Michelin’s new SUV range of tyres experience on a racing track

Michelin has been working on a range of new tyres for the Indian audience. This is the PilotSport 4 SUV. It is made for the high end SUVs, which aren’t just looking for grip on bad roads but even performance on the road as well.

BMW X6, Range Rover Sport, Volvo XC90 – these are all SUVs that are made for luxury and performance. Offering luxury is easy for an SUV, but performance that is tricky. With high ground clearance, handling is always a challenge. Especially the road grip. Michelin offers good grip not just on bad roads but even on terrible on road conditions.

We laid our hands on not just the Michelin SUV tyres, but their new Pilot Sport 4S as well. The things we got to experience were incredible. Can’t wait to share it with you guys.

Following are the things we did experience on the new Michelin tyres:

Track driving with VW Golf: We got to experience these tyres on a track. We drove on the Kyalami race track in South Africa. The car did a fantastic job on the track. We started the experience with the very basic Volkswagen Golf GTI. This car was fun and quick. But with the Michelin tyres, it did feel better in grip. This was the smallest car there to drive. The best part being, it could be given around with so much confidence. I did a lap where I did not brake and focused on handling of the vehicle, to see the body roll and the tyre grip. Astonishing results. Especially when you have a small car that lets the driver control most of the bits.

Track Driving with the BMW M4: BMW, with its mad driving. BMW and Michelin was an ideal option. Though I didn’t spend too much time with the BMW, I did love every bit of my experience. By now I had understood the Kyalami track and boy what performance it was.

I didn’t experience the M4 on any other tyres, but this one was just so much fun. The immense grip that these tyres offered was the biggest highlight of the drive. I did drive more powerful options, but I will be honest this was the most fun. BMW is notorious for rear wheels steeping out, but this looks difficult. Michelin tracks didn’t let that happen. I tried a lot, though my instructor was trying to control me, I did my best to let loose and it didn’t happen.

Track Driving with Mercedes AMG C63: This was the car I was most looking forward too, but it didn’t do that well. The electronics took the complete charge or was it the tyres? Too short to realise but it was a job done by the duo. The way this vehicle behaved, it was precise. I have no other words for this. These tyres did a fantastic job and this was indeed incredible. Maybe this was the fastest I would have gone around the track.

Taxi Ride in BMW X6:

This is something I wasn’t keen on. Sitting as a passenger in an SUV around the track. But I must tell you, the experience was exhilarating. An SUV doing this well on a track, and then the driver drove the car without braking. This was the real part. I’m gifted with ability to sense how the car grips, and I was amazed to have that feeling. I actually wanted to check if these tyres had any glue underneath it. Just joking. I’m short on words. These tyres were indeed excellent.

Brake testing SUV:

 We did another important thing as well. Brake test on dry and then wet roads. I actually did brake early on both. I have driven the BMW X6 and the Volvo XC90, and from that logic itself I was braking early. That was the biggest surprise for me.

I did try to brake in and I realised everytime I was braking early. The tyres had awesome control on the road. This was indeed a talking point for these tyres. I was amazed, when I even slammed the brakes in wet conditions. I’m good at braking and I say that confidently. But, these tyres turned out better than what I could imagine.

With all these experiences, it was an amazing learning on how tyres give excellent grip. I reckon it is time for you to pick the best set of tyres for your car. At the end of the day, they offer the only contact on the road. These Michelin tyres are worth every mention.