What do you expect from the company that has invented the removable tire, the pneurail tire, and the radial tire? Absolute best, of course. And that’s exactly what we expected from the Michelin Premier A/S, the “Safe when new, safe when worn” tire, as the company claims. Has it lived up to our expectations? Find out down below.
Quick Overview
The Michelin Premier A/S tires are All-Season tires, designed for coupe, sedans, and minivans. They use some pretty innovative and interesting features, including:
- The EverGrip technology, which is the new tread design that allows the tire to maintain its high level of traction throughout its entire life;
- Silica compound enhanced tread, which provides excellent wet grip;
- Sunflower oil compound enhanced tread, which keeps the tire flexible at lower temperatures;
- Exceptionally even-blended materials that help maintain wear-life.
All in all, the Michelin Premier A/S tire promises great stopping power and excellent driving control in various weather conditions, as well as long wear-life and smooth, quiet, comfortable ride.
Dry Performance
The Michelin Premier A/S tires provide excellent handling in dry conditions. They ride smoothly and have a great stopping grip, and perhaps most importantly, their performance doesn’t change, even when worn. This is all thanks to the previously mentioned EverGrip tech that features hidden grooves that emerge as the tire wears. They provide superior handling in dry and wet conditions, so cornering is tight and precise, driving is smooth and stopping is quick.
This all is not surprising, as the Michelin Premier A/S tire’s internal structure has two steel belts that are strengthened with spirally wrapped polyamide cord on top of a polyester casing ply. What this allows is a perfect blend of comfortable and uniform ride on one side and easy handling and durability on the other.
Wet Performance
Alright, so the tires are great in dry conditions, but what about the rain and dangerous wet, slick surfaces? No worries, Michelin has got you covered even in rainstorms.
If there is one feature we had to pick as ‘the best’ when it comes to Michelin Premier A/S, it would be their performance in wet conditions. These tires have excellent traction on both dry and wet roads, thanks to their EverGrip tech.
- Expanding and Hidden Grooves
We mentioned that this technology features hidden grooves that emerge as the tire wears, but that’s actually just half of the story. The EverGrip tech allows the expanding rain grooves to widen and emerging grooves, which are initially hidden when the tire is new, to open as the tire wears, which is not only great news for maintaining traction long-term but for driving in wet conditions too.
There are more than 150 hidden rain grooves that emerge as the time goes on and the tire wears, which allow the tire to be as super-efficacious at maintaining wet traction throughout its entire life. And unlike most tires whose rain grooves lose depth over time, and as a result of the power to funnel away water from the tire, the Michelin Premier A/S tires have expanding rain grooves, which are positioned uniquely to allow long-term usage. They are located around the circumference of the tire and have a special geometric shape that gets wider as the tread wears. The result? Excellent ability to evacuate water even as the grooves inevitably lose depth over time.
- High-traction Rubber Compound
Those unique rubber compounds we mentioned in Quick Overview? They too help increase the tire’s wet grip.
The EverGrip rubber compound is made with extreme amounts of silica and sunflower oil, which together make a perfect blend of strength and flexibility. The silica provides a bonding strength and an exceptional wet grip for everyday handling. This allows the tire to keep its high traction power even in really wet conditions. As for the sunflower oil, it’s there to help with the tire’s flexibility in lower temperatures and to increase its grip on wet roads.
The mixture of these ingredients is also supposed to help keep the tire’s performance consistent on wet and dry roads throughout its entire lifetime.
Snow & Ice Performance
As most of you already know, all season tires are not ideal for extreme winter conditions. Heavy snow and black ice are unpredictable and pretty much every single all-season tire is not up to those challenges. Winter roads and extreme cold cause the tread rubber of ‘regular’ tires to stiffen and become less able to provide sufficient traction. As a result, all season tires cannot provide the same amount of grip and sharp handling during winter months as they can during fall, spring and summer.
Saying that the Michelin Premier A/S does fare well on snow, even though it’s not designed for use in heavy winter. In light to moderate winter conditions, such as light snow, cold, but not extremely cold temperatures, and some ice, the Michelin Premier A/S drives smoothly and comfortably and has great stopping power. This is thanks to its EverGrip technology and silica and sunflower oil compounds which allow the tires to stay strong and stable on ice, but also flexible enough to handle cold temperatures and packed snow.
The tire’s outer structure, its many sipes and tread blocks, also help as they act as biting edges to cut through the snow. And the inner structure of the tire plays a role too – twin steel belts with a polyester body help reinforce the tire and allow for great handling and stopping power.
Still, when it comes to serious snow and ice, it’s best to stick to winter tires, as they’re specifically designed for winter conditions and are much safer.
