Michelin Premier A/S or Defender: Which is the better tire?

[dlee1001]

I've had my Sonic for a little over 10 months (5912 miles) with the stock Hankooks, which have already worn half of its tread. Not sure if it's because of the road conditions I drive in or the tires themselves, but I'm looking to replace them with Michelins sometime this year. I have the 16" wheels, so they'll be 205/55 tires.

I've narrowed down my choices to the Premier A/S or the Defender. The problem now is that I can't decide on which one! I'm looking for all-around good traction (no matter the road conditions; I live in MD, which gets all four seasons), good fuel economy, and good tread life in a tire. (Although I'm willing to bet that either of these Michelin tires would outperform the OEM Hankook tires in all these aspects!) Road noise and comfort are also important to me, but not as important as traction, fuel economy, and tread life.

If you have Michelin tires on your Sonic, which one do you have? Premier or Defender? How have your dry/wet/snow/ice traction and fuel economy changed since replacing your stock tires to your Michelins? I feel like I can get better fuel economy if I have better tires than the OEMs. My conservative driving yields a fuel economy ranging anywhere from 26-31 MPG (~80% city, ~20% highway; using manual division). I've already read the reviews on Tire Rack, but I'd like some insight on how either of these tires perform with the Sonic specifically.

I've also posted a poll to this thread.

Thank you all!

 

[LorbeerTLC]

Michelin Premier A/S

I believe the Premier is going to eventually replace the Defender.
The main selling point that sold me was, "Safe when New, Safe when Worn."

 

[2014 Blue RS]

I think I'm going with these: Goodyear Eagle Sports.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHPAS

"superior" rankings for cornering stability, dry traction, steering response, ride quality, noise and treadwear

 

[RMinNJ]

Yeah... I was looking at tires on Tirerack. Despite ok treadwear on my rotated 15 inch Hankooks there is no way I'll keep them on the car. I've found TireRack reviews quite honest and accurate...if the tires suck people will write in and say so.

The Goodyear Eagle Sport seems to have good ratings.

The General Tires also have a decent rating and are really cheap if your looking to spend a small amount. The Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology has a good rating also with 700 treadwear and had precise handling in their car tests.


With a V speed rating and good steering response on the survey I'd go with the Goodyears. Of course if you have the money for the Michelin Premiers..

 

[LorbeerTLC]

Main selling point for Michelin Premier A/S

I've had my Sonic for a little over 10 months (5912 miles) with the stock Hankooks, which have already worn half of its tread. Not sure if it's because of the road conditions I drive in or the tires themselves, but I'm looking to replace them with Michelins sometime this year. I have the 16" wheels, so they'll be 205/55 tires.

I've narrowed down my choices to the Premier A/S or the Defender. The problem now is that I can't decide on which one! I'm looking for all-around good traction (no matter the road conditions; I live in MD, which gets all four seasons), good fuel economy, and good tread life in a tire. (Although I'm willing to bet that either of these Michelin tires would outperform the OEM Hankook tires in all these aspects!) Road noise and comfort are also important to me, but not as important as traction, fuel economy, and tread life.

If you have Michelin tires on your Sonic, which one do you have? Premier or Defender? How have your dry/wet/snow/ice traction and fuel economy changed since replacing your stock tires to your Michelins? I feel like I can get better fuel economy if I have better tires than the OEMs. My conservative driving yields a fuel economy ranging anywhere from 26-31 MPG (~80% city, ~20% highway; using manual division). I've already read the reviews on Tire Rack, but I'd like some insight on how either of these tires perform with the Sonic specifically.

I've also posted a poll to this thread.

Thank you all!

dlee1001,

I've switched to the Michelin Premier A/S for my Sonic in April 2014 and I have to say it has been the best Luxury Performance Touring All Season tire I've ever had, period!

Michelin makes a "V" rated speed tire for your 16" wheel:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Premier+A%2FS&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=055VR6PREAS&tab=Sizes

Consumer Reports did a test on the claim Michelin made on the Premier: "Safe when New, Safe when Worn" statement and found that it indeed seemed to hold true. The tire virtually held its performance ratings when worn to that of a new tire, while the competition failed.

But I want to be transparent and tell you my family has had a history of preferring Michelin tires since 1970 so I may be a bit bias. The Premier A/S also suits my driving needs as I live in the Pacific Northwest where we stay "wet" a little more than other states. So I wanted a "V" rated tire with excellent performance in wet weather. The Premier A/S fits that need perfectly! In-so-far as answering your questions on how the tire performs in dry/wet/snow/ice, I can say that the BEST performance against its competition is when it's wet! Dry/Snow/Ice are excellent when comparing against other All Season Tires. Summer Only tires will do better in dry conditions as well as Winter Tires will do better in snow and ice conditions.

