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Head-to-head Updated

Bridgestone Turanza EL440 vs Michelin Defender T+H — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

Defender T+H is ahead, 72–40

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Tire BMichelin

Defender T+H

Premium Touring All Season tire

Tests – · 1 test Owners 71 · 1 review

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 38

    Dry

    Defender T+H +34
    72
    Why this score
    SourceTuranza EL440Defender T+H
    Reviews found online2274
  2. 43

    Wet

    Defender T+H +31
    74
    Why this score
    SourceTuranza EL440Defender T+H
    Reviews found online3375
  3. 46

    Snow

    Defender T+H +20
    66
    Why this score
    SourceTuranza EL440Defender T+H
    Reviews found online3063
  4. 47

    Comfort

    Defender T+H +23
    70
    Why this score
    SourceTuranza EL440Defender T+H
    Reviews found online2470
  5. 52

    Noise

    Defender T+H +16
    68
    Why this score
    SourceTuranza EL440Defender T+H
    Reviews found online3170
  6. 39

    Treadwear

    Defender T+H +34
    73
    Why this score
    SourceTuranza EL440Defender T+H
    Professional tests (TWG score)–75
    Reviews found online2170
  7. 28

    Handling

    Defender T+H +44
    72
    Why this score
    SourceTuranza EL440Defender T+H
    Reviews found online2872
Scores at a glance
CategoryBridgestone Turanza EL440Michelin Defender T+H
Relative Score 40 72
Dry 38 72
Wet 43 74
Snow 46 66
Comfort 47 70
Noise 52 68
Treadwear 39 73
Handling 28 72

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

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Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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Recomputed
Headline score

Turanza EL440

Defender T+H

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Turanza EL440

Pros

  • Precise steering response and good handling on dry roads
  • Quiet and comfortable ride quality when brand new
  • Strong initial road grip for daily commuting

Cons

  • Significantly premature tread wear, with many users needing replacements between 20,000 and 30,000 miles
  • Excessive and worsening road noise as the tires age
  • Poor wet-weather traction and a tendency to understeer in corners
All owner themes in the Turanza EL440 review

Tire B Defender T+H

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Bridgestone Turanza EL440 B · Michelin Defender T+H
CategorySummerPremium Touring All Season tire
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverSUV and 4x4
Sizes available9—
Rim diameters16″ – 19″—
Tread depth10/32″—
UTQG480 A A—
Treadwear warranty50,000 mi—
SidewallBlackwall—
Max pressure51 psi—

Which one should you actually buy?

Bridgestone Turanza EL440

Michelin Defender T+H

Winner: Michelin Defender T+H — better handling, dry and treadwear. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Defender T+H scores 72 vs 28 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Defender T+H scores 72 vs 38 on dry.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Michelin Defender T+H scores 73 vs 39 on treadwear.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Defender T+H scores 74 vs 43 on wet.

Tire A · Bridgestone Turanza EL440
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Tire B · Michelin Defender T+H
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How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.

72

Leads

Defender T+H

Amazon