Across reviews, the Michelin Primacy 3 is most often described as a safe, comfortable touring tire with strong dry grip and generally confidence-inspiring wet traction, especially for commuting and motorway use. Many drivers report low noise (when new) and good stability, with several high-scoring reviews highlighting impressive longevity and efficiency. However, a meaningful minority report faster-than-expected wear (especially on heavier/torquier cars), some wet/aquaplaning weakness in standing water or as tread gets low, and a softer/vaguer steering feel; price is also a common complaint.
What owners mention most counted across 158 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 195 ratings
Owner score76%
Dry Grip85%
Comfort80%
Wet Grip79%
Handling77%
Road Feedback76%
Wear69%
Michelin Primacy 3 Reviews - Page 10
Score spread across 159 written reviews
miles
Review stage
77%
Member
Alfa Romeo
225/50 R17 W
20,000 miles
A Combination of Roads
Spirited
Bought the tires in jan 2014 with 64 100km now jan 2016 88 100km
with 2 mm left.the primacy 3 are on front only for dry and turanza GR90
On rear for wet.the 159 like sporty fiat cars namely ferrari maserati etc have
sensitive steering wheel so you can feel white road
marking etc when driving.i wanted tires which would absorb more and
transfer less to my steering hands.the primacy 3 XL have very flexible side
walls which absorb more compared to other tires.which makes driving
less tiring.the turanza GR90 has stiff side wall like driving on rails.so i know the
difference well.only problem with the primacy 3 xl is the price/treadwear
i covered 20 000km and only 2mm left.but i looked around for bridgestone/vredestein
goodyear etc non of the other give the primacy 3 comfort unfortunately i will
try to make the 2mm last till december.lol
Recommended from Volvo and Formula One Tire garage I gave these tires a chance last year to take out some of the "lowered suspension" hard ride this SE Sport S80 has had since manufacture.
Yes a new tire is always better than the last one, but these tires were a fraction bigger than the prescribed 245 40 18s that were specified and with 35psi I had the ride I was expecting, very quiet and comfortable too.
However, they met rain conditions with relative ease when new, but after 15k and half worn didn't meet the same conditions without aqua planing. Maybe this Dec and Jan have been the wettest on record and therefore any tire would have suffered?
Yes for summer rainy conditions.
No because even Michelin say these are not winter tires.
Will go back to an All Season Goodyear or Avon tire for grip and £30 per corner saving.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
Decent overall grip when pushing hard in all conditions and it let you know early when you were reaching the limit, quiet and comfortable for the most part. Only downside is that they were at 2mm by 8,000 miles. Could be the car /driving style though. Rears are on 4mm at 8,000 miles too.
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I have always used Michelin tires (if I could afford them) my tire of choice has always been the Michelin Primacy HP as the wear rate and wet grip on these is always fantastic. I was a bit sceptical when I replaced worn tires with these Primacy 3's but my goodness I have never seen a better tire in the wet. The wetter it gets, the more these tires cling to the road. You can push the car with confidence (especially if your suspension and brakes are in good shape)...dry grip not as good, the wear rate was disappointing in comparison to the HP's, I have had to move these to the back to prolong their life. Fully recommend them still though.
99%
Member
Vauxhall
215/50 R17 W
17,000 miles
Mostly Motorways
Spirited
Fitted to the front at 81385 miles, laser alignment completed at the same time + new front shocks, springs, top mounts & bearings fitted. They have lasted to 98885 miles and still are just over the treadwear indicator. Amazing tires. Incredible grip in the wet and dry; 100% confidence in them always. Slight slip now with full acceleration in the wet; but they are almost fully worn! Incredible comfort and quietness, and great durability on the front of a car which has 354NM of torque. I have always run top rated premium tires from all the biggest brands. These are the best tires I have ever had; second to none. Very highly recommended and great value too.
