Michelin Tires Review

Michelin has been in the tire business for over 100 years and is one of the top-selling tire companies in the world. It also owns BF Goodrich, which is focused on SUV and performance tires, and the more budget-friendly Uniroyal brand. Michelin has a long history of innovation, receives consistently high marks for quality, and has a strong environmental ethic.

Michelin Tires has been awarded Car Talk’s top accolade, the Golden Wrench Award in three categories.

Golden Wrench Winner for Best Overall Brand - Michelin

Michelin is the world's top tire manufacturer and leads the industry in innovation and trust. As our top Golden Wrench winner for Best Brand overall, Michelin has a trusted track record for quality and longevity.

• Superior quality ranking
• Superior consumer ranking
• Focus on environmental responsibility

Golden Wrench Winner for Best All Season Tire - Michelin CrossClimate2

Michelin CrossClimate2 is our Golden Wrench winner and top pick for Best All Season Tire due to its innovative design and Michelin's thermal adaptive all-season tread compound. The unique design offers superior dry, wet and wintertime performance.

• Superior industry ranking
• Superior innovation
• Available sizes: 16" - 20"

Golden Wrench Winner for Best Performance Tire - Michelin Pilot Sport 4S

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S is our Golden Wrench winner and top pick for Best Performance Tire on the market today. This superior tire scored the highest marks for flexibility, grip and traction. The Pilot Sport 4S is a precision tool that offers spectacular performance.

• Excellent durability
• Superior performance
• Available sizes: 17" - 23"

Best Michelin Tires by Car Type

CrossClimate2 - Golden Wrench Winner - Best All Season Tire

Owners who previously used dedicated winter tires are moving to the CrossClimate2 and finding its winter capabilities in snow and on ice are near to that of a dedicated winter tire, but without the compromises and annual tire swap hassles. The Michelin CrossClimate2 is an all-season grand touring tire that offers exceptional performance all year long. It features a tread compound designed to handle dry, wet, and winter weather with rubber that stays flexible in low temperatures. It even has a three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) rating, something not found on every all-season. In addition to specially formulated rubber, the tread pattern has steep angles that funnel water away from the contact patch to reduce hydroplaning and increase traction. Michelin employs its PIANO noise reduction tuning, which has a tread pattern that reduces airborne noise. Based on Car Talk’s testing this tire is a great replacement for any OEM all-season tire. Owners of electrified vehicles report no meaningful loss of range. In our own testing over 10,000 miles, we observed no MPG reduction, no added noise, and the tire outperformed the stock tires on our test CX-5 in every way.

Specs:

• Brand: Michelin
• Model: CrossClimate2
• Weight: 21-32 pounds
• Available Sizes: 16”, 17”, 18”, 19”, 20”

Pilot Sport 4S - Golden Wrench Winner - Best Performance Tire

The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S is the ultimate max high performance tire. This excellent performance offering was developed and designed with care for the serious sport driver. The unique asymmetric tread pattern and innovative, durable rubber compound used in the creation of this tire make for superior handling and wet braking performance. Don’t be fooled by the ”4S” moniker. This is a summer-only tire. If you drive your performance car at temps below 40F, consider the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 Tire instead.

Specs:

• Brand: Michelin
• Model: Pilot Sport 4S
• Weight: 20-35 pounds
• Available Sizes: 17”, 18”, 19”, 20”, 21”, 22”, 23"

Latitude Tour - Best SUV Tire

The Michelin Latitude Tour is an all-season tire for crossovers, SUVs, and light trucks. It combines comfort, wear, and fuel efficiency with a long tread life and low rolling resistance. It provides year-round traction on wet, dry, and lightly snow-covered roads. They feature a silica-based compound and a symmetric tread design to extend tread life. Stable shoulder blocks and a center rib help with responsiveness and stability while a computer-optimized design reduces noise for better ride quality.

Specs:

• Brand: Michelin
• Model: Latitude Tour
• Weight: 25 - 36 pounds
• Available Sizes: 17”, 18”

Defender LTX M/S - Best Truck Tire

The Michelin Defender LTX M/S is an all-season tire that combines a long tread life with all-season capability. It offers a smooth, quiet ride with traction in dry, wet, and winter conditions, including light snow. The rubber compound used for these tires holds up better in tough situations with a tread pattern to manage a variety of road conditions. Its four-channel pattern has multiple grooves to help push water away from the contact patch and improve traction. There are also twin steel belts to provide strength and durability for handling heavy loads.

