Tires are what make your car rides enjoyable. With a good set of tires, even the longest trips would seem a breeze. But to enjoy that feeling, you need to have quality tires.
A tire company that I can fully trust with quality is Michelin. They are the 2nd biggest manufacturers in the world for tires. And for decades they have built up their reputation, providing us with solid and reliable products for cars.
Today, I’m here to share with you what I found from the comparison of Michelin Defender X Michelin X Tour: 2 of Michelin’s popular releases. If you wanna know what I found, please bear with me and hop down a bit…
Table of Contents
Michelin X Tour vs Michelin Defender
Good tires do make a difference when you’re out on the road. Trust me, I’ve experienced it when I rode on another vehicle that had better tires than mine and that feeling blew me away.
And you can also feel that with one of Michelin’s tires, but which one do you pick between Michelin Defender and Michelin X Tour? Don’t worry, I’ll help you out.
Before I go to a full in-depth discussion, let’s have a look at the table below:
Michelin Defender VS Michelin X Tour: Head to Head Comparison
| Factors | Michelin Defender | Michelin X Tour |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle Compatible | Family Crossover, Light Truck | Coupes, Minivans, Mid-size Sedans |
| Dry Condition Performance | Excellent | Outstanding |
| Wet Traction | Quite Impressive | Provide enough support |
| Traction in Snow | Provide required grip | Not good enough |
| Noise During Ride | The noise level is quite low | Very little amount of noise |
| Treadlife | Not very long-lasting | Extremely Durable |
| Comfort level | Enjoyable | Pleasant |
| Handling | Decent | Impressive |
| Tread life | 112k km | 130k km |
This was just a brief look into what these products are about. And below, I will explain in detail talking about how they fare about each aspect:
Traction Level in Different Surface
Your tire will react differently on different roads. But how they react is important to know. If you want to know the traction level of Michelin Defender VS Michelin X Tour then there are 3 types of condition parameters you can check:
Dry Road Traction
You will get a good impression from the braking distance of the Michelin X Tour. It’s noticeable because the braking distance is short. The tread of this tire will give you enough confidence during your family tour.
Michelin Defender tires also provide an outstanding comfortable short brake distance. It does the job very well on the dry road.
Wet Surface Traction
Michelin X Tour can create an adequate amount of traction on a wet road due to the modern design of deep tread and the sipes. While the level of traction on wet highways is more than average, it is not ultra level. However, It saves your car from hydroplaning.
When you put Michelin Defender in the same situation, it also has lateral grooves and sipes which let the water pass out easily saving your car from any risky situation like hydroplaning.
Snow Road Traction
You should not expect much traction from a Michelin X Tour on a snowy road. On the other hand, Michelin Defender reduces the probability of risk in snowy conditions.
Handling
When it comes to the handling, both Michelin Defender and the Michelin X work great.
Michelin Defender has a MaxTouch build that gives it an amazing cornering ability during the ride. But, Michelin X Tour will keep you safe while you’re approaching a corner at high speed.
Noise Level and Comfort
Due to the well-built tire, the Michelin X Tour will allow you to enjoy a smooth and quiet ride. It can cut road noise to a great extent. The asymmetric tread design plays a big role in cutting out the noise.
Michelin Defender can keep road noise at a low level. But it lagged behind the Michelin X Tour. Its comfort control does add more stability so you get an adequate amount of comfort.
Fuel Consumption
Between the two, Michelin Defender trumps Michelin X Tour in this parameter. Though the X Tour can reduce fuel consumption because of its built-in materials.
But the Michelin Defender is on another level. It has the IntelliSipe design that also comes with Green X tech. Both this combination of features makes the tire helpful to consume less fuel during the ride.
Tread Life Duration
When you try to compare Michelin Defender and Michelin X Tour for their tread life, the X Tour will come out on top.
Because they give a 130k km warranty for Michelin X Tour while 112k km for Michelin Defender.
Pros and Cons of Michelin Defender
Pros:
- Ultimate all-season tire
- Steering is decent
- Less fuel consumption due to the new tech
- Adequate traction on snow
Cons:
- Tread life is not much long
- Noise reduction level should be more
Pros and Cons of Michelin X Tour
Pros:
- Provide outstanding handling support
- Reduce the chance of hydroplaning
- Exceptional quiet and comfy ride
- The durability of tread is superb
- Short brake distance makes the ride safer
Cons:
- Traction on icy and snowy roads is not good
Michelin Defender VS Michelin X Tour: Which one is better?
After looking at all the specifications and features of both, you can see each have their pros and cons.
Both of them have a good amount of traction. But the Michelin X tour falls a bit short on snowy weather conditions. The braking distance of both tires is up to the mark. Tread life is far better in the X tour compared to the Michelin Defender.
Reduction of hydroplaning of both tires is adequate but Michelin Defender is ahead on the race due to the treads and sipes design on it.
If you are looking for an all-season tire that would allow you to enjoy a pleasant ride every time then I would say you should go for Michelin Defender.
Whatever you choose, I hope you enjoy riding with it!
Related Guide:
Sumitomo HTR A/S P02 Vs Michelin Defender T+H
All Terrain Tires Vs. Highway Tires