Michelin Defender2 vs CrossClimate2

I had the org. defenders and they were 90k warranty iirc.
They lasted ~20k miles(worn 3/32 and 4/32) on the 2010 accent.. the same accent that had michelin xice2's last 30k+ miles.

Maybe they fixed them but they certainly weren't a shining star in michelin's lineup. The CC2's are proven an above average tire.
Accent, not tire.
 
This^^^^^^^^^^^, but, If the CC worked, in snow, you would not have to mess with changing the tires out. .02
The CC2 sort of works in the snow. You can't be brave and trailblaze through fresh, deep unplowed snow. The CC2 will fight a lot for traction and have to change the drive modes to one of the off-road modes to get going again. The CC2 excels at packed snow conditions (such as after the plows come by) and some icy conditions.

I'd just go with the Defender 2's even though TireRack hates its wet track performance.
 
The CC2 sort of works in the snow. You can't be brave and trailblaze through fresh, deep unplowed snow. The CC2 will fight a lot for traction and have to change the drive modes to one of the off-road modes to get going again. The CC2 excels at packed snow conditions (such as after the plows come by) and some icy conditions.

I'd just go with the Defender 2's even though TireRack hates its wet track performance.
I think the CCs are very good in snow. I have CCs on the RX 350 and put Blizzaks on the Kia - the RX 350 made it up the snowy driveway with AWD with absolutely no problem. The Kia with FWD had to have a running start and if you stopped in the middle of the driveway, you weren't getting up the driveway. So AWD with CCs is significantly better than FWD with Blizzaks IME.
 
I think the CCs are very good in snow. I have CCs on the RX 350 and put Blizzaks on the Kia - the RX 350 made it up the snowy driveway with AWD with absolutely no problem. The Kia with FWD had to have a running start and if you stopped in the middle of the driveway, you weren't getting up the driveway. So AWD with CCs is significantly better than FWD with Blizzaks IME.

This is my first winter without dedicated winter tires in over 25 years. I've always run Blizzaks or Xice winter tires. The CC2's performed 80-90% of what a dedicated winter tire would.

If I didn't need winter tires, I probably would not have bought the CC2. I had my doubts and reservations but I'm very glad I took a chance on the CC2's. They are a great all weather tire and I think Michelin hit a home run with the CC2's. It's a great tire. Summer, winter, wet or dry.

The cost savings of not having to buy winter rims and tires, the cost savings of not having to get them swapped twice a year, and the space savings of not having to store a second set of wheels/tires is more than worth it alone. Also, not having to load and unload eight tire/wheel combo's into the car twice a year is fantastic.

The Escape needs new all season tires. I bought a new set of Michelin Xice winter tires for it fall of 2021. I'm still thinking to buy a set of CC2's for the Escape and see how they perform on a FWD vehicle in the winter.
 
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I think the CCs are very good in snow. I have CCs on the RX 350 and put Blizzaks on the Kia - the RX 350 made it up the snowy driveway with AWD with absolutely no problem. The Kia with FWD had to have a running start and if you stopped in the middle of the driveway, you weren't getting up the driveway. So AWD with CCs is significantly better than FWD with Blizzaks IME.
Better? The whole point of snow tires is to be able to stop. And, no, CC won’t perform as snow tire in slick conditions.
 
I was told my post might be mistaken as I wasnt clear I was being funny. :) Sorry about that.

Suggestion:

CONTINENTAL TRUECONTACT TOUR​

would be my top choice.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/continental-truecontact-tour

If they are going on a sporty vehicle I have been very happy with the General GMAX AS-05's
I have run a set on the 240 wagon. 195/60R15 On 15” steel rims. Excellent all around tire. Wet traction is superb.
 
Better? The whole point of snow tires is to be able to stop. And, no, CC won’t perform as snow tire in slick conditions.

Not my experience at all with CC2's. They are almost as good as Xice 3 dedicated winter tire in all conditions. First snow of every winter, I take the vehicle up to 60KPH and hammer the brakes to get a reminder of stopping distance. I have Xice 3 on the Escape, and didn't notice much difference. Granted the Highlander is AWD but that doesn't do anything for stopping.

The tire is freakishly good in snow, ice and wet. I don't know how Michelin pulled this off.

As my previous post indicated, I have driven on nothing but dedicated winter tires (Xice or Blizzak only) for over 25 years. I was fully expecting to have to put winter tires on the Highlander, I was very doubtful of the CC2's winter performance claims. Not once this past winter did I wish I had dedicated winter tires.
 
Better? The whole point of snow tires is to be able to stop. And, no, CC won’t perform as snow tire in slick conditions.
WITH AWD THEY DID PERFORM BETTER! OBJECTIVELY PERFORMED BETTER BECAUSE ONE VEHICLE MADE IT EASILY AND ONE MADE IT WITH A WHOLE LOT OF WHEEL SPIN. THAT IS MY EXPERIENCE SO I SHARED IT! CC AWD PERFORMED BETTER THAN BLIZZAKS WITH FWD. DON'T TELL ME THEY DIDN'T PERFORM BETTER BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T HERE.
 