If you've narrowed it down to a Michelin tire and are trying to sort between the Defender and the Premier, call Michelin at:

1-866-866-6605
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (M-F)
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Sat.)
(Eastern Time)

And have a Michelin representative discuss your driving habits and conditions to help narrow your choice to the tire that fits your needs. That's what I did and I haven't regretted it since!

Good Luck!

 

[dlee1001]

dlee1001,

I've switched to the Michelin Premier A/S for my Sonic in April 2014 and I have to say it has been the best Luxury Performance Touring All Season tire I've ever had, period!

Michelin makes a "V" rated speed tire for your 16" wheel:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Premier+A%2FS&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=055VR6PREAS&tab=Sizes

Consumer Reports did a test on the claim Michelin made on the Premier: "Safe when New, Safe when Worn" statement and found that it indeed seemed to hold true. The tire virtually held its performance ratings when worn to that of a new tire, while the competition failed.

But I want to be transparent and tell you my family has had a history of preferring Michelin tires since 1970 so I may be a bit bias. The Premier A/S also suits my driving needs as I live in the Pacific Northwest where we stay "wet" a little more than other states. So I wanted a "V" rated tire with excellent performance in wet weather. The Premier A/S fits that need perfectly!

If you've narrowed it down to a Michelin tire and are trying to sort between the Defender and the Premier, call Michelin at:

1-866-866-6605
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (M-F)
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Sat.)
(Eastern Time)

And have a Michelin representative discuss your driving habits and conditions to help narrow your choice to the tire that fits your needs. That's what I did and I haven't regretted it since!

Good Luck!

Wow, thank you for the detailed information! This has certainly helped me decide between the two, in favor of the Premier A/S. However, I still have two questions/concerns:

One thing that's a little off-putting is the reduced tread depth. Most new tires start out at 10/32", but this tire starts out with only 8.5/32". I'm curious about why they did that and how that'll affect tread life.

Also, after changing to your Premier A/S, how has your fuel economy been affected? Did you experience better fuel economy or worse? By approximately how much?

I'm sorry for asking so many questions. But this is for research purposes, to help me decide before making a $500 purchase; I want to make sure I made the right choice. This is Michelin we're talking about, and their tires don't come cheap.

 

[LorbeerTLC]

Wow, thank you for the detailed information! This has certainly helped me decide between the two, in favor of the Premier A/S. However, I still have two questions/concerns:

One thing that's a little off-putting is the reduced tread depth. Most new tires start out at 10/32", but this tire starts out with only 8.5/32". I'm curious about why they did that and how that'll affect tread life.

Also, after changing to your Premier A/S, how has your fuel economy been affected? Did you experience better fuel economy or worse? By approximately how much?

I'm sorry for asking so many questions. But this is for research purposes, to help me decide before making a $500 purchase. I want to make sure I made the right choice. This is Michelin we're talking about, and their tires don't come cheap.

Michelin made the Premier A/S tire by using a different compound from their other tires called, "EverGrip":
Premier A/S tires | Michelin US

The tire comes with a 60,000 mile limited warranty and a limited 6 year warranty.
My fuel mileage hasn't changed a bit either. If you can wait, Michelin just had a $70 rebate that unfortunately just ended. However, I understand from Costco (who sells Michelin tires), they usually go on sale again ever-other-month.

Of course the best thing that I would recommend is to call that number I gave you in the prior post and talk to a Michelin representative to answer your questions on the wear of the tire. :banana:

 

[dlee1001]

Michelin made the Premier A/S tire by using a different compound from their other tires called, "EverGrip":
Premier A/S tires | Michelin US

The tire comes with a 60,000 mile limited warranty and a limited 6 year warranty.
My fuel mileage hasn't changed a bit either. If you can wait, Michelin just had a $70 rebate that unfortunately just ended. However, I understand from Costco (who sells Michelin tires), they usually go on sale again ever-other-month.

Of course the best thing that I would recommend is to call that number I gave you in the prior post and talk to a Michelin representative to answer your questions on the wear of the tire. :banana:

I did read somewhere that they had to reduce the tread depth because of the new design (expanding rain grooves and emerging grooves in the shoulders).

Also, Michelin's website said that the Defender "can save dollars of fuel." The Premier A/S does not have this description, which is a little odd. Tire Rack says that the Premier is an LRR (low rolling resistance) tire through Michelin Total Performance, but I haven't been able to verify that anywhere else.