Bridgestone Alenza AS Ultra vs Michelin Defender 2 : All season tires have always been the go to tires for the American market and this segment has been well established across the years. We have written quite extensively about Michelin’s CrossClimate 2 as the gold standard for all season tires with an incredible all round balance portfolio.
This time around we picked up another all season challenger in the form of Bridgestone Alenza AS Ultra and Michelin Defender 2 which are two premium tire models that were launched in the market in the last 2 years. The Bridgestone Alenza AS Ultra is marketed as a tire that provides a quiet and comfortable ride with superior handling performance and fuel efficiency. The Michelin Defender 2, on the other hand, is marketed as a tire that offers a longer tread life and improved fuel efficiency, as well as excellent all-season grip and handling performance.
Both models are designed for SUVs and light trucks and are known for their quality, reliability, and superior performance. Let’s put them head to head and see who comes out on top !
Table of Contents
Results
Ideally you would like to have a 1 v 1 test results to show its clear performance difference. However as there are no direct testing results available, we have to rely on the Tire Rack’s surveyed report of these 2 tires. Do note that the Tire Rack uses a maximum rating of 10 which means that a rating of 10/10 is the best possible achievement.
The graph above shows the comparison between Bridgestone Alenza AS Ultra vs Michelin Defender 2 based on the relevant performance category.
Certification: 3 peak mountain
- Alenza AS Ultra: No
- Defender 2: No
Both tires are classified in the grand touring all season segment and comes without the elusive 3 peak mountain logo which qualifies a tire legally as a winter tire. All tires which have this certification are required to pass a snow traction threshold as defined by the regulation. Based on this, you can expect both Alenza AS Ultra & Defender 2 will not perform better than its 3 peak mountain certified counterparts.
Wet
The friction of coefficient of the tire/road dramatically decreases in wet roads compared to dry roads. Hence it is more likely to get into a road accident during wet conditions rather than on a sunny day. It was so important that the EU label has wet braking as one of its three criteria. Both tires perform equally well as they both managed a 9/10 rating in wet performance criteria.
Wet :
- Alenza AS Ultra: 9/10
- Defender 2: 9/10
Dry
As for dry, safety is usually not an issue as the braking distance is much longer than wet. However this is the default daily usage and the tires have to perform at a very consistent level. This is where we saw a tiny edge in Defender 2 as it managed a slightly higher rating of 9.5/10 compared to the 9.1/10 of Alenza AS Ultra. Nonetheless both tires performed at a high level with a rating above 9.
Dry :
- Alenza AS Ultra : 9.1/10
- Defender 2 : 9.5/10
Winter/Snow
As previously discussed, the snow performances of both tires should be a level lower than 3 peak mountain certified all season tires. Both tires are really close as Defender 2 slightly edges Alenza AS Ultra by 0.2 points. In comparison with 3 peak mountain certified tires which usually score above 9 points, these tires are a level worse.
Winter/Snow :
- Alenza AS Ultra : 8.1/10
- Defender 2 : 8.3/10
Comfort
In normal conditions, the softer your compound the better your NVH performance is. Defender 2 has the edge here by being more comfortable with a rating of 9.1/10 compared to the 8.5/10 of Alenza AS Ultra.
Ride Comfort :
- Alenza AS Ultra : 8.5/10
- Defender 2 : 9.1/10
Treadwear
- Alenza AS Ultra : 8.4/10
- Defender 2 : 9.1/10
When it comes to mileage, Defender 2 reigns supreme with a 9.1 rating compared to the 8.4 rating of Alenza AS Ultra. This is a true sentiment to Michelin Defender’s legacy as its predecessor had actual tested results of 90,000 miles which is one of the highest in this segment. We are expecting Defender 2 to either match this mileage value or outperform it.
UTQG rating
We have previously shown that UTQG tread wear rating can be a good indication of your expected mileage. Below are the UTQG values of both of the tirelines.
| Brand | Tireline | Size | Tread Wear | Traction | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgestone | Alenza AS Ultra | All | 800 | A | A |
| Michelin | Defender 2 | All | 840 | B | B |
The mileage warranty for both Alenza AS Ultra & Defender 2 is at 80,000 miles. However, looking at the UTQG tread wear values, Defender 2 seems to have the upper edge of 40 points comapred to Alenza AS Ultra.
Price
Being the undisputed technology leader, we would expect Michelin to command the highest priced tire in the market. This was not to our expectation as both tires are roughly priced the same with Defender 2 being 1 dollar cheaper than Alenza AS Ultra.
Tire size: 225/65R17
Alenza AS Ultra : $196
Defender 2 : $197
Difference: ~ the same.
Summary
Based on the comparison, Defender 2 out ranked Alenza AS Ultra in dry, winter/snow, comfort & treadwear. They are however equal when it comes to wet & price. In our opinion, Michelin’s Defender 2 is clearly the best tire in this match up !