Tread life is the main strength of the Michelin Primacy HP, with 73 positive mentions against 30 complaints, supported by several mid-life and end-of-life accounts. Dry grip is generally favorable at 50 positive comments against nine negative, and wet grip at 39 against 16, although confidence in rain is less consistent. Comfort is more often praised than criticised, but noise is divided at 29 positive comments and 22 complaints. Around one in nine criticise value, while around a fifth criticise wear despite the overall favorable balance. Repeat reviewers show no shared direction of change, and individual reports of grip or noise deteriorating with wear do not establish a uniform ageing pattern.
What owners mention most counted across 156 reviews
We had these tires on our Peugeot 807 in The Netherlands for nearly 5 years. They did about 40K miles each time before replacement, which was very good for a big heavy car driven pretty fast and heavily loaded across Europe. They are comfortable and quiet, reasonably grippy and progressive. Only real downside is cost (especially as, for our 3.0 V6 car, they had to be W rated & reinforced). Also, one set seemed to wear a bit unevenly at the rear and caused some vibration at certain speeds - not a fault of the car as it didn't happen again with a subsequent tire on the same wheel. Overall, though, a good choice if you can get a decent price on the things.
These tires are done after only 19,000 miles of mostly town driving. I am ready to replace them - not because they are bald but because they are worn, noisy and seem to have completely lost grip on anything other than dry roads. My previous car had Uniroyal Rainsport 2s which were phenomenally grippy wet or dry (even when worn). In fact in this winter's appalling snow and ice the uniroyals were almost as good as winter tires (keeping me mobile when others were sliding every which way. Sadly, these Michelins are not even in the same league. Grip in the dry is ok but in the wet it's scary and in the snow, impossible. I will not be replacing them with more of the same even though they are recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
Great tires when new, hopeless in recent snow and ice when part worn. Poor on wet grass. Noise and comfort good but I would rather be able to steer. Not recommended for winter or camping use.
Which tires do you drive?
Researching the Michelin Primacy HP? Rate the tires you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
I had a mix of Falkens and Continentals on the BMW before, which were good, but slightly noisy. I changed to the Michelins on the recommendation of my son who has them fitted to a Renault Megane. Initially very impressive. The tires are noticeably quieter, the grip is excellent and, even in the snow, the car is more controllable than before. Very impressed so far. Another son has since fitted the same to his Focus and is equally impressed.
Care done 15500 miles and front tires now shot but rear ones still good for a while - hard wearing in my opinion but road feedback doesn't feel great. Great grip in the dry round country lanes but you certainly slow down in the wet and rubbish in snow & ice. Very expensive tires too.
I picked up a set of HPs for a bargain price soon after buying my E36 323i. My daily commute includes a narrow, twisting 15km road over a range of hills, summit 555m, and because I always drive one direction in the dead of night, tires get a workout.
In a word: Admiration. Fantastic, grippy tires, great under braking wet or dry. I lazily allowed the rears to get to a tread depth of 0.5mm(being optimistic)and despite being virtual slicks, they never once stepped out of line, despite me pushing on at a fair old clip.
I replaced them instantly (for legal reasons!) with near new Champiros that had come with the car; first trip on that wet and twisty road and despite pussy footing, the back end was stepping out all over the place.
I'd estimate my HP(rears) were legally shot at 20,000km, but given the supreme grip and the confidence they engendered, I was more than satisfied.
First the good... If you are eating up the motorway miles, these tires will be the perfect option for you. Yes they might cost, but they wear slowly, have good all round, all season, grip and reduce road noise quite a bit. However, when it comes to A and B road driving, these tires perform nowhere near as well as on motorways. Due to their long lifespan, they are made from a harder compound, leading to less feedback through the steering and tend to slip when pushed harder. No re-enforced outer sections to the tire also mean more movement when cornering and a greater chance of bulges if you hit a pothole or curb.
To sum up... if you are a sedate driver who mostly uses motorways, you will not find a better tire. But if you are a more enthusiastic driver and drive A and B roads more often, may I suggest the Dunlop Fastresponce as an alternative. You might only get half the lifespan out of the Dunlop's compared with the Michelin's, but at nearly half the price they offer much more grip in all conditions as they are a softer compound and have re-enforced outer walls to hold the tire shape when cornering harder.
I really liked these tires at first, but found as they begain to wear they would tramline, which became very bad towards replacement. I found that they wore faster than my previous maxxis tires, with the road holding being very good, but with the tendancy to grab the white line. I would not purchase them again, as I found the white line grab so pronounced that I was pleased when they needed replacement. Driving very poor roads in North of Scotland quite vigourously found they wore out quickly compared with other brands. I have a second car a citroen c6 2.7 HDI which again is a heavy car and am finding the same as with my vauxhall omega.
These were fitted new to my Audi A4. The tires were fine be were a bit noisy and the noise seemed to worsen as hey aged.
Had to replace them at 35,000 km.
Good quality tire in the dry and wet and while i acknowledge they are a summer tire the grip in any slush / snow / cold is terrible. I drive to Europe a couple of times a year on winter ski trips and these tires have been awful and would not have bought them if i had known how bad they would be on conditions which have not been a problem to other tires i've had. Now have a concern of having these on during the british winter!
Think these tires should be used only in mediterranean climate countries!
