New Michelin Harmony Tires
 

I had the opportunity to try out the new "Harmony" series of tires now being produced by Michelin. We just bought a used Volvo 850 wagon for my wife (she insisted on a Volvo - has driven them for years), and it needed new tires in the worst way.

I initially intended to get her a set of Michelin X-Ones, but my local tire guy told me that production of these was ramping down, and that if I needed a replacement in a few years, I would be out of luck.

I am a huge Michelin fan (have purchased many sets of MXV4s and MX4s) and decided to try them out.

My initial impression is VERY positive. They are extremely quiet and seemed to be a good match for the car. Of course, I am comparing them to a fried set of Bridgestone "Eagers" (?), and the car also needed an alignment, which makes a true comparison somewhat difficult.

Examining the tire, it appears that it is somewhat of a hybrid of the X-One and the MXV4, in that it has the wear rating of the X-One, but has a tread pattern similar to the MXV4.

This is the first time that I have ever purchased a "long-life" (50k+ warranty) tire, as I never wanted to trade-off high-performance for wear, but in the case of my wife's car, high performance wasn't something that she needed.

The seems to work well enough in the snow that we've had, and seem to be very competent on dry roads as well.

Chris Blanchard
1984 300SD 165k (need to replace the MX4s soon...)