Michelin Cross Climate 2 vs Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3 : 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 Cross Climate 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 Pirelli’s Scorpion AS Plus 3. This tireline is relatively new as it was launched in 2021 and covers a large range of passenger cars and crossovers. The major difference between the tires is that Cross Climate 2 comes with a 3 peak mountain logo while Scorpion AS Plus 3 only has the M+S logo on it. Cross Climate 2 was launched in 2020 and covers a wide variety of sizes. Let’s put them head to head and see who comes out on top !
Table of Contents
Results
Results below were taken from the Tire Rack’s “2021 Testing Crossover/SUV and Grand Touring All-Season Tires” test. A total of 3 tires were tested this time around. The graph below shows the comparison between Michelin Cross Climate 2 vs Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3 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, Scorpion AS Plus 3 was worse in wet braking compared to Cross Climate 2 with a 2.1 feet (0.64 m) deficit in braking distance.
While in wet handling, Cross Climate 2 had a 0.3 seconds advantage in lap time against Scorpion AS Plus 3. This margin was relatively small which would not be significant for normal road users. For the subjective wet handling rating, both ires were rated the same as with a rating of 7/10. Overall, Cross Climate 2 has only a tiny advantage over Scorpion AS Plus 3 in wet performances.
Scorpion AS Plus 3:
- -1.6% in wet braking
- 0% in wet handling (subj)
- -0.8% 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. While things may slightly favor Cross Climate 2 in wet, Scorpion AS Plus 3 was slightly better in dry. Scorpion AS Plus 3 managed to brake 1.5 feet (0.46m) earlier compared to Cross Climate 2 from a speed of 50mph (80km/h) down to 0.
In dry handling, both tires perform marginally the same with Scorpion AS Plus 3 having a small advantage with a subjective rating of 7.25/10 over Cross Climate 2’s 7.19/10. In regards to the lap times, Scorpion AS Plus 3 was 0.15 seconds faster per lap relative to Cross Climate 2. Overall, Scorpion AS Plus 3 showed a tiny advantage throughout the 3 dry tests..
Scorpion AS Plus 3:
- +1.8% in dry braking
- +0.3% in dry handling (subj)
- +0.5% in dry handling (lap time)
Noise/Comfort/Ride Quality
Ride comfort, noise & comfort was tested and as in dry & wet performances, the scores are really close. Scorpion AS Plus 3 came out slightly ahead at 7.71/10 rating compared to the 7.33/10 rating of Cross Climate 2 with noise & ride quality being the main differences.
Scorpion AS Plus 3:
- +1.9% 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 Scorpion AS Plus 3.
With wet & dry performances being extremely close, we saw a big difference in winter performances. As previously expected, Cross Climate 2 dominated across all snow tests. It stopped 3.5 feet (1.1m) earlier than Scorpion AS Plus 3 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 1.25 feet (0.38m) less distance to accelerate from 0 to 12 mph (20 km/h). While it was also quicker in lap time (3.4 seconds !) and also subjectively better in snow handling (+0.5 points). Overall, Cross Climate 2 is clearly the better snow tire.
Scorpion AS Plus 3:
- -6.1% in snow braking
- -8.0% in snow acceleration
- -2.5% in snow handling (subj)
- -5.2% in snow handling (lap time)
Ice
The biggest margin in the comparison came in the form of ice braking as the 3 peak mountain certified Cross Climate 2 was 19% better than Scorpion AS Plus 3. At a braking speed of 12 mph (20 km/h) to 0 , the Cross Climate 2 was stopping 11.5 feet (3.5m) earlier than Scorpion AS Plus 3.
Scorpion AS Plus 3:
- -19.1% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pirelli | Scorpion AS Plus 3 | All | 800 | A | A |
| Michelin | Cross Climate 2 | All | 640 | B | A |
The mileage warranty for Scorpion AS Plus 3 is 70,000 miles while Cross Climate 2 is 60,000 miles. This could be evident from the higher UTQG tread wear value of 800 from Scorpion AS Plus 3 compared to 640 of Cross Climate 2. Overall we can expect a much higher mileage for Scorpion AS Plus 3 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. This was in alignment as Cross Climate 2 was 49 dollars more expensive than Scorpion AS Plus 3.
Tire size: 235/60R18
Cross Climate 2 : $256
Scorpion AS Plus 3 : $207
Difference: -24% more cheaper for Scorpion AS Plus 3.
Summary
Overall, both tires showed very similar performances in the wet & dry section. Cross Climate 2 had a big advantage in snow & ice performances while Scorpion AS Plus 3 has a higher expected mileage and a lower price point. The main trade off is between winter against wear performance in this case. If you need a winter performance tire, Cross Climate 2 would be the choice for you but if you live in places which has only mild winter conditions Scorpion AS Plus 3 would be your choice.