# 2006 Passat - Michelin Primacy MXM4 or Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum ??



## gruntermen (Apr 9, 2009)

It looks like my Passat must have new tires. I've narrowed my choices down to two choices: 

1) Michelin Primacy MXM4 $753 installed
2) Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum $628 installed

I live in Minnesota so the tires will see a lot of driving on snow and ice. Most of my driving is city driving so if forced to choose I would prefer quiet & comfort over handling.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.


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## Airy32 (Nov 15, 2007)

Just curious how you narrowed it down to those two options. I have no opinion on either as I have never used them but, I am on my second winter with these http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ake=Volkswagen&autoYear=2006&autoModel=Passat Sedan 2.0T&autoModClar=







(I made an assumption on size) and couldn't be more pleased with their performance in bad weather. In Tirerack's tests they had the best (by far) snow and ice performance of any all season tire. That, as well as price, was a major deciding factor in my selection. They are excellent in the rain and pretty decent in dry weather as well. They are lighter weight than most tires which helps with gas mileage, and so far seem to be pretty durable. They are quiet and the ride quality is great.

Not trying to tell you not to go with your other options, just giving you something else to consider. If I lived in Minnesota I'd probably choose real winter tires for the winter. But if that's not an option, I'd get the best all season tires available.


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## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2008)

gruntermen said:


> It looks like my Passat must have new tires. I've narrowed my choices down to two choices:
> 
> 1) Michelin Primacy MXM4 $753 installed
> 2) Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum $628 installed
> ...


No all season tire will do well on ice, and both tread patterns are fairly close to one another so I would not anticipate any major differences between the two on snow or ice. The Michelin normally is a little quieter and a little softer riding than the Kumho for reference.


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## gruntermen (Apr 9, 2009)

I wound up selecting these two pretty much by process of elimination. I did not like the contipro contacts that were the oem tire on my vehicle and wanted something different. So I went looking...

I do not like salespeople so that limited my choices to the tires available at merchants where I could compare my options and get an exact price online. I would prefer to buy from a local store and not deal with mail order so that narrowed the field even further. Once I factored in the XL load rating there were only a handful of tires. I selected the Kumho b/c it had the highest rating on the tire rack website and there seemed to be a fair number of reviews from B6 owners. The Tire Rack did not have any reviews for the Michelin Primacy MXM4, but consumer reports rated an older version highly so I threw it in for consideration.

I would agree that all-seasons are not ideal for where I live. If I expected to keep this car for a long time I probably would pick up an extra set of wheels and winter tires. However, the CPO warranty expires on this vehicle next January and I intend to sell this vehicle before the warranty expires.


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