Michelin Defender Review

[Dominic]

We put these on our Nissan Versa and have 20k miles on them, they're still doing wonderfully. They are amazingly insanely quiet as the OP mentioned, but I've noticed on our car they ride better than the OEM Continentals. When we tried them in light snow we had no real issues, and they seem to do just fine in the rain.

I typically buy sports-car tires, so I figured this would be a long-lasting fair traction tire, but I've been impressed with the comfort and quality of them.

The best part is 3 out of 4 wheels required no weights when properly road-force balanced!

 

[carguy996]

I have a set of Defenders on my 2010 Grand Caravan, these are by far the best tires I have ever purchased. The van previously had Bridgestone Turanza EL-400 tires that were terribly loud and were starting to dry rot at 28,000 miles! The Defenders have zero road noise and they have a plush ride, it was like getting a totally different car! They are worth every penny! I have not tried them in the snow yet, that will come soon enough. They do great in the rain. After 2000 miles of driving they still have almost 10/32 of tread so I am expecting to get a great lifespan from them. Fuel economy did go down ever so slightly on the highway but increased in town. I got 15mpg city before and now I get about 16.5. On the highway I got about 27 before and that has reduced to about 25.5-26. These tires are worth every penny and I will buy a set for the other cars when they need tires!

 

[JHZR2]

Just got a set of these for friends' CRV.

 

[Vikas]

Now that I have few miles on the van, these tires are certainly now quiet as compared to the older ones. On highway, occasional 80 did not elicit scolding from the better half. I think she did not realize that I was exceeding that speed due to smooth and quiet ride. Also they are surefooted in the rain. Yes, they are expensive but so far seems to be worth it.

 

[glock19]

Originally Posted By: carguy996
I have a set of Defenders on my 2010 Grand Caravan, these are by far the best tires I have ever purchased. The van previously had Bridgestone Turanza EL-400 tires that were terribly loud and were starting to dry rot at 28,000 miles! The Defenders have zero road noise and they have a plush ride, it was like getting a totally different car! They are worth every penny! I have not tried them in the snow yet, that will come soon enough. They do great in the rain. After 2000 miles of driving they still have almost 10/32 of tread so I am expecting to get a great lifespan from them. Fuel economy did go down ever so slightly on the highway but increased in town. I got 15mpg city before and now I get about 16.5. On the highway I got about 27 before and that has reduced to about 25.5-26. These tires are worth every penny and I will buy a set for the other cars when they need tires!


My Legacy came with Turanza EL-400's and I've been dying for them to wear out so I can put Primacy MXV4's on it. I can't stand the ridiculous amount of road noise they make for a all-season passenger car tire. If you close your eyes you can pretend you're driving on 33" mud tires.