Fresh tires!

[MacNoob]

Michelin Primacy MXV4, 235/55-17 99H. Was in Costco and there was a stack right beside the door. $70 off on a set. This size is discontinued but these were recent production (late 2013). Nobody waiting and they could do the install right away. I knew my current tires (Original Pirellis from 2007!) were done after this summer anyways. I had MXV4s on my Saab and liked them. So I had the set installed for about $730 total.

They are much quieter and smoother riding than the almost worn out OEM tires. But steering effort is lighter and requires more steering angle for the same amount of turn (they behaved the same way on my Saab). This is our long-trip and going-shopping car so no problem with these characteristics. Wife is happy.

[JRL]

Sorry, but a big UGH! [mad2]

[Swagger XC]

I had a new set on my canopus when I bought them but within 8k they are nearly completely bald! Quiet though...

[MacNoob]

Tire life was good on my Saab - no visible wear in about 20k of use. Surprisingly good in the snow too, even though we use dedicated snow tires.

Main objectives were quiet and soft ride - these tires make our cratered roads bearable. And we can travel on gravel roads now (everything except main highways here are gravel) without feeling like we are abusing the car.

If I had U.S. quality roads to drive on, my choice would have been different, as the steering response does suffer with these tires.

We can always select the 4C "Sport" setting - it's usable now without shaking bits off the interior of the car.

[nickbw]

Many dreadful reports on UK tyre sites about these. Very poor wear, poor handling, poor wet performance and they are meant to be a premium tyre. I am going with Nokian Line for summer and Nokian WR D3 for winter.

[kutcht1]

I have the MXV4 Plus on my BMW 530i and have they have been great, but that is a rear drive vehicle.
TomK

[MacNoob]

Very interesting to see the wide range of opinions on these. The Saab 9-5 guys just love them - that's the world I came from. Michelin's naming convention is pretty obscure. They make Energy MXV4 (different tire) Primacys with all kinds of submodels (different tires) and I understand that OEM Primacy MXV4s as fitted to some Honda Accords etc. are yet another tire. So I have to wonder if some of the on line reviews are of different tires with similar names.

I know anyone whose primary focus is handling will not like these all. The XC corners like a boat to start with, now it's more like a barge.

My wife raves about them every day though, how much better the car is to drive. Smoother quieter ride, better straight line stability, and lower steering effort compared to the 7-year-old OEM Pirellis.

Even though my winter experience with these was good on the Saab (I actually used these for (Canadian) winters on my 9-5 Aero, Bridgestone RE960 for the summer) we have a second set of winter wheels for the XC and I'll be buying new snows in the fall.

[JRL]

They are quiet
They have good mileage
They give a very smooth ride

That's all I can say good about them
If you want a decent handling car, these are not the tires for you plus they're expensive to have that Michelin name on the sidewalls.
It's a tire for the masses