Michelin Cross Climate 2 vs Bridgestone Alenza AS Ultra: All season tires have always been the go to tires for the American market and this segment has been well established across the years. Michelin being the pioneer in this segment has been in the lead with its very well established Cross Climate 2. In such a competitive segment, the urge to overtake Michelin with a better all season product is ever present. For this duel, we would like to pair the newly launched (2021) Alenza AS Ultra from Bridgestone against Michelin’s Cross Climate 2. This is an all season product with a SUV focus size range. As both products are relatively new to the market, we will put them in a head to head duel to see who comes out on top !
Table of Contents
Results
Results below were taken from the Tire Rack’s “Testing Crossover/SUV and Grand Touring All-Season Tires 2021” test. A total of 3 tires were tested this time around. The graph below shows the comparison between Michelin Cross Climate 2 vs Bridgestone Alenza AS Ultra based on the relevant performance category. The Cross Climate 2 was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark. Note that for subjective evaluation, we equate 1 point as 5%. Hence for example if tire A is graded 7 while tire B is graded 6, A is better than B by 5%.
As both tires are categorized as all season tires, Tire Rack has included snow & ice in its testing portfolio. A detailed testing on snow including acceleration, braking & handling were evaluated. The tire size of interest is a 235/60R18 which is a common tire size for Honda CR-V & Volvo XC60. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information. The testing vehicle is a powerful 2019 Audi Q5 Premium 2.0T.
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. With regards to our comparison, Alenza AS Ultra was worse in wet braking compared to Cross Climate 2 with a 5.7 feet (1.74 m) deficit in braking distance.
While in wet handling, Alenza AS Ultra had a 0.24 seconds advantage in lap time against Cross Climate 2. This margin was relatively small which would not be significant for normal road users. For the subjective wet handling rating, Cross Climate 2 was rated better with a 7.5/10 rating compared to the 7.25/10 rating of Alenza AS Ultra. Overall, Cross Climate is a much better wet braking tire while the Alenza AS Ultra was just slightly faster around the wet tracks.
Alenza AS Ultra:
- -4.4% in wet braking
- -1.3% in wet handling (subj)
- +0.7% in wet handling (lap time)
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 witness a huge 11.5 feet (3.5m) braking distance advantage for Cross Climate 2. Due to its superior compound grip properties, Cross Climate 2 was better than Alenza AS Ultra in both wet & dry braking. This is where we applaud Michelin as they were able to manage the target conflict at a much higher level.
While the similar trend continued in subjective dry handling, Cross Climate 2 managed a 7.78/10 rating which was slightly ahead of the 7.59/10 obtained by Alenza AS Ultra. In regards to the lap times, Cross Climate 2 was 0.55 seconds faster per lap relative to Alenza AS Ultra. Overall, Cross Climate 2 showed excellent dry handling properties and outmaneuvered the Alenza AS Ultra very easily.
Alenza AS Ultra:
- -12.4% in dry braking
- -1% in dry handling (subj)
- -1.7% in dry handling (lap time)
Noise/Comfort/Ride Quality
Ride comfort, noise & comfort was tested and Alenza AS Ultra was lacking behind the Cross Climate 2 especially in noise & steering/road handling. The Cross Climate 2 came out slightly ahead at 7.77/10 rating compared to the 7.33/10 rating of Alenza AS Ultra.
Alenza AS Ultra:
- -2.2% in average of Noise, Comfort & Ride Quality.
Snow
As both tires have been rated as an all season tire, we were thrilled when tire rack included snow on its testing list. From initial checks, only the Cross Climate 2 has a 3 peak mountain label to legally certified the tire as a winter tire. Hence Cross Climate 2 will need to pass a certain threshold of snow traction level as determined by the legislation. From an expectation point of view, we would definitely expect the 3 peak mountain labeled Cross Climate 2 to be better in snow compared to the non-labeled Alenza AS Ultra.
As previously expected, the Cross Climate 2 dominated across all snow tests. It stopped 4.1 feet (1.25m) earlier than Alenza AS Ultra from a speed of 25 mph (40 km/h) to 0. It was also extremely good when it came to snow acceleration as it took 1.4 feet (0.43m) less distance to accelerate from 0 to 12 mph (20 km/h). While it was also quicker in lap time (2.8 seconds !) and also subjectively better in snow handling (+0.4 points). Overall, Cross Climate 2 is clearly the better snow tire.
Alenza AS Ultra:
- -7.2% in snow braking
- -8.9% in snow acceleration
- -2.1% in snow handling (subj)
- -4.3% in snow handling (lap time)
Ice
While snow was dominated by Cross Climate 2, the ice advantage continued with 3 peak mountain labeled Cross Climate 2. At a braking speed of 12 mph (20 km/h) to 0 , the Cross Climate 2 was stopping 7.9 feet (1.95m) earlier than Alenza AS Ultra.
Alenza AS Ultra:
- -13.1% in ice braking
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 | B |
| Michelin | CrossClimate2 | All | 640 | B | A |
The mileage warranty for Alenza AS Ultra is 80,000 miles while Cross Climate 2 is 60,000 miles. This could be evident from the higher UTQG tread wear value of 800 from Alenza AS Ultra compared to 640 of Cross Climate 2. Overall we can expect a much higher mileage for Alenza AS Ultra in comparison to Cross Climate 2.
For more in depth information about UTQG, please check out this article here. We even have a free download on the latest UTQG values from the leading tire manufacturers.
Price
Being the undisputed technology leader, we would expect Michelin to command the highest priced tire in the market. However the prices were quite similar as Alenza AS Ultra was only 6 dollars cheaper than Cross Climate 2.
Tire size: 235/60R18
Cross Climate 2: $256
Alenza AS Ultra: $250
Difference: -2.4% more cheaper for Alenza AS Ultra.
Summary
Overall, Cross Climate 2 out class Alenza AS Ultra in dry, wet, comfort/noise, snow & ice. Alenza AS Ultra on the other hand would be expected to have a better expected mileage. Michelin once again shows us why they are the technology leader by outperforming the market expectation and showing that Cross Climate 2 is best in class in the all season segment. Without a doubt, the clear winner is Michelin’s Cross Climate 2 !