Tire: Defender
Category: Standard Touring All-Season
UTQG (treadwear): 820 A B
The Michelin Defender is another workhorse in the stable of tires from Michelin. It reminds me of the Michelin Primacy MXV4, but may actually be better at what it does..which is being an all around tire, decent in light snow and rain, and will last a very long time. Don't expect standout traction from a tire in this category, but it's definitely a good option for family hauler type vehicles and especially if you are looking for a smooth ride. These tires also meet the 'Green-X' low rolling resistance classification, meaning they will provide better fuel economy versus other tires in the category. This is a relatively high tech tire and it features Michelin's own IntelliSipe Technology. This technology is what makes the tread rigid and give it a long life.
As I mentioned, this tire is a very good all arounder. For the performance category, I definitely put it in the top 3. Michelin has done a great job at making a tire that continues to provide traction over a very long life period. You'll likely get somewhere around 90,000 miles out of a set. Naturally you should expect that your traction will start to suffer towards the end of the tire's life, but the Defender seems to do a little bit better in this category versus other tires. You'll likely have to pay up for this tire, but it's easy to get your money out of them just because of the long life.
