SEAT Leon Tires

Dry grip is excellent, wet grip is very reassuring too.. They wear a little fast (2mm in 10000km of combined driving (highways, spirited backroads, city). The steering response is OK, not numb but not sporty either. Comfort is excellent.

My experience so far:

Wet:
The grip on wet roads is fantastic, like no other tire I have ever had. No aquaplaning, no early understeering, nothing... just good grip.
They give a lot of confidence in corners and the braking is really powerful too. This may sound weird, but sometimes I even go out driving when it's raining hard, just because it's fun with these tires on. I bought these tires mostly because of their promised wet weather (grip) performance, I have no regrets here.

Dry:
Strong braking performance. Cornering does not feel a lot different than my previous Hankook UHP tires, but those were worn down to nearly the minimal legal tread depth, which meant good grip on dry roads. The Michelin PS5's are new with full tread, so I guess it's impressive they feel simular.
When really pushing the car understeers normally and predictably. The tires seem to do especially well in longer and faster corners when compared to short tight corners. They're good in short corners too, but not exceptional. Temperature does play an important role here, I think.

Temperature:
In my opinion it makes a very noticable difference whether it's below or above 15 degrees (Celcius) outside in terms of cornering. The PS5 seems to really come alive on a warm day. And then the above mentioned short corners suddenly become a lot more fun too. This is probably the case for most (UHP) tires, but still it's worth noting that PS5 dry cornering feels more "sporty" as the temperature rises.

Comfort etc:
They are firm but not uncomfortable. I did have to try a few different pressures before I found the best balance between comfort and performance. Ofcourse there are more comfortable tires out there, but that is not what you are looking for when you buy UHP tires.
I drive fairly briskly on average, sometimes near the limit where "safe" to do so, but never like a maniac. But I also drive many boring 100-120 km/h stretches on cruise control. The PS5 seems to be the perfect tire for all of the above. A good balance of comfort/noise and performance.

Wear:
After 5.000 km the front tires are now at 7,0mm. They were 7,5mm when new. You can do your own math, but to me it seems like they should be able to reach 40-50.000 kilometers when you take care of them.

Any negatives?
Well, they do feel slightly "heavier" than my previous summer UHP tires (mounted on the same rims). In terms of acceleration and fuel economy they are not as good yet. This will probably get better once the tires wear down, but still: about 10% extra fuel on average highway use (cruise control on) seems a lot. Even for brand new tires, where 3-5% extra fuel use can be expected. I swapped back to my winter tires briefly, to check if it was the wheels/tires or something else. But it's the tires. I have now done around 5.000 km on these tires and it seems to be getting better slowly, in terms of fuel use.

All in all very happy with these Michelin Pilot Sport 5's. And I think they look pretty good too.

Bought two of these to replace the (punctured) Chinese tires the previous owners had fitted. Previously I had severe traction issues. Pulling away as gently as possible would still cause the front wheels to spin, making me look incompetent and immature despite my best efforts - even before the tires developed a puncture.


I am not a professional driver and I haven’t tested the tires on a track but I appreciate having some road feedback. Compared to what I had before the car feels safer and more predictable.

Now I have better wet grip than I had before in the dry. I can floor the accelerator and the wheels will barely slip. I can’t comment on wear or snow/ice grip yet but I plan to buy more of these as soon as possible. The ride feels quiet and plush, all round a vastly better experience. If you live in a climate with mild temperatures and frequent rain or general dampness you will not be disappointed.

Quiet, Comfortable and with plenty of grip and good feel in all kinds of weather

Yikes, thought all the positive reviews were going to mean I would have no issues with these, how wrong could I be?
Tires very noisy on all roads except where the surface is super smooth.
They 'sing' a lot and never give any feeling of comfort.
Have tried various pressure combinations, had alignment checked and re-balanced but no change.
I would say these tires definitely do not like the Seat Leon FR 1.5 Tsi 130, this car does have a very hard 'sports' suspension,
(it's the version with the torsion beam rear, not independent suspension).
So if you have this car version, stay well away from these tires.
Very dissapointed.
Tire version is 225/45/R17/W91 (not XL).

Had them straight from car factory started to crack between the tread after 2150 miles

I've had these on all round on a PHEV SEAT Leon for around 3,000 miles now, before I had the from factory Bridgestone Potenza S005.

Driving in the icy/snowy conditions seen just before Christmas 2022, these tires gave me more confidence in control and handling, as the Bridgestone's often struggled for grip in the dry let alone the cold and wet.

The grip so far has been an extreme improvement, the Bridgestone's would often spin under the power of a PHEV in all conditions, despite trying my hardest, it is difficult to replicate with the 4+ from a standing start.

There has been a lot of rain lately, and with the 4+, there is a significant reduction in the slippery feeling when passing over standing water, particularly at motorway speeds.

The tires have also improved the slip/lean feeling on roundabouts. It feels as if they are listening to the direction I want to go, and I know that they are complying.

I've not noticed a difference in braking performance - seem standard for a premium tire, and time will tell if they deflect nails and are not magnet for them like the Potenza's.

Noise seems average. Potholes feel harsher.

I bought this tire last year after suggestions from my tire dealer. I was looking for a good tire for cold and rainy winters with some occasional trip to the mountains. These tires were highly satisfactory in terms of dry and wet performance, plus they felt great in terms of subjective road feedback and handling. Car seems attached to the ground in all situations. Downsides are higher noise and fuel consumption, but I say this with respect to my summer tires, which may not be a fair comparison. I only tried them on snow once and they were fine.

Handling in dry and wet is neutral with no oversteering or understeering, but steering is very spongy und unprecise, like an unsporty winter tire. I couldn't test the tires in snow. The wear of the tire is very good. After 45000 km still 5.5 mm on the front wheels. The comfort and noise level are average. Wet grip in the first and second year was good, but after 3 years and 45000 km the grip became dangerously bad at braking and accelerating. So I have to buy new tires although there are still 5.5 mm left on the front and 7 mm on the rear tires. In my opinion there are better tires you should buy.

On the dry roads the car handling is ok , on hard brakes the tires are a little bit slippy but safe , but on the wet roads they are horror i have a 1.6 l engine on petrol with 102 hp , the cars is feeling like a 700 hp beast , the wheels spinning every time i go from the red light , when i turn a little bit more agressive the back of the car almost spinning around , are not safe for a driver who wants to have some pleasure moments with his car and the noise of the tire is like you have all the wheelbearings broke down. I'm not recomanded this tires.