I have had the same great experience with the GY Max Life on our RX350 and Comfort Drive on our ES300h. They met or exceeded the performance of the OEM Michelin Latitude and Energy tires.

 

Michelin Magic:

I had written about my serious dissatisfaction from the Goodyear Assurance ComfortDrive the Acura dealership put on during the reconditioning process of my RX350 F-Sport. I have driven it with these tires for 3 weeks. They got slightly better when I raised the pressure to 39 - 40 PSI. However, they were extremely soft under roll. Almost made of jello. However, the middle portion of the tire was very thick so they actually were a bit harsh at 39 PSI, but caused bodyroll for days. Steering response was very slugglish even in SPORT+ mode with a tendency to roll on the sidewall first before responding even with minor inputs for transition.

Enter Michelin CrossClimate 2. What an amazing tire. Just wow! I am a huge Michelin fan and have bought Michelins in all of my previous 4 - 5 year purchase. Replaced my OEM RCF PSS tires with PS4S XL tires and they are incredible step up from the OEM PSS tires. Had Michelin Latitude UHP on my RX450h to replace the Michelin Premier LTX it had on previous to that. So, naturally I was yearning for Michelins on new 2017 RX350 F-Sport AWD (my 2014 RX450h AWD was damaged in hailstorm and written off by the insurance company).

I took a loss on Goodyear Assurance ComfortDrive where I sold them for just $200 (they are worth $1300 brand new and the still had 11/32nd tread on them). However, it is so worth it. The steering response is much faster in SPORT+, the sidewalls are curved that makes the steering feel a lot sharper. They are very firm and authoritative in terms of following direction from the steering and have none of the wandering tendencies the Goodyears. What is funny is, the Michelin CrossClimate 2 despite having a much firmer ride and a much faster steering response and far less bodyroll, has a valvety ride compared to the Goodyears I had on. Michelin does magic, I believe and they again blew my mind.

All in all, I have had only 70 - 80 KM so far on the Michelin CrossClimate 2, but what an amazing tire. My RX350 F-Sport came with the F-Sport suspension so I really wanted to see it be effective the way it was intended to be. Before, they were covered in a layer of cushion due to the ComfortDrives, but now I can fully appreciate how well Lexus tuned the F-Sport suspension on my RX350 F-Sport. Highly recommended.

Will write an update once I have driven it in snow.

 

Sure Michelin is better than Bridgestone, not only more road comfort, but thread longevity is better. The single pre-owned 2011 RX 450h AWD came with new Pirelli Scorpion, the one someone in this thread place an ad about. The road noise of this my new Pirelli is pronounced especially when backing up from the garage and driving at low speed hearing the front tires from my Driver side. I wish I could have replaced them with the new Michelin Defender I placed on my trade-in before I got RX 450h from my local BMW dealer.

 

Michelin is better than most brands, however it may depend upon what model tire. Several of us at work are driving various Camry models with Defender tires. None of us got more than 50,000 miles out of a set, and they advertised 90,000 miles. One girl went to two tire shops in SEMAss, and neither would sell her Defender’s for her Camry. Third shop (Good year place) did. With proper inflation, and regular rotations, I squeezed 50,000 miles out of a set. Replaced with Continental pro contact, and never looked back. Great wet and dry traction, and super quiet. I don’t really drive that much, work is 50 miles r/t, and I typically drive a toy on weekends. Wife has OEM Michelins on her ‘22 RX450h, with 25,000 on the clock.

 

I have gotten 60k+ out of a couple of cars with Defenders. Very happy.

 

And you should, good for you. My only thought, I was the one with a hybrid, so perhaps the additional curb weight would have some effect? I’ll weigh in on the Conti’s, once I drive her in snow.