I have a 2010 base model. I was told Michelin tires are the best. Which kind of Michelin should I buy? I saw they have a few makes... I see the Defender T H and Cross Climate are high rated... ty
Truly, I agonized over tire selection for months and read everything. The tread pattern on the new Michelin Energy Savers is much different now. I purchased the Michelin Primacy A/S from Costco and am ecstatic. Great tire, great ride, great on sale price and no mpg loss. Costco orders direct from factory for real “new” tires. Before install you may want to check the construction date on the sidewall. Lots of 2+ year old tires in those warehouses but, not at Costco.
After getting 47K miles out of my IceX's, left on year round but religiously rotated every 5 K, I bought another set. I would NOT have made it home last night without them! IF you're in snow country, check them out.
i love my michelin energy saver a/s, but i drive like an old lady, and do not have to go out in bad weather. at 30k, they are still like brand new. their best attributes are low noise, soft ride, good dry weather handling and mpg equal to the cheap oem's. unfortunately, tires are always a compromise, and you have to pick a model that best suits your needs. tire rack does a good job of covering this. are you a commuter who has to tackle whatever weather is thrown at you? do you need good handling/braking/traction? do you rack up miles and want longevity? so many things to consider.
I did some very slick and icy driving late yesterday, on steep terrain, and at one point came across a big 4x4 and later a Subaru. They both seemed surprised to see a Prius back where I was, like mouth hanging open surprised, I never even spun a tire. Both my AWD's left at home, as the PIP saved me a few bucks in gas plus is the more comfortable ride, with a better sound system. I run 38-40 psi in the winter, v. my usual 43-45.
I have the Michelin CrossClimate +. MPG suffered even after putting on over 1,000 miles on them now. It could be a combination of cooler weather and new tires? But I've gone from ~48mpg on my normal drive to work down to ~40mpg. Substantial loss in mpg, but I got these tires as the weather started turning cooler and heat was required. HOWEVER, the ride and the grip from these tires have dramatically improved!! They are about as quiet my old Bridgestone Ecopia 422 Plus. We have occasional wintry weather here and these tires are rated for snow duty. We will see how this pans out. The car most likely will not see snow as I will drive my wife's CR-V as it has AWD and good Michelin LTX tires.
The Michelin defenders are noticeably quieter and more comfortable than Bridgestone ecopia. Noticeable 1-3 drop in mpg and subjectively feels like I have to push a bit harder to accelerate. Worth it for me to have a quieter ride, less road noise. I remember when I rolled out of the dealer on these new tires they felt “plush”.
I'm in Massachusetts...plenty of snow storms and ice. The current tiresI have are Yamaha... IceX is smooth and good on MPG? I was told Michelin are the best by a friend with a Cadillac...said he never had to replace them... 38-40 for front, how about the back? I put them up a couple notches always. I'm in Massachusetts...plenty of snow storms and ice. I was told Michelin are the best by a friend with a Cadillac...said he never had to replace them. What's another cheaper tire that does well in ice, snow, good on MPG, and lasts? I get a lot of snow and Ice. IceX has good reviews on Town Fair tire. Can you keep them on all year? smooth? MPG? last long as other? ty
I used 4 sets of defenders they all wore out about 36-44k so nowhere near 90k as Michelin promises. Finally I switched to Hankook Kinergy PT also has 90K wear warranty. Better heat resistance (A) so far at 15 K miles they still look new. I noticed better breaking on wet road, less road noise and more Cushy on the road. Cornering is fine too with a little more rolling feeling than Michelin’s. Having said all that Michelin’s has Better grip at quick exeleration situations. While excelerating I have never lost traction with Michelin’s yet I can not say the same for Kinergy PT. I guess that is the trade off for choosing longer lasting tires.
Michelin is one of, if not the best, tire company out there. There are two popular tires from this brand that is Michelin Premier vs Primacy. Both tires performed reliably well on all fronts and had fairly even road feedback. The MXM4 slightly lags behind when it comes to traction and cornering. However, the disparity was barely noticeable.
