Michelin CrossClimate+ Reviews - Page 5

With so many good reviews of the CrossClimate+ (both here and elsewhere) during my research of what to buy I felt it was necessary to give some balance and point out the very significant flaws these tires have, after spending (wasting?) £547 on a set in 215/50/17 for a Nissan Leaf Tekna. In short, the ride is atrociously harsh compared to the summer tires (Dunlop Enasave) they replaced. I've used All Seasons tires before on previous cars (most recently Vredstein Quatrac 5) and they tend to ride a bit softer than the same size summer tire - somewhere between a summer tire and a winter tire, as you might expect. I'm fine with that - I actually prefer a more comfortable ride to outright cornering grip for a daily commuter car like this. So I was pretty shocked and disappointed at just how bad the ride is after fitting these compared to the summer tires in the same size. I'm a big Michelin fan, my other (petrol) car has Michelin Energy Savers on it which ride GREAT and over the years I have bought lots of Michelin tires and been very happy. But Michelin have dropped the ball on this one, and it pains me to say so. Every tiniest line, crack or imperfection in the road crashes through the body of the car as if the tires were solid rubber not pneumatic tires. Potholes or recessed manhole covers feel so bad you think something is going to break. I don't think I've ever driven a harsher riding tire in over 25 years driving. There is just no isolation from the road at all. It probably sounds like I'm exaggerating but really I'm not. The tires ride like they are massively overinflated at the correct 36 psi. To test this theory I've dropped them down to 33psi and they start to feel a bit more tolerable and more like a normal tire with some isolation from road imperfections but even then they still ride a lot harder than the original summer tire and this lower pressure may cause faster tire wear. (But since I can't put up with the harshness at 36psi it will just have to stay like this) If you care about ride comfort and don't like a harsh ride do not buy these tires, you have been warned. While it's true that they might ride slightly better in higher profile smaller wheel versions, I suspect the real issue is that these are XL rated tires on a car which is not heavy enough to require XL tires. They have extremely stiff sidewalls which are nearly flat and barely bulge at all even at the reduced 33psi. In other words the sidewalls have no give and consequently don't provide any isolation from the road surface. The second problem these tires have is they are VERY noisy. Many reviews say they are quiet, but that is a lie. They are quite quiet at lower speeds when the car is coasting, yes. But as soon as you accelerate they make a loud "slithering" noise like an angry hissing snake which is proportional to the power you put down. It is more audible on smooth surfaces. Coast and they're silent. Accelerate and they hiss like crazy. They also hiss under stronger braking and cornering to a lesser degree. The Leaf only has 107HP so a car with more power would presumably make them generate even more noise under acceleration. I suspect reviewers overlook this because they are usually driving in petrol/diesel cars where the engine noise when accelerating will drown out the high pitched "hiss" the tires make under acceleration (and braking) loads, however in an otherwise quiet EV with no engine noise the hiss they make every time you put your foot down is quite loud and intrusive, and easily loud enough for passengers to comment on and ask what the source of the strange noise is. The summer tires they replaced were absolutely silent under acceleration - only the G forces would let you know you were accelerating. Another noise problem they have which has been reported on in some reviews is a weird buzzing noise which can be heard from around 50-70mph particularly on smooth motorway. This is supposedly a result of the V shaped tread pattern. It's not loud but in a quiet EV it is audible and very strange sounding. It sounds like you're on a motorway with grooves/ruts even when it's perfectly smooth, a sort of tonal droning noise. In a petrol/diesel car it would probably be drowned out by engine noise. If this was the only fault the tires had I could live with it. Now for the good points - wet grip is fantastic just as the reviews have said, and dry grip in hot weather is also very good, comparable to the summer tire. Steering precision is good although not quite as direct as the summer tire probably due to the flexible isolated tread blocks. Cold weather grip is also excellent - no loss of grip noticeable at 2C vs 15C. I have not yet been through a winter with these so I cannot comment on their snow or ice performance, I presume their winter performance will be adequate and probably comparable to the Quatrac 5 I've used before. Would I buy them again ? Not a chance. I could almost live with the slithering noise under acceleration if the ride was comfortable, but the harsh ride totally ruins the driving experience for me and actually makes me want to avoid driving the car. I seriously regret buying these tires and replacing some part worn still perfectly usable summer tires instead of picking up a second set of smaller wheels and putting some conventional soft riding winter tires on them. I drove Quatrac 5's all year round on my last car and had no real complaints with them except unusual tread wear patterns. But their ride comfort, snow, ice and wet performance were great and dry summer performance was adequate. (Although a little soft - I actually had to increase their pressure 2psi in summer, not reduce it like the CrossClimates!) Once the winter is over I'll be getting a second set of wheels to put the most comfortable riding summer tires on I can find so that I can start enjoying driving the car again, and through the winter I'm just going to have to run them at a lower pressure to make them tolerable. Until manufacturers can start making non-XL rated All Season tires in the larger sizes I think I'm going to have to stick to summer and winter sets of tires. The loss in ride quality year round due to the XL rating just to get through a few days or weeks of snow just isn't worth it in my opinion.

Very good all season tires, with market emphasizes on summer performance. Michelin approach sacrifices a bit of winter behavior comparing to Goodyear or Nokian all-season, yet it is remarkable in terms of majority of the year performance. Don’t get me wrong though, it is by far not incompetent in winter conditions, in slight winter or when it just got a bit chilly with frozen tarmac it is just wonderful. Taking into account climate changes and the fact that in continental Europe in majority of places snow is becoming a rear anomaly rather than usual factor, Crossclimate+ is a great product. These tires are comfortable in terms of noise as well as absorbing vibrations (even despite most sizes are made in Extra Load spec) and this withstands the test of time (running them 4th year currently). They are not the most precise in terms of handling characteristics but it may be about the non-sporty size I’m using. Their winter performance is enough if you expect retaining maneuverability when a bit (even quiet a lot) of snow falls. On flat surfaces it doesn’t skid that much even in 15cm snow, breaking is also surprisingly good in such conditions. The actual difference between the proper winter tire and Crossclimate+ is easily noticeable when you try to start at an angled surface full of snow. In such conditions it requires a bit of a talent to continue a commute but it isn’t impossible. For causal, city driving it is definitely worth a try. Especially in smaller, less powerful cars.

Original Michelin Primacy 3 (AO), had done a good 20,000 miles with a few rotations to even out the wear, but were beginning to loose grip on cold mornings and were down to 2-2.5mm. So with winter on its way, and plenty of research on all-season tires, it took the plunge and ordered some CC+. I have only had them on for a couple of weeks, but the wet/dry grip is very good, especial as it has been cold weather. They seem to do ok with water clearing, have had roads with heavy surface water, no issue, and some big puddles, again no issue. Big disappointment is the noise. Tire shop sent me on my way with 36/36psi front/back, but there was a significant rhythmic drumming/humming from the tires, which increased pitch with speed, and got much worse on corning. Checked the manual which suggested 41/38psi for lightly loaded, 41/44psi for heavy loaded, on XL M+S tires, so increased to 41 all round. Noise improved, and i can't notice it on the back tires any more, but still on the front. Increased the front so now on 44/41psi, which made a fractional improvement. I have taken the car up to speed (110) to see if there was an issue with alignment, or balancing but all seemed fine. No vibration, no pulling on cruise, acceleration or heavy braking. There now appears to be a small amount of premature rounding wear on the leading edge of the outside block, which would typically be a result of under inflation. But as i am at the very max that the manual suggests, i don't want to put any more air in.