Michelin Primacy Tour A/S Reviews: 2024 Touring Tire Test

Grand-touring tires aim to balance excellent on-road comfort with good dry handling. Originating from the reputed Michelin, Primacy Tour A/S seems like a peak exemplary model of this tire sector with its refined 5-rib patterns, well-distributed central and zigzag sipes, and more updates compared to previous models.

Further review will disclose how this all-season tire performed when tested through varied summer and winter conditions; scroll for more!

Michelin Primacy Tour A/S Specifications & Features

Michelin Primacy Tour A/S promises maximum noise comfort, riding quality, and all-year traction for SUVs, crossovers, coupes, and family sedans.

• Its 5-rib, asymmetric tread pattern designs are tuned to offer quieter, more refined rides expected in luxury touring tires.
• Wide shoulder blocks slotted in the outboard boost lateral grip and dry handling.
• Sweeping grooves evacuate water to resist hydroplaning.
• Zigzag sipes in the inside shoulders, inboard ribs, and at the center offer more ice and snow traction.
• 2-ply polyester cords promote riding comfort, stabilized by double steel belts.
• Single polyamide reinforcements strengthened road manners and higher-speed capability.

Michelin Primacy Tour A/S Review & Performance Test Results

During our COR Wheels Tire Test, the 225/50R17 tire size version of Michelin Primacy Tour A/S was used on the 2022 Honda Accord in January (Winter evaluations) and for ten days in June-July (Summer).

1. Dry Performance: 9/10

Dry Traction: 9.2/10

Primacy Tour A/S left little room to complain regarding dry traction, easily grazing the Top 2 with confident yet flexible footings on the road after just a few initial bites. Our starter driving rate at 40 MPH carried the Honda in breezy, effortless strikes through most straight-line paths and soft winding curves in little drama, minus some brief drifting on drying gravel that was too distant to be considered a real intrusive drawback.

Accelerations carried out just as expected on regular streets and encountered no stutters moving onto smooth highways, surprisingly increasing its composure once our car settled into the main lanes. Overtaking other vehicles for early lane parting/lane merges was also quite a breeze thanks to the gentle but clean pulls toward entries – each predictable and easy to maneuver even when unexpected hiccups occurred at ill timing.

On another note, less well-paved backcountry roads with rugged surfaces still sent our car into extended coughs that carried on longer than expected; nothing you cannot control with tamer decelerations and on-time brakings, but still something to look out for.

Corner Stability: 9/10

Primacy Tour A/S lived up to the Michelin legacy with very reassuring cornering attempts. 

Wide-radius corners were a clear non-issue thanks to the stable five-rib patterns, but even small esses with consecutive zigzag hairpins turned out to be just as delightful. Our car fluctuated between speed extremes in effortless strikes despite the lack of excessive grinding, easing well into the corner liners for a smooth, swift exit towards the end at 45 to 50 MPH. 

At particularly trickier crooks where the path slopes further away from the inside, Primacy Tour A/S still showed a little difficulty groping for available grip. Seasoned drivers would likely find it to be not that much of a challenge, but if you are a beginner, remember to approach these off-camber bends more cautiously from a safe angle.

Steering Response: 9/10

As expected of a premium Michelin tire, steering response should be the last thing you must worry about. Punctual and aligned at all regular driving rates, the tire kept constant, stable communication with the road thanks to its well-placed sipes (hence the well-established contact points), always falling in instant steps once our steering inputs were issued. 

From basic two-hand control amidst moderate traffic to opposite lock steering in an attempt at oversteering recovery, Primacy Tour A/S adapted well to each veered cut without showing an ounce of muted feedback.

It is hard to pinpoint a significant downside worth mentioning – though, at times, we did wish the tire handled mid-turn line corrections with better subtlety to reduce the number of brief panic steering reactions during directional changes.

2. Wet Performance: 8.8/10

Wet Traction: 8.8/10

Wet surfaces with dripping water slightly beyond 3 inches could not rob Primacy Tour A/S of its usual confidence. While the steering did feel fainter at turns, our car still managed its footings well in most basic driving situations and took little time to recover from minor skittish stutters after veering around roadblocks. 

Even the cornering grip was surprisingly decent given the modest wet-focused features; unless you are a fresh beginner, its seconds-long hesitancy at early corner entries could not deter any average driver.

Yet, compared to its powerful sibling Michelin CrossClimate2, Primacy Tour did lack a few controlled footholds when stagnant water increased its volume from 5 inches and beyond. Our rides still stayed within safe territories, but the clear presence of side-to-side shakes and wavering ribs were harder to ignore the further we got away from the 50-MPH benchmark. 

