Hi Doc, I thought you might be interested in my recent experience whilst recently shopping around for a set of replacement tyres for my CitroÎn C-Crosser. My worn set of Michelin Latitude Tours had covered a remarkable 58,200 miles and still had 2.5 to 3.0mm of tread remaining. The required replacement tyres are 215/70R16H, which I have discovered is a relatively unusual size. I would have possibly liked to buy the new Michelin Cross Climate tyres, however I have found out from discussions with Michelin that they have no plans to introduce that tyre size in the UK. So I have decided to replace like with like, as I have really had no problems with the existing tyres in winter conditions. By shopping around, I have managed to get a full set for £95 per corner inclusive, which I consider to be extremely good value if they also last another 58K miles! Regards, 

David Hancock

I seem to recall the car David. I think that you had a motorised throttle body replaced a couple of years back, and I do believe that you mentioned having some problems with front brake disc vibration. I am wondering if you ever got that sorted? Anyway, to the matter of your tyres. This is an absolutely splendid performance by the Michelin Latitude Tours that you have been using. That means that your tyre costs over 58,000 miles, based on £100 a tyre, work out at just under 0.7pence per mile, which is a very good figure indeed compared with typical car tyre costs of 1 to 2p a mile. It is an example of what Michelin claims for their tyres, possibly being costlier per unit than many others, but cheaper in the long run.

I checked out what you said, and it certainly appears that Michelin Cross Climates are not available in your relatively unusual size of 215/70/R16H. They may be unusual in size, but are a good example of what I often preach, that high profile tyres are just fine, as long as you are not obsessed with having big alloys that fill the wheel arches. I’m quite sure also that they offer better ride comfort than the 18-, 19-, and 20-inch wheels with low profile tyres that are fitted to many other SUVs and 4x4s.

So, no surprise that you’ve decided to replace like with like and, with that kind of service life, I think it would probably be silly to have done anything else. I’m surprised that Michelin Cross Climate tyres have gone out of the headlines actually, and I’m wondering if any readers might have any reports of them, and whether there are any downsides to these genuinely all-seasons tyres, which were given very high ratings when first introduced a couple of years ago. I checked the user ratings on the Black Circles online tyre sales website and over 300 reports averaged 9.6 out of 10, which sounds fine to me. I did notice, however, when checking this out, that Cross Climate are available in size 215/65/16 (and in V speed rating), so there’s no doubt they would actually fit your wheels David, but you would have the problem of them not being an official car manufacturer specified size, and therefore probably unacceptable to an insurer. They would also have a slightly smaller rolling circumference – by just three per cent – which would affect your speedometer accuracy as well, and probably make it more optimistic than it probably is already! Thanks for keeping me posted. This is a great recommendation for Michelin tyres. Best regards,

Doc Diesel