Which Michelin Cross Climate tyres?

[Roland_F]

I'm thinking of replacing the nearly worn out original tyres with Michelin Cross Climates, and notice these are available in two fits (for XC60 18" wheels): 236 60 R18 107W XL or 103V AO. Both will meet the load and speed rating requirements of my XC60, and I've checked with Michelin customer care that despite the AO badging (indicating designed for Audi) they can be fitted to an XC60.

The XL rating is supposed not to give a harsher ride, but I'm a bit doubtful about this because on our other car (where Cross Climates replaced Continental winter tyres) the ride definitely became harsher. What does the collective wisdom of this forum suggest, please?

NB, we prefer comfort over pin-sharp handling.

[NigelDay]

I'd go for the XL. This is the 'rating' for my Nokian Weatherproofs. I believe XL is more common for SUVs.

[SuffolkBoy]

I have the XL rating on my Nokian winter tyres and don't notice any significant difference to the summer tyres without the XL rating.

[andrewpain]

Originally Posted by Roland_F

I'm thinking of replacing the nearly worn out original tyres with Michelin Cross Climates, and notice these are available in two fits (for XC60 18" wheels): 236 60 R18 107W XL or 103V AO. Both will meet the load and speed rating requirements of my XC60, and I've checked with Michelin customer care that despite the AO badging (indicating designed for Audi) they can be fitted to an XC60.

The XL rating is supposed not to give a harsher ride, but I'm a bit doubtful about this because on our other car (where Cross Climates replaced Continental winter tyres) the ride definitely became harsher. What does the collective wisdom of this forum suggest, please?

NB, we prefer comfort over pin-sharp handling.

I fitted cross climates to my wife's saab 9-5, and thought the ride was actually improved over the admittedly-cheap Matadors it had. Seemed similar to the Pirelli P6000 I used to have on it when it was a company car. I like them....although you can hear them "squishing" in the wet as the water gets squeezed out of the way. Which is better than it staying there, I suppose!

[jjb]

I'm thinking of replacing mine as well, but wanted to find out if all four tyres need to be replaced at the same time, or can it be done in pairs?

[Arianne]

This is an excellent website that I found discussing the pros and cons of reinforced or Xtra Load (XL) tyres over standard loads....

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reinf...es-hessamaldin

As for changing just two tyres at a time rather than all four....

.... I would never mix summer, winter or all-seasons up on the same vehicle. That is a recipe for disaster. Some folk think that running winters on the drive wheels while continuing to use summers on the other axle is okay - it is if you like the prospect of seeing your rear end overtake your bonnet on a corner (assuming front wheel drive).

If all four tyres are of the same general type (i.e. all of them are summers, all-seasons or winters) then it's okay to replace them in pairs across the same axle. The current fashion is for garages to tell you that your best tyres should be on the rear of the car. Depends who you talk to though as it used to be the opposite way around a few years ago!

Hope this helps?

Thought I should stray out of the XC60 to Porsche Macan or BMW X3 thread once in a while!

Best wishes,

Arianne

[RichardXC60]

Originally Posted by Roland_F

I'm thinking of replacing the nearly worn out original tyres with Michelin Cross Climates, and notice these are available in two fits (for XC60 18" wheels): 236 60 R18 107W XL or 103V AO. Both will meet the load and speed rating requirements of my XC60, and I've checked with Michelin customer care that despite the AO badging (indicating designed for Audi) they can be fitted to an XC60.

The XL rating is supposed not to give a harsher ride, but I'm a bit doubtful about this because on our other car (where Cross Climates replaced Continental winter tyres) the ride definitely became harsher. What does the collective wisdom of this forum suggest, please?

NB, we prefer comfort over pin-sharp handling.

Go for the XL's you won't be disappointed. My R-Design XC60 a Polestar D4 has a transformed ride on them, the brittle edge to the round town ride having completely gone.

There is a trade off, there is a discernable reduction in sharpness to the handling, specifically the initial response to steering movement. I am guessing that will be familiar to those using winter tyres as like those, these have a softer rubber compound.

Haven't had any cold weather since fitting them but these tyres are superb in the wet.

The main advantage so far though is greatly reduced road noise on a car that was already remarkably quiet on that score.

Only done 600 miles so far on them so early days as far as verifying any fuel consumption improvement, but one can feel a reduction in rolling resistance when lifting off the throttle.

[RichardXC60]

Originally Posted by jjb

I'm thinking of replacing mine as well, but wanted to find out if all four tyres need to be replaced at the same time, or can it be done in pairs?

Can successfully be done in pairs (on the same axle of course!) we've an Audi A6 (front wheel drive) on the fleet that has done about 20,000 miles in a year with Cross Climates only on the front. As a bonus they are wearing far better than any other tyres on this 125,000 mile car.

[RichardXC60]

Originally Posted by Arianne

This is an excellent website that I found discussing the pros and cons of reinforced or Xtra Load (XL) tyres over standard loads....

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reinf...es-hessamaldin

As for changing just two tyres at a time rather than all four....

.... I would never mix summer, winter or all-seasons up on the same vehicle. That is a recipe for disaster. Some folk think that running winters on the drive wheels while continuing to use summers on the other axle is okay - it is if you like the prospect of seeing your rear end overtake your bonnet on a corner (assuming front wheel drive).

If all four tyres are of the same general type (i.e. all of them are summers, all-seasons or winters) then it's okay to replace them in pairs across the same axle. The current fashion is for garages to tell you that your best tyres should be on the rear of the car. Depends who you talk to though as it used to be the opposite way around a few years ago!

Hope this helps?

Thought I should stray out of the XC60 to Porsche Macan or BMW X3 thread once in a while!

Best wishes,

Arianne

I agree with all of that..... only the Cross Climates are a snowflake rated summer tyre. I do have all four freshly fitted on mine, but have driven the A6 with them on the front and OE summer Conti's on the rear and even on wet, muddy country lanes there is no sign of any rear steer or otherwise unusual handling characteristics.

[Roland_F]

Originally Posted by Arianne

This is an excellent website that I found discussing the pros and cons of reinforced or Xtra Load (XL) tyres over standard loads....

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/reinf...es-hessamaldin

Hope this helps?

Thought I should stray out of the XC60 to Porsche Macan or BMW X3 thread once in a while!

Best wishes,

Arianne

Thanks, Arianne, that's very helpful. Apart from anything else, it indicates that there shouldn't be too radical a difference in ride comfort between XL and standard load tyres from the same manufacturer and tyre sub-brand.