Hydroplaning Resistance: 8.8/10

Very little hydroplaning will be spotted – deep and shallow water alike – guaranteed your speed changes do not cross 50 MPH. The sweeping shoulder grooves did quite a great job redirecting and dispersing water layers into thinner plates of harmless slippery droplets, resulting in few stutters around corners and almost non-existent bumps once we returned to straight-line maneuvers.

On another note, Primacy Tour was admittedly lacking in sharp, refined edges often seen in extremely premium tires. As a result, you may see its groove punches get weaker (and more hydroplaning issues to seep in) during sharp U-turns or tight switches between multiple entries. 

3. Winter/Snow Performance: 7.5/10

Light Snow Traction: 8.1/10

Airing down our tires to 25 PSI seemed to choke out better traction than expected on light snow of 4-5 inches, even without snow chains. 

The winter-concentrated zigzag sipes in both the inboard and center worked in great harmony with our circumferential grooves to spread out cold, hard snow more evenly under the tread, paving our car in quite aggressive cuts through dense packs with only occasional coughs. The fact that the sturdy compounds held their grounds quite well in cold temperatures also helped a little.

Nevertheless, highway travel or dynamic engagement proved to be beyond the scope of Primacy Tour’s operations. You might manage decent composure at 55 MPH with enough maneuvering skills – but any number beyond that was still too much no matter how experienced you are.

Deep Snow Traction: 7.4/10

Though the significant traction reduction compared to light snow was obvious, the great news is that Primacy Tour A/S was still controllable given tamed, cautious steering that did not spiral over 40 MPH. 

Even as the denser packs above 7 inches around tight corners caused frequent stutters at the flanks, they rarely posed real danger; you only need to choose a wider approach angle and keep the steering wheel consistent till the exits.

Ice Traction: 7.1/10

The sipes and grooves worked much better on snow than ice, hence the unsurprising panic reactions on moderate ice buildups. Any slightest signal of abrupt or spirited veering could send the car straight into an accident if you lack the required physique to back traction loss with strong grinding.

On a brighter note, the tire still managed to work its way into the upper half of our list thanks to relative confidence during low-key driving (20 to 25 MPH). And, guaranteed no complex esses or chicanes along the way, bringing 2 or 3 more passengers is actually quite a non-issue.

4. Comfort: 8.8/10

Ride Quality: 9/10

Primacy Tour was a star across well-paved and less-paved paths alike, buffering each thud on road cracks and imperfections to reduce the impact of each of our strikes into faint, distant jostles that eventually ceased into the background the longer we rode. The only exception is during heavy rains or strong snowy reasons – though that should be unsurprising. 

Noise Level: 8.7/10

Occasional screechings could still be spotted during tightly-placed apexes or sharp steering toward opposite directions. But such emergency moves are quite rare anyway – especially when you travel on predictable roads – so overall, Primacy Tour A/S still does a pretty good job in this regard.

5. Treadwear and Durability: 8.5/10

The tread coped great in summer temperatures and fared with impressive internal strength (for a grand touring tire) in colder weather. Very few signals of fatigue manifested during our ten-day test – quite consistent with customer feedback of 40,000 miles driving and the 55,000-mile warranty from the tire manufacturer.

Michelin Primacy Tour A/S Pros and Cons

Michelin Primacy Tour A/S Competitors & Alternatives

Michelin Primacy Tour A/S was pitched directly against Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack, Continental PureContact LS, and Vredestein Quatrac Pro during our test: 

• Michelin Primacy Tour A/S led the competition with exceptional riding comfort and good noise control. There was still room for improvements regarding snow traction and hydroplaning resistance.
• Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack delivered impressive light snow grip and responsive steering on-road. We loved to see bigger bumps in its traction on slippery roads, though.
• Continental PureContact LS was an all-rounder across snow, wet, and dry terrains alike. But noise control could have been better. 
• Vredestein Quatrac Pro performed much better on wet and snowy roads than its rivals but had to trade treadwear rates during the process. 

Conclusion

Through our Michelin Primacy Tour A/S tire review, we can conclude that it lands on a safe spot in the top ranks of the competition with excellent dry traction, good wet-road manners and riding comfort, and decent snow handlings for a grand touring tire. Except for heavy snow storms and thick ice conditions, it will be your trusted ally in any condition regardless of car makes and driving levels.