[westslope]

Tire shopping. The Michelin CrossClimate+ all season/4-season/M&S tires are top rated in both the Consumer Reports and Tirerack.

Anybody own them? Impressions? Do they live up to these top ratings? They are super expensive so I thought I would ask.

Consumer Reports sits behind a paywall. Here are the top 4 performers in the Performance all season category:

For reference, the Michelin Defender T+H in the All season category scores 67 points.

 

[XxHaimBondxX]

There are so many tire choices, I don't many people here have experience with those exact tires. However, I'm sure tirerack does.

I personally would go with Continentals in your chart. Seem like a decent tire, and saving a couple hundred bucks doesn't hurt.

 

[westslope]

Thanks XxHaimBondxX

For better or worse, the tires should be installed and balanced this coming Friday afternoon. Give me a couple months and I will make a report. The real test will come when I run the Fraser Canyon at ridiculously high speeds that most sane people avoid.

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Of possible interest to western Canadian Soul owners:

I would have preferred to go with Kal Tire as it is located 15 minutes drive from where we live but was given an estimated 8 week wait for the tires to arrive.

Canadian Tire should have the tires in the shop by Thursday or Friday morning.

Both of these places have outlets all over British Columbia. Kal Tire has outlets in some awfully small towns such as Boston Bar.

 

[Greg_E]

Nothing beats real snow tires in the snow, track down an extra set of wheels and be done.

 

[westslope]

Nothing beats real snow tires in the snow, track down an extra set of wheels and be done.

If I wanted a "snow vehicle", I would have chosen something other than a Soul. The clearance is too low.

We have a second vehicle. It is a 2006 4X4 truck-frame based Nissan Xterra SUV. That is what we use for heavy snow and ice conditions. [EDITED]

Been driving on snow, ice, and black ice for a very long time. Used to amuse myself flying up the Coquihalla highway in the month of May in a FWD 1987 Nissan Sentra while scores of vehicles including many trucks were stuck in the snow on the side of the road. Would have used 4-season tires back in those days too.

The Coquihalla highway connects Hope, BC and Kamloops, BC. It goes up and over the Coastal mountains and is subject to all kinds of weather similar to higher mountain highways in the western USA.

If we lived in Eastern Canada or in one of the numerous snow belts in BC, we would definitely get winter tires. We do not.

The biggest local threat is black ice. The biggest help with black ice is knowing some rudimentary physics and having a keen understanding of where the sun shines and does not shine. (No joke intended.) That is easy if you are a backcountry person. Perhaps not so easy for some city folks though easy enough to learn if you pay attention.

Otherwise, sheets of rain and water-covered highways are what get my attention. As a group, I believe the Michelin brand of tires tends to do as good or a better job of coping with water than competitor tires.

 

[Onelowvoltage]

I live in the twin cities of Minnesota and I just installed the CrossClimate on my 2016+. For the most part, I haven't wished for all wheel drive too much. I try to keep as good of all season as I can and get by ok. With the advent of traction control, it's been much better. I haven't had to take the shovel out of the trunk in years. My fingers are crossed that these new CrossClimate will make it even better this year.
Ps. If the soul came in an AWD option, I probably would've jumped on it.

jJim

 

[westslope]

The CrossClimates were finally installed on the Kia last Tuesday. They look great. Might be a tad noisier than the original tires. Not an issue. Seem to grip the road well. I will know more once I have driven various conditions.

We had a bit of run around with Canadian Tire. The tires did not arrive in time for the first appointment which was cancelled. Then the next appointment was a 'vapour appointment'. I drove an hour plus in to discover that they had nothing scheduled. The manager made it right by discounting the tires.

The tire pressure ranged from 31.5 to 35 pounds, warm, within an hour of the tires being installed and balanced. I added air immediately and then added more once home. All 4 should be just shy of 35 lb. when warm.

The moral of this story is to check the air pressure within a few minutes or hours of leaving the shop. I will retorque the wheels with a torque wrench later today.

 

[SmoovC]

Thank you for the update, westslope. I am about to pull the trigger on these tires; any input and thoughts on them is appreciated. ? ?

 

[westslope]

You are welcome SmoovC. If you live in a low-elevation, wet part of Washington State, then these tires are for you.

If you happened to live in a higher elevation, snowy part of WA state, then they may be inadequate for winter use. They are likely just fine for a higher elevation, semi-arid parts of the state that receive little snow.

