Read through our comprehensive review to learn how we came to our final recommendation. We divided this article into three distinct categories to create a complete picture of these tires:

• Overview
• Performance Breakdown
• Recommendations & Conclusions

If you need to decide whether to put the Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires on your vehicle, read on and find out whether these tires are worth a look.

Michelin CrossClimate 2 Overview

Michelin’s CrossClimate 2 tires are part of the Grand Touring All-Season class. These tires are designed to handle dry weather, wet roads, and even light snow without breaking a sweat. This means that All-Season tires rarely need to come off your vehicle, even in the winter.

These tires are ideal for drivers who live in regions that experience all four seasons but don’t get conditions worthy of dedicated snow tires. They are available for most vehicle types, including sedans, station wagons, and SUVs.

The Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires are adaptable tires that boast a Three-Peaks Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) rating, illustrating their strong winter performance. They can also handle most weather conditions while providing plenty of grip and traction, thanks to Michelin’s Thermal Adaptive tire technology.

With Michelin’s PIANO Noise Reduction technology, the CrossClimate 2 tires are also impressively quiet on the road, cutting down road noise for a pleasant driving experience. With MaxTouch Construction, these tires are also extremely durable, making them a cost-effective choice.

These tires are at the higher end of the Grand Touring All-Season class in terms of their price point. A set of four can be purchased for under $600, but cheaper tires in this class can’t match the performance of the CrossClimate 2.

The entire CrossClimate 2 lineup has a UTQG tread rating of 640 BA. Michelin also offers a 60,000-mile warranty for these tires, although this does lag behind the warranties of its main competitors.

Michelin CrossClimate 2 Performance Breakdown

After a quick overview of the tire, it’s time to take a deep dive into the performance of this tire in a range of important categories:

Performance

The Michelin CrossClimate 2 offers drivers some of the best overall performance from an All-Season tire, which works across a wide range of inclement weather conditions. While the main tire compound is similar to a snow tire, the tread itself is designed with summer driving conditions in mind.

The CrossClimate 2 also utilizes Michelin’s innovative Thermal Adaptive technology, allowing it to tailor its performance to different weather temperatures. Various specialized features on these tires focus on specific weather conditions for impressive all-around performance.

Wet

The majority of customer reviews for the Michelin CrossClimate 2 mentioned these tires’ impressive wet-weather performance. The V-shaped grooves of the tires can repel a good amount of standing water, which provides stable braking and excellent traction and grip in wet conditions.

This impressive wet weather performance is echoed in industry tests. Compared to some of its main competitors, CrossClimate 2 ekes out an overall performance advantage in the wet, as shown on this graph:

Source: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=279 

In conclusion, CrossClimate 2 is an excellent all-weather tire for handling heavy rain. The rubber compound used in the tire offers wet performance that has been proven to be better than most tires in its class.

Dry

For the majority of the time, an All-Season tire will be used in dry conditions. Despite its basic compound being similar to a snow tire, Michelin CrossClimate 2 has fantastic performance on dry pavement, illustrated by the dry weather testing graph below:

Source: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=279

According to customer reviews, this performance is noticeable in real-world applications as well. Michelin designed the CrossClimate 2’s tread blocks as a V-ramp system, which provides a large contact surface with the road for outstanding control and reliable traction in the dry.

Snow

CrossClimate 2 doesn’t offer the same specialized performance as a dedicated snow tire, so it won’t suit extreme winter climates. However, in light snow and mild winter conditions, this tire can hold its own – many tests have proved that the snow traction on CrossClimate 2 is better than on most all-season tires.

Thanks to its Thermal Adaptive tread compound and steps on the tire blocks tailored for snow, Michelin CrossClimate 2 has been awarded a Three-Peaks Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) rating. This illustrates that these tires have been extensively tested and approved for snowy conditions.

