tirewheelguide

Goodyear Wrangler A/T SA looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.

Michelin Defender looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.

Head-to-head Updated

Goodyear Wrangler A/T SA vs Michelin Defender — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews. Based on 0 + 0 road tests and 13 + 4 owner reviews. How we score

Defender leads, 72–70 Narrow edge

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Michelin Defender
Tire BMichelin

Defender

Summer Premium Touring tires

Provisional

Tests – · none yet Owners 74 · 4 reviews

Category by category

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

  1. 70

    Dry

    Defender +3
    73
    Why this score
    SourceWrangler A/T SADefender
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 69 (est.)≈ 71 (est.)
    Reviews found online7276

    Wrangler A/T SA: 60% × 69.3 (est.) + 40% × 71.6 = 70

    Defender: 60% × 71.2 (est.) + 40% × 76.4 = 73

    No road tests of dry for Wrangler A/T SA. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.40).

    No road tests of dry for Defender. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.40).

  2. 71

    Wet

    Defender +2
    73
    Why this score
    SourceWrangler A/T SADefender
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 71 (est.)≈ 72 (est.)
    Reviews found online7174

    Wrangler A/T SA: 60% × 70.7 (est.) + 40% × 71.4 = 71

    Defender: 60% × 72.2 (est.) + 40% × 74.1 = 73

    No road tests of wet for Wrangler A/T SA. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.56).

    No road tests of wet for Defender. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.56).

  3. 57

    Snow

    No comparison
    –
    Why this score
    SourceWrangler A/T SADefender
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 63 (est.)–
    Reviews found online49–

    Wrangler A/T SA: 60% × 63 (est.) + 40% × 49 = 57

    No road tests of snow for Wrangler A/T SA. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.33).

  4. 71

    Comfort

    Level
    71
    Why this score
    SourceWrangler A/T SADefender
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 70 (est.)≈ 70 (est.)
    Reviews found online7273

    Wrangler A/T SA: 60% × 69.7 (est.) + 40% × 72.2 = 71

    Defender: 60% × 69.9 (est.) + 40% × 73.4 = 71

    No road tests of comfort for Wrangler A/T SA or Defender. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.

  5. 68

    Treadwear

    Defender +1
    69
    Why this score
    SourceWrangler A/T SADefender
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 67 (est.)≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online7072

    Wrangler A/T SA: 60% × 67 (est.) + 40% × 70.1 = 68

    Defender: 60% × 67.5 (est.) + 40% × 71.6 = 69

    No road tests of treadwear for Wrangler A/T SA. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.31).

    No road tests of treadwear for Defender. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.31).

  6. 71

    Handling (owners)

    Defender +6
    77
    Why this score
    SourceWrangler A/T SADefender
    Reviews found online7177
Scores at a glance
CategoryGoodyear Wrangler A/T SAMichelin Defender
Relative Score 70 72
Dry 70 73
Wet 71 73
Snow 57 –
Comfort 71 71
Treadwear 68 69
Handling (owners) 71 77

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

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score

Wrangler A/T SA

Defender

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A Wrangler A/T SA

Pros

  • Exceptionally quiet and comfortable on-road performance
  • Strong grip and traction in various weather conditions, including wet, dry, and snowy environments
  • Durable wear characteristics suitable for long-distance driving and road trips

Cons

  • Potential for recurring steering vibration or balancing issues after moderate mileage
  • Not the absolute best performer in every single specific category, serving more as a jack-of-all-trades
All owner themes in the Wrangler A/T SA review

Tire B Defender

Pros

  • Excellent ride comfort and quiet operation
  • Strong tread life and durability over several years
  • Reliable grip on dry pavement

Cons

  • Susceptibility to hydroplaning in heavy rain
  • Limited traction in deep or severe snow
  • Audible squealing during aggressive dry-pavement acceleration
All owner themes in the Defender review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Goodyear Wrangler A/T SA B · Michelin Defender
CategoryAll-Terrain tireSummer Premium Touring tires
Vehicle typeSUV and 4x4Passenger Car / Crossover

Which one should you actually buy?

Goodyear Wrangler A/T SA

Michelin Defender

Narrow edge: Michelin Defender — better handling and dry. It leads or ties in every category we score. Goodyear Wrangler A/T SA rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 13 reviews), so read this result as provisional. Michelin Defender rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 4 reviews), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Defender scores 77 vs 71 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Defender scores 73 vs 70 on dry.

Tire A · Goodyear Wrangler A/T SA
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Tire B · Michelin Defender
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Wrangler A/T SA or Defender?

Which is better in the wet, Wrangler A/T SA or Defender?

Neither, by our numbers: 71 vs 73 on the wet score, within 3 points.

Which grips better on dry roads, Wrangler A/T SA or Defender?

Michelin Defender, 73 vs 70 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, Wrangler A/T SA or Defender?

Neither, by our numbers: 71 vs 71 on the comfort score, within 3 points.

Which lasts longer, Wrangler A/T SA or Defender?

Neither, by our numbers: 68 vs 69 on the treadwear score, within 3 points.

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.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

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