Second set in a row I have purchased on the front of my Front wheel drive 7 seater. I again bought the XL tires as they ride speed ramps a lot smoother and of coarse the added safety of being Reinforced and were a similar price to the non XL version .Very responsive but you would expect from new tires ,but a very comfortable tire all round and with a good wet rating. I got around a years driving on the front set which is about 14,000 miles after changing before they were down to the minimum with possibly around 3 times that distance on the rear set . My rear tires are still running the original Mich Prim HP's it came with , the car is 4 years old and done 42000 odd miles.I purchased online cheaper with an online tire seller who sends them to a local fitters for fitting. I found there was a good quality to price to safety ratio so bought again.
Driven on an Audi A4 Avant Ultra 2.0 diesel. This is a heavy car and despite being labelled as 'green' emissions-wise is still very quick.
This is a company car so I did not pay for the tires myself and therefore my review won't be bias either positively or negatively as they were not my investment.
The tires have been great. Superb grip wet or dry, economical when needed (on a long trip back from France I managed to eek out 68mpg!) with good feedback. As it's a new car there is little in the way of road noise anyway but the tires certainly seemed smooth.
After 23,000 the fronts needed replacing (2.5mm) which considering the weight of the car involved I thought good. The rears remain at 5mm so should get around 50,000 miles out of these.
I specifically asked for another set of the very same tires at replacement (paid for by the fleet company) as I thought so highly of them. I can't compare costs to other tires (as I thankfully didn't pay for them) but if money isn't a factor in your decision then I can't recommend them enough.
My old diesel Merc is chipped, de-catted, EGR-pypassed and I drive it like I stole it (when opportunity arises). I am not kind to tires. I have ragged these something terrible and they have stood up very, very well.
I like my tires over-inflated a bit, 40psi. They have lasted twice as long as the Avon ZV3 tires I had on before. I've maxed them at 147mph on the autobahn, I've slid around every roundabout whenever I can, I have lit them up and smoked them down the road for no reason whatsoever . . . I've been bad, very very bad.
After 18,000 hard miles the fronts have 5mm left and the rears 2mm so will need replacing very soon.
Surprisingly grippy in the wet and quite progressive on a wet roundabout. Haven't swopped ends with these tires, which I did with the Avons.
My only criticism is they don't have much feel, but that could also be down to the car's power steering which masks a lot of the feedback.
These managed 14,500 mostly motorway miles on the front of my remapped Volvo C70 D5, with occasional spirited driving on proper roads. I'd say wear rate is high for a touring tire.
Grip and progressiveness were good, and wet weather braking in particular was excellent. I did see a consistent improvement in fuel economy over the standard fit Pirelli P7s, although the Michelins wore out substantially faster.
Had a set of Pirelli Pzero Rosso before, this tires are less noisy, they brake way better, specially in the wet. They are good overall tires, better for confort rather tan sporty driving. They got better fuel saving tan the Pirelli´s. The only things I did not like are they have no sporty feel and average sidewalls, I don´t feel confortable at high speed cornering. Next time I will go for the Michelin´s Pilot Super sport or Pirelli Pzero Nero Gt. If you are an average driver searching for confort, grip and great wet braking this are the tires for you. Excellent treadwear.
First impressions are pretty poor on the wet Scottish roads. Corner grip is questionable and ESP is constantly doing some corrective work. I haven't seen improved fuel economy - quite the opposite actually. It will be a long and painful ownership unless they magically wear in. I am yet to properly test them on the dry road, however wet performance is abysmal.
They replaced a worn Michelin PS3 at 3mm that also had pretty bad wet handling. Now I can say at 3mm they were marginally better. The wear rate was shocking so I decided to try a different tire. We'll see if that works out.
I wish there was a better all-weather choice in that size. I'll have to get a winter set in October.
On my Audi A6 3,0 TDI Quattro there was a surprising high thread noise from the start also on very smooth roads, I never got used to it and experimented a lot with pressure.
The tires also felt unforgiving and hard, something you might expect from a sport tire but not from a touring tire. They do not feel like a sports tire in other aspects like response. However grip was never a problem.
I have to drive on very coarse asphalt, it might be different on smoother road surfaces.
After 20.000 miles they are finished, down to 2 mm, which is OK.
