Once upon a time there was snow: test the Michelin CrossClimate 2 all-season tyres

The last time I told you about the CrossClimate 2 was during the test of the SUV range in a track context, the Porsche Experience Center. A few months later, Michelin has come full circle by presenting the rest of the CrossClimate 2 range, a range that consists of all-season tires for all models (the 21 and 22″ for SUVs will also make their debut) embracing the dedicated products to the camper and those for commercial vehicles.

The success of the CrossClimate family does not only concern sales (almost 5 million tires in Italy in 8 years), but also the results of independent tests such as those of TUV SUD and Dektra. CrossClimate 2 was first in 6 out of 9 tests and on the podium in the other three. CrossClimate 2 SUV, launched in 2022, is the best in tests in all conditions (dry braking, wet braking, snow braking, etc.).

All CrossClimate 2 products are certified M+S and 3PMSF and are therefore in order in situations where winter equipment is required (winter tires or chains on board). In addition, 10 car manufacturers (and more than 20 models) offer the CrossClimate as original equipment.

Waiting to finish the summer and move on to the all-season that I will experiment until the end of its life, the approach to Valtellina with the Pilot Sport on the Model 3 has allowed me to have fresh in mind the performance of this summer tire in view of the comparison with the CrossClimate 2 “four seasons”, tested on a Mercedes CLA 180d

AND the day was the perfect one to reiterate a concept, the variability of the weather increasingly unpredictable. In Lombardy, the first two months of the year saw a significant temperature range, with peaks of 15/16° and lows around zero, including various visits to negative territory depending on the day.

The same route from Monza to Mantello (SO), the starting point for the test, saw very high temperatures at altitude compared to the past, and the confirmation also comes from the 3Bmeteo data collected by Michelin which demonstrate two things. The first is the trend: periods with temperatures below 5°, frosts and snow are all guidelines decreasing. The second is variability: it is true that it freezes less, it is true that it snows less, but unpredictability has increased and, in any case, the number of days in which the average temperature is below 5°C remains high (the dark blue bars ).

Michelin had, now several years ago, the intuition of create an all-season on a summer basis, therefore starting from a model made to travel many kilometers and run less wear than the pure winter. This allowed for reaching to one side excellent mileage and on the other hand to evolve it to be able to calmly face not only the wet, but also sudden snowfall. Tests (even independent ones) have proved it.

Today, other manufacturers have also arrived to make an all-season tire on a summer basis, but Michelin is in an advantageous position for historicity. Furthermore, looking at the graph of winter events it is clear that have the mileage of a summer and the performance of a winter it is the best way to respond to the situation in some areas of Italy, it being understood that the advice for those who often travel in conditions of freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall is to alternate a summer tire with a “pure” winter one.

Even ignoring the graphs, which are average and do not take into account particular micro-climate conditions, the example of my journey from Monza to Mantello is the proof: departure with the intense cold, morning in the mountains with frost-covered hairpin bends, then the central part of the day which even at high altitude showed temperatures outside the winter range. Over the course of 24 hours, on a day in February, here’s what happened:

• minimum temperature of 0°
• maximum temperature of 16/17°
• dry asphalt for most of the route
• hairpin bends in the shade with frost
• snow in the final part of the journey

So let’s try to imagine such a scenario with summer, winter and all-season tyres

• With summers (and chains on board): I coped well with the hot part of the journey but I had to use more caution in the stretches with some frost and the braking distances would have increased considerably on the snow.
• With the winters: I would have had no problems in terms of regulations, but the part of the journey (and of the day) with temperatures close to 16°/17° would have considerably increased wear. Since I don’t have any particular winter hobbies and my travels take me all over Italy, they wouldn’t have been the ideal solution because I would have suffered from more tread wear.
• With the all-seasons: in this case they would have been the perfect solution thanks to better grip in shady hairpin bends, good traction on snow (without facing extreme scenarios) and the right compromise for such a high variability of temperatures and asphalt conditions. Being the CrossClimate 2 on a summer basis, they would not have suffered from the greater wear than the winter ones.

Unfortunately, there is still too little awareness of tyres, to the point that it is not important for manufacturers to wage war over which model/brand is the best, rather it becomes fundamental make understand to those who drive every day basic concepts such as the fact that pressure is a structural element, and not a quirk. And like the fact that the pressure must be adjusted according to the manufacturer’s indications, and not according to the advice of the “cousin“.

2024, then, will bring a new homologation, with the introduction of the wet test even with worn tyres close to the legal limit (1.6 mm) scraping the tread to 2mm. This was (also) a war by Michelin which has always supported the need to guarantee customers constant performance throughout the life of the tyre, even at different levels of tread wear. Now the standard is ready to force all manufacturers to review the performance of their tyres, but progress in terms of safety is useless if it is not associated with it the civic sense of the users.

When choosing tires, use must therefore be taken into consideration and maintenance must be carried out because, a concept well known to motorcyclists and ignored by most motorists, those few centimeters are the only one damned touch point with asphalt.

Therefore, regardless of the test, which even in real conditions reflected what I had seen on the track and in the low grip circuit of the PEC (with the addition of good feedback regarding the silence of these CrossClimate 2), the most important message what I want to pass is to evaluate the choice well according to your needs and investing in your own safety and that of others. Travel with wrong, worn and improperly maintained tyres (wrong pressure, too worn out) it means shooting a rifle in a square hoping not to hit anyone. Sooner or later you will do some damage…