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

Head-to-head Updated

Michelin Defender vs Yokohama Geolandar G91A — 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 4 + 5 owner reviews. How we score

Defender is ahead, 72–35

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Michelin Defender
Tire AMichelin

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. 73

    Dry

    Defender +36
    37
    Why this score
    SourceDefenderGeolandar G91A
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 71 (est.)≈ 49 (est.)
    Reviews found online7621

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

    Geolandar G91A: 60% × 48.7 (est.) + 40% × 20.5 = 37

    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).

    No road tests of dry for Geolandar G91A. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.40).

  2. 73

    Wet

    Defender +41
    32
    Why this score
    SourceDefenderGeolandar G91A
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 72 (est.)≈ 41 (est.)
    Reviews found online7419

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

    Geolandar G91A: 60% × 41.3 (est.) + 40% × 18.9 = 32

    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).

    No road tests of wet for Geolandar G91A. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.56).

  3. –

    Snow

    No comparison
    48
    Why this score
    SourceDefenderGeolandar G91A
    Professional tests (TWG score)–≈ 58 (est.)
    Reviews found online–33

    Geolandar G91A: 60% × 57.5 (est.) + 40% × 32.5 = 48

    No road tests of snow for Geolandar G91A. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.33).

  4. 71

    Comfort

    Defender +30
    41
    Why this score
    SourceDefenderGeolandar G91A
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 70 (est.)≈ 60 (est.)
    Reviews found online7314

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

    Geolandar G91A: 60% × 59.6 (est.) + 40% × 14.1 = 41

    No road tests of comfort for Defender or Geolandar G91A. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.

  5. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    52
    Why this score
    SourceDefenderGeolandar G91A
    Professional tests (TWG score)–≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online–29

    Geolandar G91A: 60% × 67.3 (est.) + 40% × 29 = 52

    No road tests of noise for Geolandar G91A. The test half is the tested tires’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.

  6. 69

    Treadwear

    Defender +30
    39
    Why this score
    SourceDefenderGeolandar G91A
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 67 (est.)≈ 52 (est.)
    Reviews found online7220

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

    Geolandar G91A: 60% × 51.6 (est.) + 40% × 20.1 = 39

    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).

    No road tests of treadwear for Geolandar G91A. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.31).

  7. 77

    Handling (owners)

    Defender +54
    23
    Why this score
    SourceDefenderGeolandar G91A
    Reviews found online7723
Scores at a glance
Michelin Defender vs Yokohama Geolandar G91A: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryMichelin DefenderYokohama Geolandar G91A
Relative Score 72 35
Dry 73 37
Wet 73 32
Snow – 48
Comfort 71 41
Noise – 52
Treadwear 69 39
Handling (owners) 77 23

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
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

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

Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score

Defender

Geolandar G91A

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 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

Tire B Geolandar G91A

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Michelin Defender B · Yokohama Geolandar G91A
CategorySummer Premium Touring tiresAll-Season tire
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverSUV and 4x4
Tread depth—10/32″
UTQG—280 B A
Sidewall—Blackwall
Max pressure—44 psi

Which one should you actually buy?

Michelin Defender

Yokohama Geolandar G91A

Winner: Michelin Defender — better handling, wet and dry. It leads or ties in every category we score. Michelin Defender rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 4 reviews), so read this result as provisional. Yokohama Geolandar G91A rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 5 reviews), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Defender scores 77 vs 23 on handling.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Defender scores 73 vs 32 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Defender scores 73 vs 37 on dry.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Defender scores 71 vs 41 on comfort.

Tire A · Michelin Defender
Tire B · Yokohama Geolandar G91A

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Defender or Geolandar G91A?

Which is better in the wet, Defender or Geolandar G91A?

Michelin Defender, 73 vs 32 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Defender or Geolandar G91A?

Michelin Defender, 73 vs 37 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, Defender or Geolandar G91A?

Michelin Defender, 71 vs 41 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Defender or Geolandar G91A?

Michelin Defender, 69 vs 39 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