Michelin Premier AS

I bought these Premier A/S tires back in April of 2020 with 106634 miles on the car when I had them installed.I had my car lined up shortly thereafter and it handled beautifully no problems and all was good. Today ,July 07, 2023, I took my car in for inspection and to my surprise the car failed the inspection because the right rear tire was almost bald in the center. The tire was worn evenly across the total width but more so in the middle. Now to be fair I keep my tire pressure at 36psi and I keep very close watch of the pressure. With that being said I don't understand why all of the other tires were in excellent shape. Since they have discontinued the Premier A/S I don't have to worry about not recommending it of which I would definitely do, my God it only had less than 19K on it. I went to the dealer that I bought them from and he as much as said that Michelin would tell me that they were over inflated and I had no valid case for a warranty claim. Needless to say I am not impressed with a tire that didn't stay on the market that long and I've played a royal price to see why. I tried calling Michelin and got tired of waiting so would I buy Michelin again, I'll have to think about.

Unfortunately, the Premier A/S does not live up to the expectations that its price point commands. Ride quality is fine, with bumps being adequately damped without being too firm nor too soft. Handling is solid, with a moderately hefty yet precise and predictable feel through the steering wheel with good center-line tracking. Road noise could be quieter, though there are no standout tones, so any tread whine is indistinguishable from wind noise. The problems start with tread wear. My tires are down to 4/32 of tread after roughly 30,000 miles of very conservative A to B driving. There is no way these will last the 60,000 mile lifespan that was originally advertised. Despite being designed to maintain strong wet performance throughout the tread lifespan, these tires will occasionally spin when pulling away from a stop sign in the wet. That said, they have never hydroplaned or had any other wet handling issue, at least for now. Though I have done minimal driving in accumulated snow, the shallow tread depth does not inspire much winter confidence. At 7 years old, the tread and sidewall are cracking despite limited exposure to direct sunlight. For the premium price, there are better options out there.

These came from the factory on my 2021 Toyota Corolla. They seemed okay at first, but as soon as the first snow fell they quickly lost my love. They are useless with even just a light dusting on the road and I had no choice but to purchase a separate set of winter tires. In heavy rain, hydroplaning can be felt at just above legal highway speed. It is not a severe enough hydroplane to lose control, but enough to make you feel unsafe and lose confidence in your car and tires. Even in dry conditions, these tires only perform well on smooth pavement. On roads with lots of sediment or sealer, the tires struggle to find grip and produce a lot of understeer. After the winter, these tires will likely not be going back on my car. They will have less than 9,000 miles on them.

I inherited them from the previous owner along with the car, so it's hard to say how many miles they've covered in total. All I can say is that they're already six years old. I've put over 20,000 on them now and still use them as summer tires. I haven't tried driving in winter or snow, but in fairly cool weather they don't stiffen up and retain their performance.
They're great in every way, except for one thing: if you drive in hot weather, be aware that they'll wear out quickly, even if the suspension is fine. I haven't encountered any major potholes on the roads, I always checked the suspension, and the tires don't even really need balancing.
But wear in hot weather kills them. As a result, I only have about 3-4 mm left, and the noise has become unbearable.

Overall these tires are decent, but their price tag and tread life make this a tire I wouldn't recommend. I've driven these tires in all seasons and they do very well during the warm months. They've never slid or hydroplaned in wet conditions and the tires are quiet and have a decent ride. The Premiers do start sliding a bit though when there's snow or ice on the road. They've never left me stuck but I have slid past stop signs, while uttering four letter words, a couple of times despite trying to be careful. The main problem with these tires is the tread life. I have roughly 13,000 miles on the tires and they're all already down to 5/32nds; soon they'll be unsafe to drive during seasonal transitions. I also learned these tires only come with 8.5/32nds of rubber from the factory, which means they're only safe to drive in light snow for less than half of their tread life. This is pretty ridiculous for the 40% price premium these tires command. With all of that said, I can't recommend these tires to other shoppers. There are better and cheaper tires available.

Very satisfied with my tires, great feeling with the road.