Has Michelin Created The Best All Season Tire? Rain, Sun, or Snow!

Can One Tire Really Work In Every Climate? Michelin CrossClimate2 Is Made For Any Weather
3-Peak Mountain Snowflake Tire That You Can Use Year Round - Sponsored By Michelin

How is it possible for a tire to perform well in all four seasons? How does something that has the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake, which is a certification of winter performance, also have wear characteristics that hold up to hot summer temperatures, all while stacking up against today’s best all-season tires?

First off, I think there’s some important backstory. I was looking for a tire for my Crosstrek that I could genuinely leave on four all four seasons. Why? Because I’m lazy. In my research, the best tire I could find was the Michelin CrossClimate+, an all-season tire certified for winter conditions. So, that’s what I bought. Well, as it turns out, Michelin had already been working on another version of the this tire, the CrossClimate 2, and they asked me if I’d be interested in trying it out early.

So overall - what’s the strategy? On one hand you can have a winter tire. It’s great in deep snow & ice compared to other tires, but not as great at dry or wet braking in higher temperatures, nor great for dry handling. On the other hand you can have a summer tire - excellent performance in dry and usually wet as well, great handling when the temperatures are nice, but you definitely don’t want to drive on these in snowy or icy conditions, or even really cold temperatures depending on the tire.

Very big picture, what we have here is a tire that uses a compound that’s quite similar to a winter compound, but it uses a tread pattern that’s more similar to a summer tread pattern, in that it has very few sipes and cuts, which puts the tire in a very unique position. The ability to be a certified 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake Tire, and thanks to the tread pattern, significantly less wear than a traditional winter tire when it’s driven on in summer months. Watch the video for all the details!

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[wds]

“I was looking for a tyre that I could actually leave on for all 4 seasons. Why?”
Money? Less hassle?
“Because I’m lazy.”
10/10, Gotta respect that honesty.

[_aullik]

I'm a little bit disappointed in the lack of a whiteboard.

[coffeekhan]

We've had the Cross Climate 2 tires on our Honda Pilot for about two weeks. I instantly noticed a marked improvement in handling over the OEM tires, with less noise. I await to see how they handle this winter, and I hope they work as advertised, and as reported by Consumers Reports and other sources. If they improve winter traction, I may place a set on my Odyssey instead of buying a set of dedicated winter tires for the vehicle.

UPDATE 12/1/22: We had a three day snowstorm here a week ago, and I made a point of driving the Pilot rather aggressively when it was safe to do so, and I must say, these tires performed very well. I can't complain at all! Now, this is an AWD SUV. I don't know how they would work on my Odyssey, but I would love to try. Unfortunately, I only have about 14, 000 miles on those tires, so it isn't cost effective to replace them at this point. Will update with any further observations.

Update 4/24: Almost 70K on the odometer, so roughly 40K on the tires. Still going strong with regular rotations, still providing plenty of grip. I’d buy them again. Absolutely!

[superchargedpetrolhead]

There is no white board in this video...
Me: *my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined*

[A.R.B.J.]

Jason without a whiteboard is like Santa without a beard.

[jacekmaciej]

I put these tires on my Mitsubishi Outlander a year ago. I live in Vancouver Canada, so we have lots of rain and occasional wet snow in the winter. These tires perform superbly in all of these conditions. They are also very quiet on the highway and offer exceptional handling in the summer. By far these are the best tires I ever owned.

[lockman]

I have these tires on my Subaru Outback. I live on a mountain top in Colorado. It's a 6.5 mile drive to get down the mountain with 87 turns and 500 foot drop offs if you should miss a turn. While the road does get plowed regularly my driveway is about 150 feet long with a serious slope. The snow is often up to the front bumper. I made it all of last winter without using my tracked Honda snow blower even once. I was shocked. The performance is the best I had with any of my vehicles. Two thumbs up from me.

[heroclixrz]

Michelin: "Aww yis, free advertising"
EE: "These are GOOD YEAR round tires!"
Michelin:

[kushweedfaded]

“I want tires I can keep on year round. Why? Cuz I’m lazy”

Me: go on...

[blacksquirrel]

I’ve had these on my Pathfinder for almost a year. They are wonderful, and quiet. My wife asked why our engine and roof racks sounded louder than usual and we realized it was because that was All we were hearing, the tire noise was incredibly reduced.

[tomj]

I bought these last fall for our Subaru Forester and they're fantastic in everything from rain, sleet, ice and snow. I always get the best tires because of how important they are as it's the interface with the road and my wife often drives like a bat out of hell. We lost a young relative a couple of years ago when it was icy out and his car spun out into an oncoming delivery truck. What I wouldn't give to go back in time and buy him a set of these tires.

[HumbleMechanic]

That drone footage, and those treads YES YES YES!!!

[Wrathlon]

"Why? Because Im lazy"

Yes finally, someone that gets it.

[jaymacpherson]

The attribute that I expected least from this tire is handling grip on dry pavement. While I’ve only had the tires a year, they are possibly the best all season tire I’ve driven in my 49 years of driving.

[EEF]

I bought these about 6 months ago for my Nissan Kicks replacing the old Firestone tires of which I had problems with in the Illinois Snow. These have literally been the best all season I've ever owned. They do great in the snow, and the main difference I found was that these are amazing in the rain. I went from hydroplaning on the slightest puddle, to being able to easily go through puddles up to an inch deep with no problem. In the end this video was the one that pushed me over the edge, and I definitely don't regret it!

[nicholasdowns]

Great job Michelin, you successfully designed a tractor tire.

[scottyb]

2 thumbs up. I learned more about tread function and design in 10 minutes than 50 years of driving. Thank you

[BobbyS]

Just found this review of the CrossClimate2 tires and I’m glad I watched it. I replaced my worn out Bridgestone Ecopias on my car in December with these very tires. I was impressed by the traction improvements in what little snow we had. Now I’m starting to experience wet weather driving. So far these are the best tires I’ve ever had on a car.

I’m planning on installing a set on the wife’s van we bought used a year ago. The tires are reasonably new, but she complained about poor traction in the snow. These will definitely fix that issue.

Thanks for the honest review. It makes me feel good about this purchase, especially for what they cost.

[thejimmy]

I've been using the CrossClimate tires for three years and they are fantastic. Just got a new set of the CC2 on my AWD Buick Envision back in September, and they are even better in the snow than the previous version. Sometimes it feels like I actually have snow tires on my car! I'd recommend them to anyone who lives in the snowbelt (I'm in West Michigan, so lots of lake effect snow here).

[MrKelkelrocks]

These non-skippable YouTube tire ads are getting out of control. 😂