Data Explorer / Tire Reviews
Michelin Range Test - CrossClimate 3, 3 Sport, Primacy 5, Pilot Sport 5 and Cup 2
- Tested size
- 225/40 R18
- Tires tested
- 7
- Disciplines
- 10
- Test vehicle
- VW Golf GTI MK7.5
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| ft ↓ | s ↓ | ft ↓ | s ↓ | mph ↑ | ft/s² ↑ | ft ↓ | s ↓ | s ↓ | kg/t ↓ | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Tires | |||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | 108 | 74.69 | 97.2 | 88 | 91.07 | 50.2 | 12.8 | 99.0 | — | — | — | — | 8.86 | 80.6 | |
StrengthsThe Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S was the most complete wet weather tire in this group, setting the quickest wet handling lap and leading both the straight and curved aquaplaning tests. Wet braking was near the shortest here too. In the dry it stopped almost exactly as short as the most track focused tire in the test, which says a great deal about how much of a semi slick's advantage is about sustained cornering load rather than a single stop. Subjectively it gives you a lot of small gains over the Pilot Sport 5 rather than one big one: it turns in slightly quicker, bites a little harder on entry, and that lets the rear axle join in on a hot hatch in a way that is genuinely enjoyable. ConsiderationsThe Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S carries a rolling resistance penalty over the touring and all season tires in this test, which is the expected cost of a max performance summer compound. The step up from the Pilot Sport 5 in the dry was smaller than expected, so on a car of this weight and power the extra performance is real but incremental rather than transformative. As a summer tire it has no cold weather or snow capability whatsoever, and on a dry circuit it cannot live with a proper semi slick. Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry97.25 × 36.63% = 35.62 Wet99.03 × 52.48% = 51.96 Snow— Rolling Resistance80.59 × 9.9% = 7.98 | |||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | 112 | 75.56 | 94.9 | 86 | 92.68 | 49.7 | 12.8 | 99.2 | — | — | — | — | 8.57 | 83.3 | |
StrengthsThe Michelin Pilot Sport 5 recorded the shortest wet braking distance of any tire in this test, and backed it up with the second quickest wet handling lap and second best results in both aquaplaning tests. It was used as the control tire and was re-run every three sets, so it also demonstrated excellent consistency across the whole programme. On the road it had the best steering feel of anything here, and it is more efficient than the max performance summer tire above it in the range while giving up very little wet or dry pace. ConsiderationsThe Michelin Pilot Sport 5 picks up understeer earlier than the sportier tires in this group and does so fairly quickly, so a little more front axle bite would be welcome. Braking feels squirmier than on the semi slicks, which is entirely expected from a different category of tire but is noticeable back to back. As a summer tire it offers nothing in winter conditions. Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry94.93 × 36.63% = 34.77 Wet99.21 × 52.48% = 52.06 Snow— Rolling Resistance83.31 × 9.9% = 8.25 | |||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | 106 | 73.15 | 99.3 | 106 | 98.49 | 47.0 | 11.9 | 88.7 | — | — | — | — | 9.31 | 76.7 | |
StrengthsThe Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 posted the shortest dry braking distance in this test and the second quickest dry handling lap, and it makes a hot hatch feel completely alive. There is far more mid corner grip than any road tire here, the brakes bite hard and pull the car forward, and lap times were both fast and consistent. It is also forgiving in a way a track tire does not have to be: get the entry wrong and you can tap the brakes, lift, or add steering angle and the tire will recover the situation for you. ConsiderationsThe Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 gives up a lot in the wet, with long wet braking, poor straight line aquaplaning resistance and a wet handling lap well adrift of every road tire here bar the standard CrossClimate 3. Its wet result in this test should also be treated as flattering, because testing took place on a mild day with a lot of energy going into the tires; on a cold morning that compound will not be working at all. Rolling resistance is high and both ride comfort and noise are clearly worse than any of the road tires here. Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry99.3 × 36.63% = 36.38 Wet88.65 × 52.48% = 46.52 Snow— Rolling Resistance76.69 × 9.9% = 7.59 | |||||||||||||||||
