SUVs, trucks, and crossover vehicles haven’t always been thrilling or luxurious to drive on paved surfaces. In fact, dry tarmac isn’t what those types of cars were made for. They were meant for rugged off-road conditions. However, that’s their rarest use case for most of today’s SUVs, trucks, and crossover vehicles.
SUVs and trucks have roomy interiors and a captivating look, and that’s what most new SUV/crossover buyers are after, rather than their off-road capabilities. Considering this buying trend, more and more truck manufacturers have transitioned their vehicles towards better on-road performance.
While off-road vehicles would typically be high off the ground for road clearance, the modern ones are lower for better on-road traction. With these changes in dynamics, the tire market has molded itself accordingly — and the Michelin Premier LTX shows it!
Michelin markets this tire as the all-in-one solution for your SUV/crossover on-road driving needs. In this review, we’ll see how the tire holds up on not just dry tarmac but also wet, off-road, and snowy conditions. Let’s get started.
Overview — Michelin Premier LTX
According to the French tire maker, the primary focus of their engineering team with the Premier LTX was to ensure complete safety across all seasons while also providing lasting tread life and luxurious comfort on-road.
According to Michelin, the tire is ‘safe when new’ and ‘safe when worn’ due to their EverGrip™ technology for sharp braking on wet pavement. As a result, Premier LTX manages to stop in shorter distances than the strongest competitors in its category.
The company also backs the tire up with promises of excellent traction in all weather conditions, reduced rolling resistance (better fuel average), and precise handling. Their Total Performance package is at the back of all these achievements, involving several technologies to optimize performance in various areas.
It all starts with their choice of the tread compound. Michelin went with a sunflower oiled silica-based rubber compound. It boosts wet traction and helps maintain performance in low temperatures.
The tread pattern is symmetrical with linked shoulder blocks, continuous center ribs, and bumps on the outside for better traction. In theory, you can expect some decent handling, steering response, and stability from these tires.
Another advantage of Michelin’s EverGrip technology is having unique emerging grooves across the tire’s shoulders that enhance the tire’s traction on slippery roads. It even helps make the ride safer on light snow, even with a fair amount of wear and tear on the tread.
As the tire wears down, the cleverly designed ‘emerging’ grooves expand and provide more aggressive biting edges to handle snowy roads and wet conditions even thousands of miles down the line.
Warranty and Maintenance Indicators
Michelin hasn’t abandoned the TWI’s on any of its tires, not even the latest ones. Well, that just shows how good these indicators are at letting you know when you need to change your tires up.
However, once you get the Michelin Premier LTX tires installed in your vehicles, you won’t have to worry about tread wear or replacement for quite a while. The tire comes with an unbelievable 60,000-mile treadwear warranty!
However, when it’s been long enough, you’ll need these TWI’s to know how worn your tires are. The minimum tread depth is 1.6 milimeters (2/32-inch) on the Michelin Premier LTX. When the indicators sit flush with the tread surface, that’s when you know you’ve hit that number and need to change the tire immediately.
When you reach that level of treadwear, you won’t get any usable traction on wet and snowy surfaces. At that point, your car will be a significant safety threat for not just yourself but also the cars around you.
On-Road Performance
On paved surfaces, the tire has a rightful spot in the top-tier leagues of all-season touring tires from prominent brands. It sticks well on dry tarmac and maintains a promising level of stability even at higher speeds.
You don’t typically experience such stability with heavier vehicles, so the Premier LTX’s performance surprised us pleasantly. Overall, there’s
Wet Performance
In wet performance, Michelin has set new standards for what the SUV/crossover genre of tires are capable of. There aren’t many premium competitors that perform better than the Premier LTX tire in rainy conditions.
You’ll be able to take the sharpest corners without significantly slowing down as the handling feels secure and responsive. Should you need to come to an emergency stop, the tire won’t disappoint. It shows competitive stopping distances on slippery wet roads.
The design of the tread grooves works marvelously at handling hydroplaning issues. You won’t have any trouble driving through deep puddles at high speeds.
In short, it’s one of the best tires you can have in slippery conditions.
Snow Performance
Speaking of slippery roads, let’s move on to the tire’s performance on snow.
For heavy winters, there’s no way around getting some winter tires. Sure, all-season tires can pull through in some deep-snow scenarios, but you’ll always run the risk of getting stranded in the middle of nowhere.
It’s the same with the Michelin Premier LTX. The tire is more than capable of handling mild to medium winter roads, but you’d start losing traction in harsher conditions.
If you don’t get anything more than light snow in the winters where you live, the Premier LTX will serve you well in all areas of driving experience.
Off-Road Capabilities
Off-road patches aren’t the comfort zone of the Premier LTX — but all of its buyers know that. The tire’s tread compound isn’t sturdy enough to handle rough hardpacked surfaces, though the tread pattern will still provide you some traction to work with.
But due to the high risks of accelerated tread wear, you should never take these tires for even light off-roading.
Ride Quality
In a word, we’d describe Michelin Premier LTX’s ride quality as luxurious! It’s quiet, smooth, and highly comfortable even on imperfect roads and high speeds.
Conclusion
As long as you’re not on a tight budget, we’d openly recommend getting the Michelin Premier LTX for all your touring needs. It’ll have you covered in all seasons and weather conditions, with a small asterisc of super harsh winter conditions.