are exceptional in running at high speed as is seen clearly in the table given below.
| Contenders | Speed | Load | ||
| Rating | Value | Rating | Value | |
| Motivo (225/45R17) | W | 168 mph | 94 | 1477 lbs |
| Neo Gen (225/45R17) | W | 168 mph | 94 | 1477 lbs |
Price
The cost of Motivo is slightly higher than its competitor because of its better wet, snow, and ice grip. It provides enhanced durability, increased fuel efficiency, unique composition, and higher hydroplaning resistivity. When it comes to handling on wet and icy roads, Motivo also takes the lead.
The cost of Motivo (225/45R17) and Neo Gen (225/45R17) are 128.00 $ and 121.00 $ respectively.
Summary
Both competitors;
- Are high-performance & all-season tires with asymmetrical tread patterns.
- Provide equal speed rating.
- Can bear an equal load.
Motivo;
- Provides better wet, snow, and ice grip.
- Offers enhanced hydroplaning resistivity.
- Delivers better wet and ice handling.
- Is more durable.
- Has higher fuel efficiency.
Neo Gen;
- Provides better dry grip.
- Is cheaper comparatively.
- Provides better dry and snow handling.
- Produces less noise.
- Provides greater comfort.