| — | — | — | 108 | 72.12 | 99.0 | 127 | 104.74 | 46.1 | 11.8 | 81.7 | — | — | — | — | 9.57 | 74.6 | |
StrengthsThe Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R set the quickest dry handling lap in this test and stopped very nearly as short as the shortest dry braking distance recorded. Steering response and steering feel were the sharpest of anything here, it hangs on mid corner remarkably well, and it carried enough load through the highest speed corners to start finding the limits of the car rather than the tire. As a pure dry circuit experience it is the peak of this range. ConsiderationsThe Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R was comfortably the weakest tire here in the wet, with by far the longest wet braking distance, the slowest wet handling lap and the worst straight line aquaplaning resistance. It also had the highest rolling resistance in the test, partly because it ran in a larger, wider size than the rest, and it is the harshest and noisiest tire here on the road. Starting tread depth is lower than the other tires too. Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry99.03 × 36.63% = 36.28 Wet81.67 × 52.48% = 42.86 Snow— Rolling Resistance74.61 × 9.9% = 7.39 | |||||||||||||||||
| — | 1 | 94.79 | 116 | 76.72 | 92.6 | 91 | 95.00 | 48.6 | 12.0 | 95.3 | 100 | 10.84 | 139.63 | 100.0 | 7.14 | 100.0 | |
StrengthsThe Michelin Primacy 5 had the lowest rolling resistance in this test by a clear margin, which is exactly what it was designed to do. It was also the most comfortable tire here, with the best impact absorption and low noise, and it was quicker than both all season tires around the wet handling lap while stopping shorter than them in the wet. It is a very easy tire to drive below the limit, with strong front to rear balance and completely predictable behavior, which is a category Michelin are as good at as anyone. ConsiderationsThe Michelin Primacy 5 is soft on initial steering response and a little bouncy, so it never feels dynamic in the way the sportier tires in this range do. It was beaten around the dry handling lap by the sportier all season tire, which is not what most people would predict from a summer versus all season comparison. Most importantly, it has no meaningful snow capability at all: snow braking took nearly twice the distance of the all season tires, snow traction was more than twice as slow, and the snow handling lap was genuinely unpleasant. Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry92.57 × 36.63% = 33.91 Wet95.26 × 52.48% = 49.99 Snow100 × 0.99% = 0.99 Rolling Resistance100 × 9.9% = 9.9 | |||||||||||||||||
| All Season Tires | |||||||||||||||||
| — | 2 | 96.35 | 125 | 77.68 | 97.5 | 103 | 99.69 | 48.1 | 11.8 | 95.7 | 54 | 5.08 | 110.17 | 100.0 | 8.09 | 94.9 | |
StrengthsThe Michelin CrossClimate 3 was the strongest tire in this test in winter conditions, leading snow braking, snow traction and snow handling. It is also one of the most comfortable and quietest tires here, with rolling resistance that is genuinely low for an all season. In the wet it is a wonderfully easy tire to drive, understeer led and almost impossible to unsettle at the rear, and it out braked a semi slick in the wet despite being slower around the wet lap. Coming to it after a run of winter tires it feels distinctly summer like, with more mid corner stability and more connection under braking. ConsiderationsThe Michelin CrossClimate 3 was the slowest of the road tires around the wet handling lap and the slowest around the dry lap, and it recorded the longest dry braking distance in this test. Wet grip and snow grip pull a tread pattern and compound in opposite directions, so the tire that leads in the snow inevitably has the lowest ceiling in the wet. Steering is on the sluggish side and it never feels dynamic, so it does not really suit a keen driver's car. Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry97.52 × 36.63% = 35.72 Wet95.73 × 52.48% = 50.23 Snow100 × 0.99% = 0.99 Rolling Resistance94.93 × 9.9% = 9.4 | |||||||||||||||||
| — | 1 | 99.95 | 121 | 76.18 | 100.0 | 95 | 96.14 | 49.3 | 11.9 | 100.0 | 58 | 5.49 | 111.79 | 94.9 | 7.68 | 100.0 | |
