Tests – · none yet Owners 46 · 14 reviews
Head-to-head
Updated
Kumho Solus KL21 vs Michelin Defender T+H — Compared
Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 0 + 1 road tests and 14 + 1 owner reviews. How we score
Defender T+H is ahead, 70–54
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Tests – · 1 test Owners 69 · 1 review
Best test result: #1 of 8 in 2022 Consumer Reports All-Season Tires (tested tread life (miles))
Category by category
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
-
52
Dry
Defender T+H +1769Why this score
Source Solus KL21 Defender T+H Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 58 (est.) ≈ 69 (est.) Reviews found online 44 70 Solus KL21: 60% × 57.9 (est.) + 40% × 43.6 = 52
Defender T+H: 60% × 68.8 (est.) + 40% × 70 = 69
No road tests of dry for Solus KL21. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).
No road tests of dry for Defender T+H. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).
-
56
Wet
Defender T+H +1672Why this score
Source Solus KL21 Defender T+H Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 60 (est.) ≈ 72 (est.) Reviews found online 51 73 Solus KL21: 60% × 60 (est.) + 40% × 51.1 = 56
Defender T+H: 60% × 71.9 (est.) + 40% × 72.8 = 72
No road tests of wet for Solus KL21. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
No road tests of wet for Defender T+H. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).
-
52
Snow
Defender T+H +1365Why this score
Source Solus KL21 Defender T+H Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 61 (est.) ≈ 68 (est.) Reviews found online 39 61 Solus KL21: 60% × 60.5 (est.) + 40% × 39.1 = 52
Defender T+H: 60% × 67.5 (est.) + 40% × 61.1 = 65
No road tests of snow for Solus KL21. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).
No road tests of snow for Defender T+H. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).
-
51
Comfort
Defender T+H +1667Why this score
Source Solus KL21 Defender T+H Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 64 (est.) ≈ 68 (est.) Reviews found online 43 66 Solus KL21: 40% × 63.5 (est.) + 60% × 43 = 51
Defender T+H: 40% × 68.1 (est.) + 60% × 66 = 67
No road tests of comfort for Solus KL21. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).
No road tests of comfort for Defender T+H. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).
-
56
Treadwear
Defender T+H +1773Why this score
Source Solus KL21 Defender T+H Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests ≈ 61 (est.) 76 Reviews found online 50 68 Solus KL21: 60% × 60.6 (est.) + 40% × 50 = 56
Defender T+H: 60% × 76.1 + 40% × 67.9 = 73
No road tests of treadwear for Solus KL21. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).
-
44
Handling (owners)
No comparison–Why this score
Source Solus KL21 Defender T+H Reviews found online 44 –
Scores at a glance
| Category | Kumho Solus KL21 | Michelin Defender T+H |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 54 | 70 |
| Dry | 52 | 69 |
| Wet | 56 | 72 |
| Snow | 52 | 65 |
| Comfort | 51 | 67 |
| Treadwear | 56 | 73 |
| Handling (owners) | 44 | – |
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
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Recomputed
Headline score
54
/ 100
Solus KL21
70
/ 100
Defender T+H
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 Solus KL21
Pros
- Impressive treadwear and longevity reported by many users, with several achieving over 30,000 to 40,000 miles
- Good ride comfort and low road noise under normal driving conditions
- Affordable replacement pricing compared to premium tier brands
Cons
- Extremely poor grip and significantly increased braking distances on fresh or compact snow and ice
- Isolated reports of extreme premature wear or complete tread failure under 20,000 miles
- Structural deformation issues reported by at least one user
Tire B Defender T+H
Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Kumho Solus KL21 | B · Michelin Defender T+H |
|---|---|---|
| Category | All Season | Premium Touring All Season tire |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | SUV and 4x4 |
| Sizes available | 5 | — |
| Rim diameters | 17″ – 20″ | — |
| UTQG | — | 820 A - B B |
Which one should you actually buy?
54
/ 100
Kumho Solus KL21
70
/ 100
Michelin Defender T+H
Winner: Michelin Defender T+H — better dry, treadwear and wet. It leads or ties in every category we score. Kumho Solus KL21 rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 14 reviews), so read this result as provisional. Michelin Defender T+H rests on little evidence so far (1 test, 1 review), so read this result as provisional.
Pick tire B
You want the most grip on dry roads
Michelin Defender T+H scores 69 vs 52 on dry.
Pick tire B
You want the longest tread life
Michelin Defender T+H scores 73 vs 56 on treadwear.
Pick tire B
Your priority is wet-weather safety
Michelin Defender T+H scores 72 vs 56 on wet.
Pick tire B
You want the most comfortable ride
Michelin Defender T+H scores 67 vs 51 on comfort.
Tire A · Kumho Solus KL21
Tire B · Michelin Defender T+H
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Solus KL21 or Defender T+H?
Which is better in the wet, Solus KL21 or Defender T+H?
Michelin Defender T+H, 72 vs 56 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, Solus KL21 or Defender T+H?
Michelin Defender T+H, 69 vs 52 on our dry score.
Which is better in snow, Solus KL21 or Defender T+H?
Michelin Defender T+H, 65 vs 52 on our snow score.
Which is more comfortable, Solus KL21 or Defender T+H?
Michelin Defender T+H, 67 vs 51 on our comfort score.
Which lasts longer, Solus KL21 or Defender T+H?
Michelin Defender T+H, 73 vs 56 on our treadwear score.
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