Noise & Comfort
If you’re looking for a comfortable and smooth ride, then the Michelin Premier A/S tires are for you. Thanks to the tire’s unique rubber compounds, evenly blended materials, as well as its internal and external design, the Michelin Premier A/S tire provides a truly smooth ride. Bumps on the road? No problem, you’ll barely feel them with these tires. This is mostly thanks to the silica and sunflower oil in the rubber, as these materials greatly contribute to the impact absorbing tread.
But there is another feature that makes these tires ultra-comfortable, which the manufacturer calls the Comfort Control Technology. This feature reduces road noise and vibrations and offers a smooth, comfy and mostly quiet ride.
Did we just say mostly quiet? Yes, because some drivers have reported the tires are exceptionally quiet during the first year or two, but after that, they do seem to increase their level of noisiness. However, it’s important to note that this mostly depends on the way you drive, how well you maintain your tires, as well as the quality of the roads you mostly drive on.
On the whole, these tires are quiet and provide a very comfortable, smooth ride, as long as you keep them properly balanced.
Tread Life & Warranty
With a tread warranty of 60,000 miles or 6 years, and tire uniformity guaranteed for the first year, these tires are built to last. Tread design is made to evolve as it wears to maintain grip and traction. This is possible thanks to the EverGrip technology that Michelin uses. As you know, treadwear is absolutely inevitable with new tires – the more you drive them, the more treadwear you can expect. But Michelin Premier A/S stands out here as the design enables new grooves, which are initially hidden, to emerge as the tire wears, effectively maintaining traction and braking performance throughout the tire’s entire lifetime. In fact, according to ConsumerReports.org, the 60,000-mile treadwear warranty can easily be exceeded, and they give their own treadwear estimate of a whopping 85,000 miles.
But that’s all theory–what about the practice?
It appears that drivers have mixed feelings about the tread wear of the Michelin Premier A/S. According to many consumer reports and reviews, these tires are not the most long-lasting tires out there. Drivers complain about short tread wear, which is, according to some, much less than 60,000 miles. And while we’re sure many drivers really do experience abnormally short tread wear, it’s important to always ask yourself three things when you encounter such complaints:
- Are the drivers keeping their tires properly inflated?
- Are they balancing their tires?
- How are they driving, and where are they driving?
Unfortunately, many people are not aware of the importance of proper tire inflation and balance. Insufficient or inconsistent tire pressure, as well as improper balance, can ruin even the best tires in the world really quickly. To keep your tires as new as possible for as long as possible, make sure you have your tires balanced properly and regularly.
When all’s said and done, the Michelin Premier A/S have a decent tread wear with a great warranty. When it comes to numbers, you can expect anywhere around 40,000 to 80,000 miles and up from these tires.
Compatibility
As we mentioned at the beginning of this review, the Michelin Premier A/S is designed for coupe cars, sedans, and minivans. Because it’s such a popular tire, it’s not hard to find the right size. Here is a list of a few vehicles that the Michelin Premier A/S fits. Do bear in mind that this is NOT a complete list by any means.
- Toyota: Camry, Sienna, Tacoma, Corolla, Prius, Echo
- Buick: Lesabre, Lucerne, Century
- Ford: Taurus, Mustang, Windstar, Ranger, Crown Victoria
- Nissan: Sentra, Altima, Maxima, Rogue
- Chevrolet: Impala, Cavalier, Venture, Malibu
- Honda: Civic, Odyssey, Accord, CR-V
- Chrysler: Sebring, PT Cruiser, Town and Country
- Mercury: Villager, Mystique, Grand Marquius
- Hyundai: Sonata, Accent
- Dodge: Grand Caravan, Neon
- Pontiac: Torrent, Montana, Vibe, Bonneville, Grand Am, Trans Sport
- Saturn: LW1, SL2
- Kia: Amanti
- Plymouth: Voyager
- Subaru: Outback
As for tire size, it ranges from 15” to 19”. These are the sizes available, as per TireSize.com.
