Michelin CrossClimate 2: First Impressions

To many, the topic of tyres may seem a little dull, but here, at Free Car Mag, we find them fascinating, reckons Kiran Parmar who wrote the story and took the pictures.

After all, the tyres are the only components of your car that make contact with the road. You can have the most expensive car in the world sitting on your driveway, but if you fit the wrong tyres (or if your tyres are in poor condition), the entire feel of the car will be ruined. The same is true if you own an average family hatchback, saloon or SUV. In fact you can greatly improve the ride, handling, fuel efficiency and usability of an average car depending on the type of tyres you install on the vehicle.

We were delighted to receive a set of Michelin’s award winning all-season tyres to test on our newest addition to the Free Car Mag garage – our Audi A6 2.8 FSI Quattro. The Tyre is called the ‘CrossClimate 2’ and has been specifically engineered for the European market.

In the UK, winter tyres are not very popular; not because they are not good, but because no one really wants the hassle and expense of swapping their tyres from summer tyres to winter tyres in autumn and back again come spring, not to mention the inconveniences of storing the set of tyres they are not currently using.

To solve this problem, Michelin have worked tirelessly (no pun intended) to create the best of both worlds; a tyre that behaves like a summer tyre in the spring and summer and a winter tyre for autumn and winter.

On the winter side; this is certainly no light weight version of a winter tyre; quite the opposite in fact; the Crossclimate 2 has been certified with the ‘3 Peak Mountain with Snow Flake’ (3PMSF) logo which means it has the traction and braking benefits on snow and in low temperatures just like a winter tyre. It can even be used in countries where winter tyres are mandatory during the winter months.

On the ‘summer’ side of the Crossclimate 2; the tyre has the braking performance on dry and wet roads as well as energy efficiency and longevity that you would expect from a summer tyre. Michelin are so pleased with their product, they say that the Crossclimate 2 does not need to sacrifice performance since their tyre caters for the majority of weather conditions motorists are likely to encounter in the course of the year. With extensive testing Michelin have proven that with only 2 mm of tread depth left, the Crossclimate 2 still behaves like a new tyre regardless of any weather condition faced.

The Crossclimate 2 is available in 105 different sizes and can fit wheels ranging from 15 inches to 20 inches. If you drive an SUV, 4×4, hybrid, electric, small van or a utility vehicle then Michelin also has you covered. Visit the Michelin website to see if the Crossclimate 2 is available for your vehicle: https://www.michelin.co.uk/auto/tyres/michelin-crossclimate-2

Our test will be based on the following dimensions for our Audi:

255/40/R19/100 Y

Nominal Section Width of the tyre: 255

Aspect Ratio (This represents the height of the tyre sidewall as the percentage of the nominal section width): 40

Wheel diameter in inches: 19

Load Index Rating: 100

Speed Symbol (Indicates the maximum speed of the tyre at full load): Y (186mph)

We will be bringing you seasonal updates on how the Crossclimate 2’s are performing on the Audi. So stay tuned to Free Car Mag.

In the meantime, let’s look at some of the technologies that have gone into the Crossclimate 2.

• Michelin ‘EverWinterGrip’ – Superior grip when worn for additional safety on snowy roads thanks to grooves that are regenerated as the tyre wears. • Stepped sipes capture snow in their cavities to enhance traction. • A higher proportion of silica and carbon black enables the compound to cover diverse weather conditions (dry, rain, snow, etc.).

• Michelin ‘EverGrip’ – • The widening section of the V-shaped grooves clears water efficiently from the centre of the tread to the shoulders, both when new and worn. • Bevelled tread block edges optimise the tyre’s contact patch for more efficient braking on dry roads. Take a look at our slow motion demonstration video below. After spraying the tyre with a heavy mist of water, we used an electric air blower (to simulate the momentum of the tyre rolling) to illustrate how the Crossclimate 2 rapidly evacuates water from its grooves and sipes.

• Michelin ‘EverTread’ – contribute to MICHELIN CrossClimate 2’s longevity by optimising the form of its contact patch to achieve a more effective distribution of the forces it is subjected to when accelerating, braking and cornering.