Fitted Michelin CrossClimate to my UK Gen4 Prius

[thecaretaker]

Just sharing my experience:

You may say I have more money than sense, but I just wasn't convinced that the Bridgestone 17" tyres fitted to my 2016 Prius would keep me going if we had any bad snowy weather this winter. They are full summer tyres with a completely circular tread pattern that do not look as though they would offer any winter grip at all. So I have fitted a set of 4 x Michelin CrossClimate tyres last week for just over £400.

I have driven them in the dry (8c-12c) and in torrential rain that we have had this week and I am mightily impressed with how well they grip the road and how they feel to drive on the Prius. 

With a careful right foot, a journey I make every week from Hastings to Ashford, I found I even gained a couple miles per gallon (I hit 87.9 mph, my best yet). But the biggest joy, is how much quieter they are. Even on a newly laid road surface (tar and chippings) they are whisper quiet. On flat smooth road surfaces, under 30mph they are almost silent. I can hear wines and noises I don't normally hear from the electrics or maybe it's the orbital gearbox.

I really didn't expect to notice such a difference in a tyre.

If the claimed good grip is correct in snowy conditions, last as long as previous Michelin tyres I've had and if they continue to work as well on a scorching hot summer tarmac, these are going to be a fantastic tyres.

I guess many European members who have to fit winter tyres may already know this, but on British roads, they do make a lot of sense.

From what I understand, the 215/45 R17 W91 XL are a fairly recent addition to the CrossCountry range.

 

[BhxTrev]

Hi Paul,

Thanks so much for your comments. 

I bought a new Prius Excel a couple of months ago. It was fitted with Toyo tyres, which I've never heard of before, especially as I always had Michelin tyres fitted to my previous Gen 3 Prius. After driving the car home from the garage, I commented on the obvious road noise from the tyres. Until I read your posting, I thought this might be just me being a bit picky & expecting too much from my Prius. I'm a bit like you in the respect that I would have replaced those Bridgestone tyres but I have read some decent comments about Toyo tyres so I'm not likely to rush out to replace them though after reading your comments, I shall replace them sooner or later with Michelin CrossClimate.

Thanks again for your informative posting. 

[andreapenna]

I have the Toyo 15" and yes I feel they are noisy, too noisy... good to know about these Michelin CrossClimate for when it will be time to change the Toyo

Thanks,

Andrea

PS: my best so far was a Bristol - Salisbury (91+ MPG in July)
My monthly mpg was 75MPG in Jul/Oct - now down to 70MPG due to colder days (I drive around 90miles per day on mix of A383/A303/M3).

[PeteB]

My Excel came with Bridgestone, which are fine.

Last week my dealer swapped it to Nokian WR D3s, which have been on my old Gen 3 Prius for the last couple of winters (another reason I was glad be be bale to order with 15" wheels, ans they're the same size as my old T3).

I used to favour Michelin above all else from my teenage cycling days and my early driving days, until I bought some (then) new XZX tyres.   The fitter remembered me because he charged me for the old ZX versions (quite a bit cheaper) and I went back the next day to pay the difference.

After a few hundred miles the Nearside Rear tyre deflated suddenly and I took it back.  He showed me the failure on the INNER wall and it appeared (both to the fitter and me) to be a failure of the structure.  He immediately said he wished I'd bought any make but Michelin, because he claimed they never, ever, admitted fault.

Sure enough, they said I must have hit something (on an inner tyre wall!?) and I told them to return the tyre (I intended to pursue the matter though County Court).  However, when I got it back it was so mutilated there was no possibility of doing that.

Over subsequent years I met various people from the industry at IT conferences and road safety groups and the all agreed that Michelin had this reputation.

It was foolish really, as over the years I've spent thousands of pounds on replacement tyres, but never a Michelin, and a number of friends have avoided them too having heard my story.  If they'd even offered just 50% discount on a replacement, I'd still be an avid fan.

[Beekeeper D]

I'm sure we all have brands that we have a historical antipathy towards! 

But I've been a bit neutral about Michelin in the past. Thought of them as long-lasting but nothing special. And irrationally beloved by the French, of course! 

Thing is, once we recognise the existence of these attitudes to specific long-extinct products, we can deal with them. Its when we have those prejudices and don't even realise it that it can cloud our decision-making.

 

Anyway, browsing the mags in Sainsbury's (after I spotted the new edition of Car Mechanics - different thread), I noticed an Auto Express with a new "all-season" tyre test that included the Crossclimate. (Its the "Winter Special Edition" or somesuch.)

It seemed to show up pretty well on their Golf - except for aquaplaning performance, which was distinctly below par. However their testing methodology, while objective, doesn't remotely accord with my driving on the road. The Crossclimate was described as "summer-focussed" with top dry road and wet cornering performance, and lowest rolling resistance of the tyres on test. It wasn't as good on snow as the best on test, but massively better than the 'summer tyre' comparison. Which actually sounds pretty good to this southern softie. Perhaps oddly, it wasn't the quietest on their car on their test track surfaces. They gave top marks overall in their group to the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2.  

Online version of the article is here - http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/92869/michelin-crossclimate-tyre-review 

[PeteB]

It's more the attitude of the company that turns me off.

A good company can turn a disaster into a triumph if they handle it well - many years ago my Dad bought a new car with some terrible problems (a wing not bolted on properly for one!).  The dealer did such a magnificent job of putting the matter right and bending over backward to reassure and make amends, they left a better impression than if they'd simply got it right in the first place!

Shell is a similar story that could have been a triumph but wasn't - they launched "Formula Shell" petrol in the mid 1980s and it wrecked thousands of engines, with lots of drivers having £3-4000 repairs bills (a lot of money then) on curs under 2 years old (mostly needing new engines!).  In many other countries owners who provided evidence they'd bought lots of it got compensated, but as far as I know Shell UK refused to even after BBC's Watchdog programme made a fuss over it.  Now, their petrol today may be perfectly safe, and other companies might not behave any better, but I've never bought a single litre of their petrol since as I know their track record.  [I only had one tankful of it at the time anyway, because my car pinked even on a trailing throttle on it!]

[mickburkesnr]

I've never had Michellin tyres on a car. Mostly down to the cost of them, but more over that I remember what happened at the United States Grand Prix when all bar 3 teams (who ran Bridgestone) had to retire after 1 lap because the tyres could explode - which they did during qualifying and practice. I always thought that when you're competing in motorsport, as a supplier, you're going to do your best work. The fact they made tyres that could shred on the banking of the final corner just put me off the brand altogether. Same now with Pirelli and their tyres in F1. To me they don't make good tyres, and I wouldn't put them on a car now even if they were the cheapest tyre available.

I've used Continentals, Hankooks, Toyo's, and the Hankooks for me have been the best tyre so far. They vary in price between suppliers. One place in Leamington Spa seems to be sponsored by them and they were fairly cheap considering. They were quiet and quite good in the wet too. I've also been told by an older gentleman i know that Yokohama's are the best in the wet in his experience.

[thecaretaker]

I had to smile, my mother always bought Pirelli bedroom slippers and they had no tread at all on the bottoms and fell to bits within 6 months.

Then again, here in the UK, Mazda was a brand of light bulb.

[Anthony Poli]

I have just bought these tyres 2 weeks ago, I hadn't spotted this thread before hand.

Sadly the tyres that I wanted, are not in the size I need or no longer available . Uniroyal rain expert was the ones on my first car and they definitely stuck to the road in wet, like **** to a blanket. Did quite well in snow for a summer tyre as well.