Michelin CrossClimate 2 vs Nokian Encompass AW01 — Compared

“I replaced the factory Continentals at 9,258 miles at the end of August 2023 with the stock size 225/65R17 Michelin CrossClimate 2's. I waited until the local tire shop had a sale and had these mounted/balanced for under $800. 348 days, 10,004 miles and 4 seasons have passed since then. I spend much of my time around "town" with speed limits under 55 while also having a handful of longer highway drives. These are the closest thing to a "no-compromise" all season tire that I can imagine. They are smooth, quiet and have incredible grip in all weather conditions. Snow, rain, etc. Admittedly, I have not taken my FWD Maverick through any meaningful amount of mud. Maybe there is a tire better suited to this. There are also certainly performance oriented tires that will outperform this tire when it is hot and dry. Last, and certainly not least - there does not seem to be any fuel economy change. I have tracked every tank before and after these tires. Both my best (48.5MPG) and worst (27MPG) full tanks have happened since these were installed. 38.8 overall.”

“I have had the Cross Climate 2 tires on my VW All Track now for about a year and thought I would share some findings about them. 1. They are QUIET on the road. Looking at the tread, you might think they are noisy but they are not! Run as quiet as a normal tire. 2. They give excellent traction and handling on dry, wet and snowy roads. This past winter, I had two occasions to drive on roads covered with 6-10" of snow. Excellent traction. 3. They wear very well! After about 12,000 miles, they hardly show any wear. I expect to get about 50,000-60,000 miles out of these tires. 4. They do exact a mileage penalty. I lost about 2 mpg overall since putting on these tires. However, I do not mind that considering the excellent traction I get from them. 5. They tend to pick up stones in the tread, particularly after the great state of Pennsylvania in its wisdom covers the roads before, during and after a snowstorm with gravel. Overall, this tire is a winner. Handling is excellent as is wear and traction. I would recommend this tire to anyone who wants these features and wants to leave a set of tires on their car year around.”

“Michelin CrossClimate 2 after 31.000 kilometers I have those Michelin CrossClimate 2 (EU version, made in Spain) for 26 months now and 31.000 kilometers on a heavy Mercedes EQE, the rears are still good but the front tyres are starting to give up on the shoulders. Usual tyre pressure is 2.8 bars, there is still some good tread left on the middle of the tyre. Steering feeling on the snow is also not as good as it used to be. Overall very happy with those tyres, I’ll have to decide between the Continental AllSeasonContact 2 or the CrossClimate 3 Sport (sadly the 3 isn’t available in 255/45 R19) to replace them this year. We have the Pirelli Scorpion SF3 on our second car. Given the car and my usage, I give priority to snow braking, rolling resistance, silence and longevity. I lost a bit of range, comfort and steering engagement when I swapped the factory Bridgestone Turanza T005 for the CrossClimate 2, but in general nothing to call-out.”

“Nokian vs CrossClimate 2 - Tires Saw Kyle Conner’s Nokian video and just finished a 3000m road trip myself - and need to replace tires pretty soon. Was going to do CrossClimate2s…but now thinking Nokian. I am wanting something I can use all-year round as living here since 2013 I’ve done fine with that. Thoughts? Based on DiscountTire’s comparison of the CC2 and ENCOMPASS AW01, the Nokian is quieter, but the Michelin stopped a lot better. I don’t see the Nokian One at Discount Tire - just the ENCOMPASS AW01. I run the original 18” wheels. Curious who else has tried them. Read more”

“Cracking along shoulder Borrowing my father’s ‘09 Lexus and he has a set of Nokian Encompass AW01 DOT 14/23 and noticed this cracking along the shoulder. Reading online that Nokians recently produced around 21-23 timeframe are prone to early dry rot and it’s apparently “cosmetic” not structural is what Nokian says. This looks exactly like the photos I’ve seen online. Problem is I’m borrowing his car as my VW has a coolant leak problem and I’m set to drive 80 miles on the highway to and from for a job interview tomorrow. Now Im having second thoughts about borrowing his car. If someone can give some insight as to whether this would be safe or not because my luck is that it’ll blowout on the way to my interview. Read more”

“I put this tire on our accord about 3 weeks ago. It is quite on the highway and so far does well on the snow and ice. I noticed hitting bumps on the highway are not as jarring with this tire.”