SHOULD UK drivers change to more suitable tyres in the winter months? It’s a question that’s raised every year, as the nights draw in and frost and snow threaten our day-to-day commutes.
While we might be reaching for our thicker jumpers and sturdier footwear, do our cars need a bit of extra attention too? After all, we wouldn’t step outside onto a frosty pavement in our smooth-bottomed house slippers, would we?
But many drivers will happily drive in icy conditions with factory-fit summer tyres on their vehicle. When questioned, they will give a variety of reasons as to why this is perfectly acceptable – my favourite being “I don’t need winter tyres ‘cos I know how to drive”. Well, you may know how to drive but that doesn’t give you power over the laws of physics.
Slip-sliding cautiously up a hill at 3 mph isn’t really driving; it’s simply trusting to luck that your clutch doesn’t give out before you reach the summit. Or, as most often happens, you get so far and then lose momentum, coming to a wheel-spinning halt. Also, it infuriates the drivers stuck behind you who ARE on the correct tyres.
I’ve seen many a 4×4 in this situation and all the driving skill in the world won’t overcome the problem if the tyre can’t grip the road surface. It doesn’t have to be deep snow either. The slightest dusting of frozen water can create havoc on untreated UK roads.
And there are a lot of untreated roads. Usually all the roads that lead from where you live to the nearest main road will be untreated. In the UK we tend to delude ourselves into thinking the gritters will sort the problem for us and once we’re on the main road, all will be fine and dandy. But you’ve got to get there first, and that’s where a lot of people come unstuck – literally. Moving off your driveway can be impossible for many.
Also, the main roads may not be clear for a variety of reasons. The gritter may not be able to get down the road due to double-parking. Or maybe most of the grit has been dispersed during the day and an overnight rain has frozen up the surface.
Of course, the best and safest solution is not to drive at all – but that isn’t practical for many. Neither is having to find space to store an extra set of wheels and tyres. There’s also the expense of having to buy a second set of wheels or pay to have your tyres changed twice a year.
But there is a solution to the problem: Consider buying a set of all-season tyres. As the name suggests, these tyres are good all year round, providing good grip even when the temperature drops below 7-degrees celsius – the point at which most summer tyres will be compromised for grip due to the stiffer compounds found in their make-up.
All-season tyres are made with a rubber compound that remains more flexible at lower temperatures. This allows them to maintain better grip on cold roads, while their tread-pattern features more sipes (small slits) and grooves than summer tyres. These extra features help to bite into snow and ice, providing better traction and reducing the risk of slipping. This can make a big difference in your ability to accelerate, brake, and steer safely.
With this in mind, I decided to go the all-season route for 2024-2025 with a set of Michelin CrossClimate 2 tyres for my Mazda MX-5 20th Anniversary Edition.
I usually run a set of Avon ZV7 summer tyres form April to October and then change to a set of Nokian WD4 winter tyres for the colder months. This has meant I am able to use the little Mazda all year round – even when I was living in the Derbyshire Peak District which saw me driving in snow and frost over the Pennine hills to Sheffield on my daily commute. I never had a problem with traction, even in the rear-wheel drive MX-5.
After moving to Scotland, and with storage space being more of a problem than before, I decided to look for an all-season tyre that wouldn’t compromise the outstanding driving characteristics of the Mazda roadster. It needed to grip well in all weathers and conditions as well as not being too noisy on longer journeys. Crucially, I wanted the tyre to have the 3 Peaks Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) marking which means it is certified by the EU for winter driving. Oh, and it needed to have a decent lifespan too – one of the advantages of owning 2 sets of tyres was that each set lasted twice as long. I didn’t want the all-seasons to need replacing every year, as that could prove costly.
The Michelins appeared to fit the bill and so I ordered a set of 205/50/R16 CrossClimate 2s for fitting last September and I’ve been running them since with no issues.
The biggest surprise has been that I haven’t noticed any compromise in handling. The little MX-5 is just as lithe and “pointy” on the Michelins as she was on the summer Avon tyres. The levels of grip in hard cornering is excellent and there is no evidence of wheel-spin when setting off particularly quickly – something that occurred regularly with the previous Nokian winter tyres.
I had expected to feel some “floatiness” on the softer-compound CrossClimates, but there has been none. Steering is as sharp as ever and there has been zero fun removed from driving the MX-5. All good.
As the days became colder I found myself looking forward to the first fall of snow so I could see just how good the Michelin CrossClimate 2s were in more challenging conditions. However, although the Highlands saw plenty of snow, lower down in Fife, saw very little.
In freezing conditions the car still handled very well. Of course, I wouldn’t be pushing quite as hard in icy conditions but I found I could drive the car easily in a comfort zone that didn’t have me tip-toeing around the rural roads of Fife and Glenrothes. The car didn’t once get out of shape and I remained impressed with the Michelins.
Wet, muddy roads is the biggest danger in the area in which I live. It is surrounded by arable farming with Tractors driving in and out of fields, inevitably leading to some very muddy – and potentially slippery – sections of road. And we have had a LOT of rain, which, due to climate change, is only going to get even more frequent.
In the worst, rain-soaked sections, there has been plenty of standing water for the MX-5 to wade through and I’ve found the car hasn’t had any problems. Maybe if the puddles had been more than 18 inches deep, I could’ve had a problem in the low-slung Mazda, but I found she handled everything without complaint.
Braking and accelerating, as well as cornering didn’t appear to be compromised in the wet. Again, I was more cautious than I would’ve been in dryer conditions, but no more than I was on the summer tyres. The Michelins really were proving to be all-weather, as well as all-season.
When we finally did get some snow, I took the car out for a hill drive which convinced me I had bought the right tyres. The Michelin CrossClimate 2s were superb in the snow. The rear end of the Mazda could get a little squirrily if too much revs were applied when setting off on the snow; but driven sensibly, the car behaved impeccably and had no problem climbing steepish gradients or swooping around bends.
I can’t ever see myself going back to different sets of wheels and tyres for summer and winter. The Michelin CrossClimate 2s make life so much easier. They were a little noiser than the summer tyres when first fitted but I’ve either got used to them or they have quietened down once run-in. Either way, despite the aggressive tread-pattern, noise is not a problem.
The Michelins are a little pricier than most competitiors – currently at £155 a corner (fully fitted) at BlackCircles or a mere £119 each from MyTyres – but you’ll need to pay extra for fitting (£15 a tyre).
However, you do get what you pay for and going from my own experience I would say they are worth the extra outlay. After all, you won’t need to be buying a second set of wheels – or tyres – to have the safest driving experience for you and your family, all-year round.
It will be interesting to see how well they last over the coming months – although on-line comments seem to suggest that they last very well indeed and out-last all competitors.
I’d assumed there would be some compromise fitting all-season tyres to a sporty MX-5 – a car famous for it’s sharp handling – but I have yet to see or feel any compromise with the Michelin CrossClimate 2s. And now I have the space in my garage for another tool rack; which is definitely a bonus.
