Michelin is one of the biggest tire brands in both the world and the US. They offer multiple tire types for almost all vehicles out there. Regardless of what tire you choose to buy from Michelin, you will get quality!
With that said, Michelin can be a bit pricey, so they may not be the best choice for people on a tight budget.
Pros
✔️Wide range of tires available
✔️Great fuel efficiency
✔️Rigorous testing of consumer tires
✔️Long treadwear warranty
✔️Great customer reviews
Cons
❌Fairly expensive
Whatever type of tire you are shopping for, whether that is summer tires, all-season tires or winter tires, Michelin will have you covered. They offer a huge variety of tires for all types of vehicles. Year after year, Michelin top the ratings among both expert and consumer recommendations.
In this complete brand review, we’ll cover in depth why Michelin is one of the biggest in the tire industry. We’ll take a look at everything from brand history and values to industry ratings, different tire models, tire costs, and customer reviews. After reading this post you will have a better understanding about the famous brand Michelin tires and their products.
Michelin Tires Brand History
Michelin tires was founded in France in 1889 by the brothers Édouard Michelin and André Michelin. They started of running a rubber factory and as one thing led to another Michelin is now one of the best-selling tire brands in the world, competing with the likes of Bridgestone and Goodyear.
In 1946 Michelin developed and patented the radial tire, which is a key innovation in the history of tires. It was this innovation that made Michelin one of the world’s leading tire manufacturer. The radial tire provides much better handling and fuel economy compared to tires that was earlier invented.
Over the years Michelin has been successful in the field of motorsport as well. They have been the official tire supplier for MotoGP, Formula one, Endurance racing and Rallying.
Michelin has offices all around the world, with their main base in Clermont-Ferrand in France. They also have their “Michelin North America” headquarter located in Greenville, South Carolina.
Michelin Tires Brand Values
The Michelin tires company state that they value “respect” and that they “act with respect” in a few different ways, including:
- Respect for customers – “They innovate relentlessly for the success of their customers and set their priorities accordingly.”
- Respect for people – “They care for every person inside and outside their company and earn their trust through their integrity.”
- Respect for shareholders – “They work to earn and keep shareholders trust and act in a way to sustain shareholder value.”
- Respect for environment – “They act for sustainable development of their partners, the society and the planet”
- Respect for facts – “They use facts to learn, honestly challange their beliefs and to guide their actions with agility.”
Yes, most if not all big and successful brands have values that they want to convey to themselves and to the world.
Personally I think that Michelin’s brand values are punchy, easy to understand and in line with a sustainable future for both society and our planet.
Afterall, here’s what Michelin state on their page about Sustainable Development and Mobility:
The Group’s societal responsibility is embodied by its Sustainable Development and Mobility strategy. It aims to make Michelin one of the most innovative, responsible, and high-performing companies worldwide across all of its responsibilities: economic, environmental, social and societal.
Michelin Tires Industry Ratings
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has a tire grading system called Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG) which all tire manufacturers must follow. This system rates tires (except winter tires) treadwear, traction, and temperature resistance.
Here’s what each of these grades mean:
Treadwear: Treadwear is a grade that shows how long a tire can last. The tradewear grade has a range of between 100-1000, where, for instance, a tire with a treadwear number of 600 will last twice as long as a treadwear number of 300.
Traction: Traction is a grade that shows how well a tire will perform in wet road conditions. The traction rating can be AA, A, B or C, where AA has the highest level of traction on wet condition and C the lowest.
Temperature resistance: Temperature resistance shows how a tire performs during high speed. The temperature ratings are A, B and C. Tires with A rating will be able to peform at speeds above 115 mph, tires with B rating will be able to perform at speeds between 100-115 mph, and tires with C rating will be able to perform at speeds between 85-100 mph.
In the table below, we have gathered the four most popular Michelin tires and their UTQG scores found at NHTSA.gov.
| Michelin Tire Model | Tire Type | Treadwear Rating | Traction Rating | Temperature Rating |
| Michelin ENERGY SAVER | Passenger All-season | 400 | A | A |
| Michelin PRIMACY MXM4 | High Performance All-season | 500 | AA | A |
| Michelin PREMIER A/S | Performance All-season | 640 | A | A |
| Michelin LTX M/S2 | Truck/SUV All-season | 720 | A | A |
Remember though that it’s not NHTSA that do the tire tests. Manufacturers and private companies are responsible for the testing. If you own Michelin tires and are interested in knowing your scores, you can check the UTQG grade on your tires sidewall, or search for the name of your tires over at NHTSA.gov.
Most Popular Michelin Tire Models
Michelin offers a large variety of tires for most type of vehicles. In this review we focus on passenger cars, SUVs and trucks. Here are Michelin’s most popular tire models for these three categories:
Most Popular Michelin Passenger Car Tire
Michelin Primacy MXM4
The Michelin Primacy MXM4 is Michelin’s most popular passenger car tire – and for good reasons! It’s a premium tire that offers stellar wet braking, handling, ride quality, and all-season safety. In Michelin’s own words the MXM4 offers “Comfortable driving without compromising control”.
From more than 1000 reviews accross various marketplaces including Michelin’s own website, these tires have a 4.4/5 customer satisfaction rate. The only drawback is that they are fairly expensive, but as the old saying goes; “you get what you pay for”.