Specs:

• Brand: Michelin
• Model: Defender LTX M/S
• Weight: 24 - 54 pounds
• Available Sizes: 15”, 16”, 17”, 18”, 19”, 20”, 22”

Primacy Tour A/S - Best Passenger Car Tire

The Michelin Primacy Tour A/S is a grand touring all season tires for sedans, coupes, crossovers, and SUVs. It is designed to provide a smooth ride, minimal noise, and year-round traction. Wet or dry, cold or hot, and even light snow conditions are all well-managed by this tire. It has a five-rib asymmetric tread that enhances the ride and minimizes noise with wide shoulder blocks to improve dry handling and lateral grip. Grooves and sipes help funnel water away from the contact patch and improve traction on snow and ice. Car Talk recently tried these tires on the all new Hyundai Ioniq 5 in a snowstorm and we came away impressed.

Specs:

• Brand: Michelin
• Model: Primacy Tour A/S
• Weight: 24-36 pounds
• Available Sizes: 17”, 18”, 19”, 20”, 21”

X-Ice Xi3 - Best Winter Tire

The Michelin X-Ice Xi3 is a studless winter tire for coupes, sedans, minivans, and crossovers. It gets good traction in snow and ice and sure handling in cold, winter weather. It’s also a low rolling resistance tire, which helps improve fuel economy. A silica-based rubber compound helps the tire stay firm when weather is warmer while remaining flexible at low temperatures. The tread design pushes water and slush to the side to avoid hydroplaning and the sipe pattern improves stiffness for better treadwear. These tires meet the industry’s severe snow service requirements and feature the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol.

Specs:

• Brand: Michelin
• Model: X-Ice Xi3
• Weight: 16 - 28 pounds
• Available Sizes: 14”, 15”, 16”, 17”, 18”, 19”

LTX A/T 2 - Best Off Road Tire

The Michelin LTX A/T 2 tire is an off-road, all-terrain tire for pickup trucks and SUVs. It manages rugged, off-road driving with a unique tread design that enhances traction in dirt, mud, gravel, wet grass, and snow. This doesn’t come at the sacrifice of on-road comfort. It’s low noise with good fuel efficiency and a long-lasting tread that wears evenly. The design of this tire reduces vibration and road noise while steel belts enhance durability and puncture resistance.

Specs:

• Brand: Michelin
• Model: LTX A/T 2
• Weight: 35 - 59 pounds
• Available Sizes: 16”, 17”, 18”, 20”

Why Choose Michelin Tires?

Michelin has been around for a long time making it a brand you can trust. You know what you’re getting and you can be assured they’ll stand behind their product. Continued technical innovations make Michelin tires more fuel efficient and reduce their environmental impact while improving overall performance. There’s also a wide variety of tires so it’s not hard to find one perfectly suited to your vehicle and how you drive.

Reason to Choose Michelin Tires

Technical Innovations: They might look the same as the tires you put on your car years ago, but today’s tires feature new compounds and new designs that make them more efficient and provide better traction. Michelin continues to introduce new tires that make use of the latest innovations.

Quality: Not every tire is created equal and you get what you pay for with tires. Spending less may save you money today, but it could cost you in the long run when your new tires don’t last as long as expected. Michelin’s reputation for quality means you know its tires will perform as advertised.

Environmental Responsibility: Tires don’t last forever, creating lots of rubber waste. Michelin is focused on developing more environmentally friendly options that reduce waste and improve fuel efficiency.

Important Considerations When Choosing a Tire Brand

There are lots of tire brands out there and the internet makes it easy to do your research before you buy. Make sure the brand you choose has a good reputation for supplying quality tires that don’t wear out before their time. Cheaper brands may seem like a deal, but buying tires from an unknown could mean you’re buying tires that won’t hold up like the established brands.

See our overall recommendations for Best Tires

See our recommendations for the 10 Best Tire Brands for 2022