Braking Distance

The Michelin CrossClimate 2 really separates itself from its competitors when it comes to braking performance. According to tests, these tires perform noticeably better in most weather conditions than many other All-Season brands:

Source: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=279 

The secret to the adaptable braking performance is the V-ramp champers that form part of the tire blocks. When you depress the brake pedal and put more load on the tires, this innovative technology expands the tire’s contact area with the road, giving you better braking performance.

Handling

According to tests, the Michelin CrossClimate 2 offers decent handling performance. While these tires provide good handling in various conditions, they aren’t necessarily class-leading. In terms of cornering speeds, the CrossClimate 2 is on par with the majority of its competition:

Source: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=279 

This dependable performance can be explained by the inherent strength of the tire compound. Michelin designed the CrossClimate 2 to work with their MaxTouch technology, which maximizes the tire’s contact with the road surface at all times in various conditions.

Noise and Comfort

According to the manufacturer, the CrossClimate 2 is one of the quietest All-Season tires available in the Grand Touring class. The tire has been designed to minimize road noise; The directional tread pattern of these tires was developed using Michelin’s PIANO Noise Reduction Tuning. This reduces road and wind noise through the grooves of the tire. In addition to the reduced noise, the tread also offers very low rolling resistance.

The majority of customer reviews back this up, with many users citing the impressively quiet ride as one of the favorite things about the CrossClimate 2. Many users were also impressed with the comfort and smoothness of the ride.

Durability

Durability is a necessity for a successful All-Season tire, and the construction of the Michelin CrossClimate 2 certainly seems to meet this need. These tires are capable of handling a range of road and driving conditions, even mud and light snow, without breaking down.

This is mainly due to the strong internal design of these tires. The rubber is reinforced with two polyester-coated steel belts along with extra polyamide-based materials. That said, Michelin only provides a warranty of 60,000 miles for the CrossClimate 2, while other brands offer around 70,000-mile warranties for similar spec tires.

Price & Value

The Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires sit at the higher end of the Grand Touring All-Season class in terms of price. A set of four tires will cost just under $600, and the cheapest competitor that offers vaguely similar performance can cost around $485 for a set of four.

However, the excellent scores recorded by the CrossClimate 2 in various industry tests show that the extra cost is more than worth it. Cheaper alternatives simply don’t offer the same overall performance as the CrossClimate 2 range.

Competition

Here are the top five direct competitors to the Michelin CrossClimate 2 in the Grand Touring All-Season tire class:

• Vredestein Quatrac
• Michelin CrossClimate+
• Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady
• Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II
• Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack

Recommendations & Conclusions

Recommendations

According to some industry surveys, Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires achieve the highest aggregate scores in their Grand Touring All-Season class. While other competitors might achieve slightly higher scores in specific categories, none of them can beat the CrossClimate 2 for overall performance. CrossClimate 2 is rated the best in this category by Tire Rack’s metrics.

This means that even though they sit at the more expensive end of the spectrum for this tire class, Michelin’s CrossClimate 2 tires are exceptionally good value for money. Once installed on your vehicle, it’s very unlikely that you’ll have to change these tires during different seasons.

The vast majority of user reviews recommend this tire. Some reviewers did experience some loud road noise from the CrossClimate 2 tires, but this does depend on the exact vehicle and road conditions.

Conclusions

When we consider results from both industry tests and user reviews, this Michelin CrossClimate 2 review has found that these tires are recommended for the vast majority of drivers.

Very few other tires can beat the CrossClimate 2’s combination of excellent grip and traction in all seasons and road conditions. These tires use a snow tire-style construction as a foundation, with specific features tailored to summer and wet weather driving.

The Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires are recommended for drivers who live in areas that endure each of the four seasons, with light or moderate snow in winter. However, for drivers who live in areas that experience harsh winter conditions and deep snow, these tires will need to be replaced by specialized snow tires in the winter.

FAQ

Should I buy all-season tires or winter tires?