You can learn more about Michelin Primacy MXM4 by pressing the button below
Most Popular Michelin SUV, Crossover & Light Truck Tire
Michelin LTX M/S2
The Michelin LTX M/S2 is Michelin’s most popular SUV, crossover and light truck tire. It’s an all-season tire that has long-lasting and durable treads that grip well on both wet and dry surfaces. It also offers great snow traction.
The tire has a 4.5 star rating from more than a thousand customers. It’s eco-friendly with stellar fuel efficiency, it’s built with the “Michelin MaxTouch Construction” that has been shown to save up to 65 gallons of fuel over the life of the tire when compared to leading competitor tires.
Not only that, Michelin offers a 70,000 mile warranty on these tires.
You can learn more about Michelin LTX M/S2 by pressing the button below
If you’re interested in checking out more Michelin tire models, their specs and reviews, you can do so here.
Type of Vehicles Michelin Offer Tires For
Even though this review is about car wheels specifically, Michelin offer tires for many more vehicles as well. Here’s a complete list of them:
Car, SUV & Van Tires
- Passenger cars
- Luxury cars
- Sport cars
- SUV cars
- Crossover cars
- Light trucks
Motorcycles & Scooters
- Cruiser MCs
- Enduro MCs
- Motocross MCs
- Roadster MCs
- Sport MCs
- Sport touring MCs
- Trail MCs
- Trial MCs
- Scooters MCs
- Rally MCs
- Electric MCs
- Supermoto MCs
Bicycles/Bikes
- Road
- MTB
- City
Motorsport
- Rally
- Off-road bike
- Hillclimbing
- Auto circuit
- Classic competition
- Racing bike
Trucks & Trailers
- Freigth transport vehicles
- Agriculture vehicles
- Construction vehicles
- Mining and quarry vehicles
- Transportation vehicles
- Government/defense vehicles
- RVs
- Tweels
- Metro
Aircrafts
- Airplanes
- Helicopters
Average Cost of Michelin Tires
As stated earlier, Michelin tires are expensive. Michelin tires cost between $90-$748, depending on the type and size of the tire.
Here’s a list of the average Michelin tire cost for passenger cars, crossovers and SUVs:
| Type of tire | Average price per tire (*range = from small to large tire) |
| Passenger car All-season | $90-260 |
| Passenger car Winter | $90-270 |
| Passenger car Summer | $166-500 (including luxury and sport cars) |
| Suv/crossover All-season | $124-404 |
| Suv/crossover Winter | $104-511 |
| Suv/crossover Summer | $194-748 |
Michelin Tires Customer Reviews
Since the information shared in blog reviews, like the one you are reading now, often comes from the manufacturer themselves, then adding in real life experiences from people who actually use the items each and every day are priceless for your decision making.
Afterall, the reason why we’re making these reviews here at Whirling Wheelz are to help you make a more educated purchase. For that reason, we decided to include both positive and negative experiences that people have had with the brand:
Positive Experiences With Michelin Tires
“I replaced my 10 year old tires (I don’t drive much) with these new Micheline Defender T+H tires and it feels like I have a new car. Much quieter ride at highway speeds and “grippy” when its wet or dry. I think these are the best tires I’ve ever owned. Thanks Michelin for making such a great tire.”
HappyTrails on ntb.com
“Driving 80,000 plus miles on my Michelin Primacy MXM4, they were OEM on my Honda Accord. Perhaps the best tires I’ve ever had. They were quiet, fast, handled well and stable at any speed (120+). Run fast and hard in the rain. Looking forward to getting another set.”
GPPassion on michelinman.com
Negative Experiences With Michelin Tires
“I replaced the OEM Michelin Energy Saver A/S with the same tires. They must have changed something as these tires are VERY NOISY. Very unhappy with them. I have tried having them rotated after 1000 miles to see if that made a difference. It didn’t. Going to try ro replace them under the Promise Plan, but, I have a feeling its going to cost me a lot of money to replace these NEW tire.”
Nothappy on michelinman.com
“My Michelin Pilot MXM4 tires WORE OUT IN HALF THE TIME. 50,000 mile warranty, and 25,000 and ready to be replaced.”
Bob H on michelinman.com
Do Michelin Offer Warranties?
Of course Michelin wants their customers to be 100% satisfied with their tires, that’s kind of the goal of all manufacturers one would hope. That’s why they offer the following:
- 60-Day Satisfaction Guarantee
- Roadside Assistance
- Standard Limited Warranty and Limited Mileage Warranty
Their standard limited warranty covers defects in workmanship and materials for the life of the original usable tread, or for 6 years past the date of purchase, whichever happens first.
Their limited mileage warranty differs by tire line, and ranges between 20k to 80k miles depending on tire. You can read more about their warranties here.
Final Thoughts on Michelin Tires
We give Michelin 4.5 out of 5 stars for their wide range of tires available, great fuel efficiency, rigorous testing of tires, long treadwear warranty and great customer reviews (even though there are some bad ones as well).
The only drawback that Michelin truly has is their pricing. To pay an average of around $200-300 per tire ($800-1200 for a set) is a bit extreme in our opinion. This is the reason they get 4.5 and not 5 stars from us. But, as stated earlier; “you get what you pay for”, and Michelin knows that!
Hi, my name is Niklas, the head content creator & CEO of Whirling Wheelz. I am very interested in vehicles of all kinds, mainly cars. I have a car mechanics degree from high school and a big hobby of mine is to follow the WRC (World Rally Championship) both online and through travel.