WITH AWD THEY DID PERFORM BETTER! OBJECTIVELY PERFORMED BETTER BECAUSE ONE VEHICLE MADE IT EASILY AND ONE MADE IT WITH A WHOLE LOT OF WHEEL SPIN. THAT IS MY EXPERIENCE SO I SHARED IT! CC AWD PERFORMED BETTER THAN BLIZZAKS WITH FWD. DON'T TELL ME THEY DIDN'T PERFORM BETTER BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T HERE.
AWD brakes and keeps you on the road?
Idk how many times need to be said that people don’t die bcs. they can’t move forward fast enough, but bcs. they can’t brake or stay on the road.

CC is good tire in snow. It is not as good as dedicated snow tire, regardless what you trying to convince yourself.
 
Not my experience at all with CC2's. They are almost as good as Xice 3 dedicated winter tire in all conditions. First snow of every winter, I take the vehicle up to 60KPH and hammer the brakes to get a reminder of stopping distance. I have Xice 3 on the Escape, and didn't notice much difference. Granted the Highlander is AWD but that doesn't do anything for stopping.

The tire is freakishly good in snow, ice and wet. I don't know how Michelin pulled this off.

As my previous post indicated, I have driven on nothing but dedicated winter tires (Xice or Blizzak only) for over 25 years. I was fully expecting to have to put winter tires on the Highlander, I was very doubtful of the CC2's winter performance claims. Not once this past winter did I wish I had dedicated winter tires.
They emphasized winter performance. As with any compromise you giving up something. The question is whether average driver reach that point where you need dry performance or snow/ice at certain limits. Many people use them here hoping to avoid snow tire/wheel combo and it might work for some, but you won’t find some love for all weather tires in mountains.
 
AWD brakes and keeps you on the road?
Idk how many times need to be said that people don’t die bcs. they can’t move forward fast enough, but bcs. they can’t brake or stay on the road.

CC is good tire in snow. It is not as good as dedicated snow tire, regardless what you trying to convince yourself.
I gave a specific example about GOING UP MY DRIVEWAY in snow...and then I said AWD+CC was better than FWD+Blizzak at going up my driveway in snow. What the hell does braking performance have to do with going up a hill?

Do you just want to argue? Is that the point? I will repeat my ONE and ONLY point which I find to be absolutely true based on actually driving these two vehicles up my snow-covered drivway - AWD+CC was better than FWD+Blizzak going up my snow-covered driveway.
 
I gave a specific example about GOING UP MY DRIVEWAY in snow...and then I said AWD+CC was better than FWD+Blizzak at going up my driveway in snow. What the hell does braking performance have to do with going up a hill?

Do you just want to argue? Is that the point? I will repeat my ONE and ONLY point which I find to be absolutely true based on actually driving these two vehicles up my snow-covered drivway - AWD+CC was better than FWD+Blizzak going up my snow-covered driveway.
The reason I mentioned is that slap all season tire on AWD and it will go uphill good, many will do better than FWD with snows.
Just saying that that doesn’t mean tire is better for snow conditions. FWD and uphill are generally crappy combination.
And no I don’t want to argue, but I don’t want someone reading this and getting impression that CC is as good as snow tire in snow. Many want it to be bcs. financial reasons, but it is not. It is compromise.
 
The reason I mentioned is that slap all season tire on AWD and it will go uphill good, many will do better than FWD with snows.
Just saying that that doesn’t mean tire is better for snow conditions. FWD and uphill are generally crappy combination.
And no I don’t want to argue, but I don’t want someone reading this and getting impression that CC is as good as snow tire in snow. Many want it to be bcs. financial reasons, but it is not. It is compromise.
I'm not saying CCs and better than Blizzaks under ANY other conditions other than comparing AWD to FWD on my snow-covered driveway.

So if someone has an AWD vehicle, and they are on the fence between CCs that they can use year around +/- the need for Blizzaks in the winter, the EXACT scenario I was considering when I bought the CCs, and only as a point of comparison to a FWD car with snow tires, in my experience, CCs+AWD is better than FWD+Blizzaks.

So, I'll repeat for the last time, in my experience, CC+AWD IS BETTER than Blizzaks+FWD in going up my driveway in the snow (and really better in the snow overall with negligible differences in stopping or steering).
 
The reason I mentioned is that slap all season tire on AWD and it will go uphill good, many will do better than FWD with snows.
Just saying that that doesn’t mean tire is better for snow conditions. FWD and uphill are generally crappy combination.
And no I don’t want to argue, but I don’t want someone reading this and getting impression that CC is as good as snow tire in snow. Many want it to be bcs. financial reasons, but it is not. It is compromise.

Have you driven on the CC2 tire in the snow?
 
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