Is michelin defender the way to go?

Michelin X Ice! I have had them on my 2006 and my 2010. I'm a Michigander transplanted in Indiana. But those tires have made my Prius little Snow Machines in highway trips to visit Mom in Flint. I wouldn't be without them!

 

Winter in Michigan? My 2 cents: get an extra set of rims and dedicated snow tires for the winter. This is the part no's for Corolla rims and lug nuts, worked on ours:

Corolla steel rim, part no: 42611-02471 (2003-2008 corolla or matrix, CE, LS, S) ($70 apiece, new from a local dealership)
steel rim lug nuts, part no: 90942-01007 (plain, open-ended, galvanized) ($30 for a set of 20, per above)

I went with Michelin X-Ice, mounted and installed through the same dealership, since even they were not 100% sure of the fit. It worked out fine.

Funny thing, it's barely snowed here since I got these, over 5 years back, lol.

 

I've had very good results with the Defenders. My 2011 was bought new and at 306,000 miles I've gone through a couple of sets. The last set gave me over 100,000 miles but I certainly replaced them last fall with winter approaching. I learned that rotating them pays off.

 

What was your gas mileage? I understand the tires are very quiet when new. I'm wondering if the noise increased a lot as the tire ages. I'll be needing some new tires within the next year or so so I would like to get all opinions before committing to them.

 

I love my Defenders but I live in Virginia not Michigan (there IS a difference).

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FYI Michelin Defenders are very sensitive to good toe and camber alignment or they WILL wear fast on their shoulders.

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Defender great tire purchase last year for my wifes prius also purchase x ice for winter tires great tires both

 

Just hit 50k on my set. 5k rotations and frequent pressure checks (I keep mine at 40F/38R) with no notable wear patterns. I did have to replace one due to a sidewall puncture, but other than that, no complaints. Unless something comparable comes along, I plan on replacing this set with another when the time comes.

 

I have the Defenders on my minivan. They are supposed to be longer life so generally the minor loss in MPG is paid back in less tire purchase costs. Look at ratings/reports on Tirerack.com believe the wet traction could be a little better (good but not stellar). I am sensitive to some road noise changes with time, but it's always hard to know if its the tires or something else.

 

I’ve got defenders on my 3rd gen. They were new around 40k miles (now at 90k) and the fronts have 3/32 on them with the rear having 5/32. I should have rotated every 5k, but instead I did them at my 10k oil changes.

Good tire. Handling isn’t bad, hydroplaning has been really good and the mileage at 80mph is around 45mpg. It’s the only tire I know on the car since I’m the second owner and they came with the car.

Looking to get replacements but looking at premier a/s or ES A/S; leaning towards the premier since it has been reported to have better threshold braking and handling at the small expense of mpg.

My defenders have life in them but as they get lower on the wear, I’m more concerned with wet weather performance and I’ve noticed it’s not as good as 50k miles ago.

 

He meant that they were installed new when the car had 40k miles on it and the car now has 90k on it, so he's put 50k miles on the tires now.

I just had these put on my 2010 Prius, replacing ecopia tires. Seem to handle good and are quite, a bit stiffer ride. Hoping to get 70k+ from them, that would be great!!