Winter tire is a tire specifically designed for winter conditions and offers superior grip on snow, ice, and cold surfaces. All-weather tires use a combination of technologies to ensure good performance in every season.

All-season tires are designed to provide good performance every season, including light snow. However, winter-specific tires will offer superior grip on these surfaces. Hence, if you drive a lot in icy conditions, it’s recommended to have a separate set of winter tires fitted.

Why does Michelin CrossClimate 2 cost more than other all-season tires?

Michelin uses advanced technologies to engineer tires that provide good performance in every season. This extra cost is more than worth it, as the CrossClimate 2 outperforms cheaper alternatives.

Do Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires make a lot of noise?

Noise levels will depend on the individual vehicle and road conditions. Some reviewers experienced loud noise from the CrossClimate 2 tires, but most did not notice this.

How long can I expect Michelin CrossClimate 2 to last?

Michelin provides a warranty of 60,000 miles for the CrossClimate 2.

What is the best use for Michelin CrossClimate 2?

Michelin CrossClimate 2 is designed for Grand Touring All-Season use. These tires offer good performance in light and moderate snow conditions and wet weather environments. If you live in a harsh winter climate and experience heavy snow, these tires will need to be replaced with dedicated winter tires during the cold months of the year.

Is all-season tire as good as summer tire?

All-season tire is a good choice for drivers who live in areas where the temperature and climate change frequently. Summer tires are designed to provide superior grip on dry and wet roads, shortening stopping distance. However, winter-specific tires provide better performance on ice and snow-covered surfaces.

What is an all-season tire?

All-season tire – or all-weather tire – is designed to be used in various weather conditions, including light snow. They are not as good at handling deep snow or ice as winter tires, but they will offer better performance than winter tires on dry surfaces. The best all-season tires are surprisingly good at handling snowy conditions, but they are not nearly as good on ice and snow as winter tires.

What are the benefits of Michelin CrossClimate 2?

Michelin’s engineers have created a tire that provides high levels of grip and traction in wet conditions, with a solid performance on dry roads. The Crossclimate offers good handling but won’t be as responsive as summer tires. However, these tires will provide more grip on snow than regular summer tires.

Do all-season tires work well in snow?

All-season tires are not as good as winter tires on snowy and icy roads, but they will offer better performance than summer tires on snowy surfaces.

Is Michelin the best tire brand?

Michelin is one of the best tire brands in the world. They have a long history of creating tires for high-performance vehicles, and Michelin tires are used by drivers all over the world. While Michelin is not the best for every type of tire, they offer an extensive range of tires to meet the needs of most drivers. Other popular tire brands include Bridgestone and Goodyear.

What are grand-touring tires?

Grand-touring tires are designed for drivers who want a sporty feel while still maintaining good performance in all weather conditions. These tires offer better handling and are more responsive than regular all-season tires.

Is Michelin CrossClimate 2 the best all-season tire on the market?

According to several tests and user reviews, Michelin CrossClimate 2 is one of the best all-weather tires on the market today. According to several user and professional reviews, these all-season tires offer good performance in light and moderate snow conditions and wet weather environments. The best all-season tires are surprisingly good at handling snowy conditions. If you live in a harsh winter climate and experience heavy snow, these tires will need to be replaced with dedicated winter tires during the cold months of the year. Michelin CrossClimate 2 is a good choice for drivers who live in areas where the temperature and climate change frequently.

How good is the tread life?

The tread life is relatively good, but Michelin offers a slightly lower tread wear warranty than for other of its tires: 60,000 miles. In addition, many other manufacturers provide a warranty of 70,000 miles, so in that sense, the tread life of CrossClimate 2 is not necessarily the best on the market. However, that’s understandable, as better braking and cornering grip on wet surfaces on CrossClimate 2 is caused by a softer tire compound, which leads to slightly shorter tread life. The minimum tread depth for CrossClimate 2 is 4/32″.