Michelin Primacy 3 Review - Our Honest Opinion

Fuel Efficiency

The US Department of Energy estimates that around 25% of the fuel consumption of a vehicle is attributable to the tyres. That's a lot, and it means that choosing fuel efficient tyres can save you quite a bit of money.

The Primacy 3 tyres rank a C on a scale of A to E in the official fuel efficiency tests carried out by the EU (they call these rolling resistance tests).

Relative to an A grade tyre, expect to use an extra 0.2L/100km. This works out to $47 extra spent on petrol per year, based on a typical 12,000 km driven per year.

Comparison

Here's how the Primacy 3 compares to similar tyres for fuel efficiency (1 = Grade E, 5 = Grade A).

Based on the comparison tyres we've selected, the Primacy 3 ranked # out of 0 tyres.

Grip & Handling

We'll now take a look at how these tyres compare in terms of grip and handling.

A good measure of this is 'wet grip', which is an indication of how well the tyres will allow the vehicle to come to a stop in wet conditions.

The Primacy 3 tyres rank a A on a scale of A to E in the official fuel tests carried out by the EU.

This is the highest possible rating, and indicates excellent grip and handling in wet conditions relative to other tyres.

Comparison

For wet grip, they scored # out of 0 comparison tyres.

Noise

Another key factor to consider when choosing a tyre is road noise. Once you're over about 40 km/h, the dominant source of noise you hear is from the contact of your tyres on the road.

There is a surprisingly wide variation in the amount of noise each tyre makes.

The Primacy 3 tyres produce 69.5 dB of road noise, which corresponds to a rank of B on a scale of A to C in the standardised testing done by the EU.

Expect these tyres to produce about 2 times as much noise as an A grade tyre (the decibel scale is logarithmic).

Comparison

For noise, they ranked # out of 0 comparison tyres.

Comfort

Based on the results of a number of tyre benchmarks, including those below, the Primacy 3 scores 5 out of 5 for comfort.

• ADAC: Summer Tire Test R16

For fuel efficiency, they score a grade of C, which is more or less average, though this isn't a super important factor.

More important is the wet grip, which gives you an indication of their traction and handling. In this regard, they get a score of A, which is outstanding.

Finally, for road noise, they receive a B grade, which is about typical.

In terms of data out of the US, they have the following UTQG ratings:

• Treadwear: 320
• Traction: A (scale: AA, A, B, C)
• Temperature Resistance: A (scale: A, B, C)