- 15”
185/65R15 88H SL BSW
195/55R15 85V SL BSW
195/60R15 88H SL BSW
195/65R15 91H SL BSW
205/60R15 91H SL BSW
205/65R15 94H SL BSW
- 16”
185/55R16 83H SL BSW
195/55R16 87V SL BSW
195/60R16 89H SL BSW
205/50R16 87V SL BSW
205/55R16 91H SL BSW
205/55R16 91V SL BSW
205/60R16 92H SL BSW
205/60R16 92V SL BSW
205/65R16 95H SL BSW
215/55R16 93H SL BSW
215/60R16 95V SL BSW
215/60R16 95H SL BSW
225/55R16 95H SL BSW
225/55R16 95V SL BSW
225/60R16 98H SL BSW
225/65R16 100H SL BSW
235/60R16 100H SL BSW
235/65R16 103H SL BSW
- 17”
205/45R17 84V SL BSW
205/50R17 93H XL BSW
205/50R17 93V XL BSW
215/45R17 87V SL BSW
215/45R17 87H SL BSW
215/50R17 91H SL BSW
215/50R17 95V XL BSW
215/55R17 94V SL BSW
215/55R17 94H SL BSW
215/60R17 96H SL BSW
225/45R17 91H SL BSW
225/45R17 91V SL BSW
225/50R17 94V SL BSW
225/50R17 94H SL BSW
225/55R1797H SL BSW
225/55R17 97V SL BSW
225/60R17 99H SL BSW
235/45R17 94V SL BSW
235/45R17 94H SL BSW
235/50R17 96H SL BSW
235/55R17 99H SL BSW
245/45R17 95H SL BSW
245/50R17 99V SL BSW
- 18”
215/55R18 95H SL BSW
225/45R18 91V SL BSW
225/50R18 95H SL BSW
225/55R18 98H SL BSW
225/60R18 100H SL BSW
235/45R18 94V SL BSW
235/45R18 94H SL BSW
235/55R18 100V SL BSW
235/60R18 103H SL BSW
245/45R18 100V XL BSW
- 19”
245/45R19 98V SL BSW
Of course, there’s more to buying a tire than just the size of the rim, so it’s important to know all the details of your vehicle and tire dimensions. However, considering this is such a popular tire, we have no doubt you’ll be able to find the right Michelin Premier A/S for your vehicle.
Are Michelin Premier A/S the right Tires For Me?
Now that we’ve covered all the important information about the Michelin Premier A/S tires, you should feel more confident about your decision to buy or not buy them. If not, have no fear – in this chapter, we focus on some of the most important aspects of the Michelin Premier A/S tires and whether or not they’re the right tires for you.
If you’re looking for durable, all-season tires that perform just as well on wet roads (if not better) as they do on dry roads, then Michelin Premier A/S may be the ideal tires for you. These tires brake smartly as they have excellent, long-lasting wet grip and stop shorter on wet roads than leading competitors, even when half-worn. You will be cornering and stopping confidently with these tires in dry, wet and even snowy conditions. Yes, the Michelin Premier A/S has great traction even in light snow and ice. However, bear in mind that these are not winter tires, so if you live in areas that are particularly cold and snowy, you may skip these and opt for regular winter tires.
If you’re all about the comfort, then these tires are the right choice. They have a Comfort Control Technology, which reduces road noise and vibrations, offering a smooth, comfortable ride. Seriously, tiny bumps on the road will barely be felt with the Michelin Premier A/S tires, as they feel like they’re gliding on the road.
When it comes to a quiet ride, these tires are decent. They’re not the quietest tires on the road, as they do make some noise from time to time when rolling over not-so-great concrete, but they are, in general, rather quiet and comfy. It’s no wonder really, as they’re marketed as ‘luxury performance touring’ tires.
In theory, the Michelin Premier A/S tires are highly durable, with long tread life and a warranty that reflects that – 60,000 miles or 6 years. They feature the EverGrip technology, which allows new grooves to emerge as the old ones wear out. This prolongs the grip and traction performance of the tire immensely and ensures it’s “safe when new, safe when worn”. Also, large amounts of silica and sunflower oil in the rubber compound ensure excellent wet grip and flexibility in lower temperatures, as well as long wear-life and fuel efficiency.
However, some user reviews paint a different picture. Although the tread life is supposed to be long, you don’t have to dig deep to find reviews reporting a rather poor tread life, with around half of the warranted mileage causing excessive wear and tear.
But, as we already mentioned, driver behavior plays a huge role here. If you’re a careful and sensible driver who regularly makes sure his or her tires are properly balanced and inflated, there’s really no reason these tires should have a poor tread life. Generally speaking, it should be easy to get 60,000 miles out of the Michelin Premier A/S tires – if not more. In fact, as you can read in the Tread Life & Warranty section of this review, the ConsumerReports.org gave these tires a higher treadwear estimate – an impressive 85,000 miles.
So ultimately, when it comes to treading life, it matters greatly how and where you drive your car. Our advice? If you know you’re a great, responsible driver, the Micheline Premier A/S tires are the right choice. In this case, the tires may even surprise you and exceed their warranted mileage.
Sources
- Michelin Premier A/S Review, Consumer Search
- Michelin Premier A/S Tires, Tire Size