 

[SmoovC]

Thank you westslope. I live in exactly the conditions you described: low-elevation & wet, but we do get occasional snow. The Michelin Pilot Super Sport ZP RFTs on my '14 Cadillac CTS V-Sport are a no-go in these conditions (and anything below 35 degrees, really); the wife's OEM Continental ContiProContacts do pretty well on her car.

The Soul is my commuter and our "go-to" car when we are together; I am converting to OEM 2020 18" Turbo wheels. The wife's tires have about 10k miles left in them, and thinking about the CrossClimate+ for her as well.

 

[westslope]

From what I interpret from the reviews in Consumer Reports and Tire Rack, light snow falls should not be a problem for the CrossClimates. They are probably good to a few inches of light, freshly fallen snow.

I would hesitate to drive in a few inches of heavy, wet snow.

For snow that melts on contact with an ice-free road, these tires should excel. I mention this because these conditions will occur on occasion in coastal SW British Columbia and likely occur in coastal WA state too.

In my unqualified best guess, the CrossClimates will work great. When the odd, freak heavy snow storm hits, you probably do not want to be on the road not because you will necessarily lose control but because some other driver could lose control and hit you.

 

[SmoovC]

All good points! Once again, I really appreciate the input and feedback. Thank you.

 

[westslope]

Drove down and then back up the Fraser Canyon in good conditions yesterday. The CrossClimates are definitely a little noisier than the bald OE tires. But still acceptable. Did not prevent me from listening to CBC news or enjoying Steven Wilson's To the bone album.

I could feel the tires gripping the road. I did that canyon at speeds that most of you would not approve of (with some reason).

Saw a sub-compact car that had gone off the road and ended up jammed in the narrow ditch between the highway shoulder and the sheer, vertical rock wall.

 

[SmoovC]

Appreciate the update! My set is on order; hopefully installed by next weekend. ?

 

[RUBY]

I have the Nokian WRG4 All-Weathers purchased from Kal Tire.
So far, so good. Good braking performance on all surfaces.
Good in snow covered roads. No spare rims and tires taking up room in my garage.
When it comes time to put new tires on our 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan,
WRG4's for sure.

 

[jim1824]

Replacing the tires on my 2015 Soul!. I have to admit that the Michelin CrossClimate+ was high on my list, but I just couldn't believe that the unusual tread pattern would be suitable for daily driving on anything but light snow. It seems that their exaggerated cross-thread pattern would be noisy and less fuel efficient. Not to mention their cost. Tire manufacturers are improving their products or quickly coming out with new products. In my opinion, if you need a tire for light snow, then you should use snow tires. My choice is Pirelli Cintuato P7 All Season Plus II.

 

[SailDesign]

Replacing the tires on my 2015 Soul!. I have to admit that the Michelin CrossClimate+ was high on my list, but I just couldn't believe that the unusual tread pattern would be suitable for daily driving on anything but light snow. It seems that their exaggerated cross-thread pattern would be noisy and less fuel efficient. Not to mention their cost. Tire manufacturers are improving their products or quickly coming out with new products. In my opinion, if you need a tire for light snow, then you should use snow tires. My choice is Pirelli Cintuato P7 All Season Plus II.

Any time you're in RI, let me know and I'll take you for a drive on some Cross-Climates. I love them after a whole year of every sort of weather possible.

 

[westslope]

..... In my opinion, if you need a tire for light snow, then you should use snow tires. ......

In my experience, 4 season M&S Michelin tires work great in light snow. The CrossClimate+ is no exception. It helps if one knows how to drive and snow and ice. Snow-covered empty shopping mall parking lots in the dead of night are a great place to learn.

Snow tires are definitely recommended for heavy snow. Then the Kia Soul is not the vehicle I would get if we lived in a heavy snow area. A FWD or AWD compact car with higher clearance is what I would get in a heavy snow area.

 

[jim1824]

Any time you're in RI, let me know and I'll take you for a drive on some Cross-Climates. I love them after a whole year of every sort of weather possible.

Sounds good, thanks.

 

[SmoovC]

I can vouch for the 4 season quality and handling of the CC+ tires. I have had them on the car for over 2 years and 17,000 miles; and while they are a tad bit noisier than the stock Nexens, they perform extremely well on dry, wet and light snow. Pricey? Maybe... but the only thing keeping you & your loved ones from impeding doom is four small contact patches on the pavement. What's that worth?