StrengthsThe Michelin CrossClimate 3 Sport was quicker around the dry handling lap than the premium touring summer tire in this test, which is not what most people would expect from an all season. It also placed third in straight line aquaplaning, ahead of both the premium touring summer tire and the standard CrossClimate 3, because the open pattern that makes it work in snow gives water somewhere to go. It is a clear step on from the standard CrossClimate 3 in every wet and dry test bar curved aquaplaning, where the two are level, while keeping snow performance close behind it, has the second lowest rolling resistance here, and it gives you real mid corner adjustability: the tire reacts once it is loaded up and you can tuck the nose in, which a non sporty tire will not do. ConsiderationsThe Michelin CrossClimate 3 Sport was beaten in dry braking by the premium touring summer tire, because it is difficult to control the load of a hard stop on a tread pattern and compound that also have to work in winter. Against the summer performance tires it gives up meaningful ground in both wet and dry braking and on both handling laps, and it cannot match them for steering feel. Ride is slightly firmer than the standard CrossClimate 3. Score contributionCategory score × of overall score Dry100 × 36.63% = 36.63 Wet100 × 52.48% = 52.48 Snow94.89 × 0.99% = 0.94 Rolling Resistance100 × 9.9% = 9.9 | |||||||||||||||||
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Not ranked: a measurement needed for these weights is missing. Missing results are not treated as zero or redistributed.
Reference tires provide context only. They do not set the benchmark and cannot win the personalised ranking.
Weighting vs real impact
What decides this ranking
The weighting is how much each category counts. The real impact is how much of the difference between the tires it creates: a discipline in which every tire performed about the same barely changes the order, however much it counts.
No weighting is recorded for this test, so the weighting here starts from Tire Reviews’ season defaults, not from the test’s own scoring.
- Dry Weighting 36.6% Real impact 25%
- Wet Weighting 52.5% Real impact 60%
- Snow Weighting 1% Real impact 1%
- Rolling Resistance Weighting 9.9% Real impact 14%
- Wet Braking counts for 18.4% of the score but creates 36% of the difference between the tires, because their results in it were far apart.
- Dry Handling counts for 18.3% of the score but creates only 10% of the difference, because most tires performed about the same in it.
Every discipline 10
| Discipline | Weighting | Real impact |
|---|---|---|
| Dry Braking | 18.3% | 15% |
| Dry Handling | 18.3% | 10% |
| Wet Braking | 18.4% | 36% |
| Wet Handling | 18.4% | 18% |
| Straight Aqua | 7.9% | 5% |
| Curved Aquaplaning | 7.9% | 2% |
| Snow Braking | 0.3% | 1% |
| Snow Traction | 0.3% | 1% |
| Snow Handling | 0.3% | <1% |
| Rolling Resistance | 9.9% | 14% |
How it is worked out: each discipline’s weighting is multiplied by the spread of its results (the gap across the middle half of the tires, as a percentage of the best result), then shared out so that all the disciplines add up to 100%. It estimates what separates the tires; it is not a second set of weights, and it follows the weights you set.
This test ranks its groups separately, so the spread is measured within each group.
How your ranking is calculated
Each discipline is scored against the best non-reference tire in the full test field: best ÷ result × 100 when lower is better, or result ÷ best × 100 when higher is better. Discipline scores are rounded to two decimal places, then combined using your weights.
Within-category weights divide that category’s share of the overall score. A 50% wet category and 40% wet-braking share give wet braking 20% of the total. A weight is a scoring priority, not a measure of its actual effect on the ranking: the performance gaps matter too. What decides this ranking ↑
Published joint positions are preserved separately. Calculated positions tie only when their underlying scores match; two displayed scores can look equal after rounding.
A zero weight excludes that category or discipline. At least one active discipline is required, and the disciplines in every active category must have a positive total.