Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 2 + 1 road tests and 196 + 10 owner reviews. How we score
Primacy 3 is ahead, 70–62
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Tests 73 · 2 tests Owners 66 · 196 reviews
Best test result: #3 of 20 in 2017 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test (wear)
“I have just put a new set of Michelin Primacy 3 T0 Acoustics on and they have been faultless. Lots of grip, very quiet etc. They were also good last year in the snow and were from blackcircles for about £240 a tyre.”
Tests 72 · 1 test Owners 54 · 10 reviews
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
| Source | Primacy 3 | Primacy MXM4 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 2 / 1 tests | 74 | 87 |
| Reviews found online | 70 | 51 |
Primacy 3: 60% × 74.3 + 40% × 69.5 = 72
Primacy MXM4: 60% × 87.1 + 40% × 51.1 = 73
| Source | Primacy 3 | Primacy MXM4 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 2 / 1 tests | 72 | 57 |
| Reviews found online | 72 | 57 |
Primacy 3: 60% × 71.9 + 40% × 71.8 = 72
Primacy MXM4: 60% × 56.7 + 40% × 57.1 = 57
| Source | Primacy 3 | Primacy MXM4 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | ≈ 63 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | – | 47 |
Primacy MXM4: 60% × 63.1 (est.) + 40% × 47.2 = 57
No road tests of snow for Primacy MXM4. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).
| Source | Primacy 3 | Primacy MXM4 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests | ≈ 68 (est.) | 63 |
| Reviews found online | 67 | 47 |
Primacy 3: 40% × 68.5 (est.) + 60% × 67.3 = 68
Primacy MXM4: 40% × 63.4 + 60% × 47.4 = 54
No road tests of comfort for Primacy 3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.21).
| Source | Primacy 3 | Primacy MXM4 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests | – | 81 |
| Reviews found online | – | ≈ 66 (est.) |
Primacy MXM4: 60% × 80.8 + 40% × 66.3 (est.) = 75
No owner ratings of noise for Primacy MXM4. The owner half is the owners’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.
| Source | Primacy 3 | Primacy MXM4 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests | 73 | ≈ 64 (est.) |
| Reviews found online | 57 | 59 |
Primacy 3: 60% × 73.1 + 40% × 57 = 67
Primacy MXM4: 60% × 63.9 (est.) + 40% × 59.2 = 62
No road tests of treadwear for Primacy MXM4. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).
| Source | Primacy 3 | Primacy MXM4 |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews found online | 68 | 49 |
| Source | Primacy 3 | Primacy MXM4 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests | – | 55 |
| Category | Michelin Primacy 3 | Michelin Primacy MXM4 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 70 | 62 |
| Dry | 72 | 73 |
| Wet | 72 | 57 |
| Snow | – | 57 |
| Comfort | 68 | 54 |
| Noise | – | 75 |
| Treadwear | 67 | 62 |
| Handling (owners) | 68 | 49 |
| Efficiency | – | 55 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
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.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Primacy 3
Primacy MXM4
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.
| Discipline | Category | Primacy 3 | Primacy MXM4 | Δ | Head-to-head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Handling | Dry | 99% #5/10 · 2017 Auto Bild Summer SUV Tyre Test | 100% #1/3 · 2024 AutoView All-Season Tire Test R18 | – | Different tests |
| Wet Braking | Wet | 95% #5/10 · 2017 Auto Bild Summer SUV Tyre Test | 88% #3/3 · 2024 AutoView All-Season Tire Test R18 | – | Different tests |
| Also published by the testers (not in the score) | |||||
| Overall Ranking | Overall | #1/16 2018 ADAC Summer Tyre Test - 205/55 R16 | #4/3 2024 AutoView All-Season Tire Test R18 | – | Different tests |
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score
Community members generally view the Michelin Primacy 3 as a quiet, smooth, and capable grand touring tire, with several users highlighting the run-flat (ZP) version as superior in comfort to competing run-flats. However, some drivers report fast tread wear, a harsh ride compared to standard non-run-flat alternatives, and note that the model is older and increasingly replaced by newer generations like the Primacy 4.
“Is your tire size 235/55-18? You might like the Michelin Primacy 3 which is actually a good price for an 18" Michelin. They are summer tires, but that's OK if you have separate winter tires. The Goodyear Assurance Maxlife sounds like something that will last a long time. The Cooper Enduramax is good if you drive over potholes and curbs because it's supposed to be tougher”
“So I have decided there is no way I am paying for the Bridgestone Ecopias at over £200 a tyre, and as such, I have come across the Michelin Primacy 3 on Costco, which I can get fitted for approx £93 a tyre (I only need two on the rear) They seem to have good reviews. My actual tyre size for my i3S should be 195/50 R20, but getting 195/55 R20 instead should only add up to another inch or so in height, so I'm reckoning I should be okay. What are people's thoughts?”
“I have just put a new set of Michelin Primacy 3 T0 Acoustics on and they have been faultless. Lots of grip, very quiet etc. They were also good last year in the snow and were from blackcircles for about £240 a tyre.”
Based on 23 community posts
We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.
| Attribute | A · Michelin Primacy 3 | B · Michelin Primacy MXM4 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer | All Season |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 42 | 2 |
| Rim diameters | 15″ – 20″ | 18″ |
| UTQG | 240 A A | 420 - 500 AA - B A |
Michelin Primacy 3
Michelin Primacy MXM4
Winner: Michelin Primacy 3 — better handling, wet and comfort. Where the Michelin Primacy MXM4 is ahead, it is by less than 3 points. Michelin Primacy MXM4 rests on little evidence so far (1 test, 10 reviews), so read this result as provisional.
Michelin Primacy 3 scores 68 vs 49 on handling.
Michelin Primacy 3 scores 72 vs 57 on wet.
Michelin Primacy 3 scores 68 vs 54 on comfort.
Michelin Primacy 3 scores 67 vs 62 on treadwear.
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Michelin Primacy 3, 72 vs 57 on our wet score.
Neither, by our numbers: 72 vs 73 on the dry score, within 3 points.
Michelin Primacy 3, 68 vs 54 on our comfort score.
Michelin Primacy 3, 67 vs 62 on our treadwear score.
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
