[MarkC]

I've just had a set of 225/45R17 Michelin Cross Climate all season tyres fitted to the old bus. The promise of a quieter, more economical ride than the standard Hankooks made them appealing, coupled with a good snow/ice driving capability. What I didn't bank on was the transformation of the handling. Its like a different car - very sure-footed and gives more confidence going into bends. Thoroughly recommend these tyres!

MICHELIN CrossClimate - Arm yourself for every weather condition.

[Dazzler]

Thanks Mark, good to hear!

[diablo]

Ta for the info.

Could only find a couple of reviews but they look pretty good. Here's one of them -

Michelin CrossClimate Review - The Only Tyre You'll Ever Need? - Jaguar Owners Club UK

If I keep the car I have then I may get some.

[Shambles]

If I keep the car I have then I may get some.

Based on what I read in that article, me too.

[diablo]

MOT test coming up early next month so I got my papers out to check up on dates. Noticed that MOT had advisory saying 'all four tyres cracking'.  Not something I'd noticed but I suppose after 6 years they are a bit long in the tooth - and a possible MOT fail would be annoying.

Anyway, after digging out this thread and checking some more reviews I've ordered 4 x MICHELIN   CrossClimate   205/55 R16 94V, will be fitted next Wednesday so I'll maybe review in a few weeks time.

Almost hoping for lots of snow next winter.     

[Dazzler]

Sounds like a good move diablo. 

[diablo]

Had the tyres for a few days now and overall impressions are good. I think they are a little quieter than the Hankooks and steering feels a little more 'pointy'. That's probably due to them having a weight code of 94V rather than 91 so presumably they have stiffer sidewalls. Ride over bumpy surfaces doesn't seem any worse though.

One thing I notice is that I often hear stones bouncing around in the wheel-arches, something I didn't notice often with the old tyres. I assume that the wide grooves tend to pick them up.

[Dazzler]

Combo tyre makes for an interesting tread pattern...

[Surferdude]

Doesn't look like tread life is much of a consideration.
But they'd be good in the wet.

[xiziz]

There sold as summer tires here, I'm not even legally allowed to drive with them on in the winter.

And yeah, deep wide groves pick up a lot of stones, the drawback of everyone driving winter tires half the year is all the dents, scratches and chips in glass/paint from the gravel picked up and flung into oncoming traffic.

I would not want a all year tire though, the soft compound used to get grip on cold icy roads is useless on dry warm summer roads(Long stopping distance and premature wear).

[diablo]

Well all the reports and tests I've seen say that there is no compromise compared to summer tyres for braking, cornering and wet grip. Plus they match Michelin Alpin 5 winter tyres for grip in snow. Wear isn't supposed to be a problem either - not that that concerns me with my low mileage.

They have been tested by TUV, DEKRA and UTAC according to this report -

Michelin CrossClimate is the first ?summer? tyre that can safely be left on all winter. | Motoring News | Honest John

It doesn't snow a lot every winter here but it does get below 6C quite often and they are better than summer tyres at those temperatures.

At £10 a corner extra I think they are a no-brainer.     Well apart from the stones thing.   

[wbm00]

At £10 a corner extra I think they are a no-brainer.     Well apart from the stones thing.   

Remember when cars had flaps behind the rear wheels? Didn't do aerodynamics any favours but did stop stones being thrown up...

[MarkC]

Michelin are claiming that these tyres should last just as long as, if not longer than, a standard "dry" road tyre. Witchcraft and new-fangled tyre compounds are behind these claims! 

[Surferdude]

Michelin are claiming that these tyres should last just as long as, if not longer than, a standard "dry" road tyre. Witchcraft and new-fangled tyre compounds are behind these claims! 

New technology always helps.
But from what I can see of the tread, I'm tippping either excess shoulder wear and/or severe feathering on the shoulders, with an accompanying "worn wheel bearing" noise.
Hopefully the users can keep us posted with some pics at about 10,000 klm intervals.

[diablo]

Michelin are claiming that these tyres should last just as long as, if not longer than, a standard "dry" road tyre. Witchcraft and new-fangled tyre compounds are behind these claims! 

New technology always helps.
But from what I can see of the tread, I'm tippping either excess shoulder wear and/or severe feathering on the shoulders, with an accompanying "worn wheel bearing" noise.
Hopefully the users can keep us posted with some pics at about 10,000 klm intervals.

Well maybe MarkC can help with that - my reports would be too far apart to be useful. 

In a way they do seem too good to be true really, though I read just about everything I could find about them before ordering.  The worst thing I spotted was that sometimes they weren't very good on ice.

Could they be worse on ice than my Hankooks? I dunno, maybe but they maybe much the same. What I do know is that the i30 is much better on ice than my previous car - a Renault Laguna. The Laguna had good tyres but in icy conditions it was very poor. Not as bad as a BMW obviously as  the Laguna was FWD but there were some icy hills it couldn't deal with. The i30 has done well in similar situations - maybe because of ESP/traction control perhaps ?? The Renault weighed more and had fatter tyres which probably didn't help.

Did a couple of emergency stop tests tonight, it was 2C and wet, very good performance - seemed the same as if it were dry.