Many issues ago, NZ Company Vehicle took a long look at the Pilot Sport 4 tyre from Michelin, and we found it to be a darn good hoop. What was going to happen with the next generation?

Michelin’s answer came in the form of the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 introduced this year, and if the PS4 was brilliant, the PS5 is even better.

This is in keeping with the way Michelin produces its tyres and, when you think about it, it’s a very clever idea: take the current top performing tyre, build it again and keep the elements which make it great while improving on them where you can.

For Michelin, this strategy defines the total performance tyre, a tyre whose design embodies 10 clear considerations: Longevity, wet braking, quality, safety, comfort, dry braking, driving pleasure, silence, grip and fuel saving.

As each new generation of tyre is produced, its design must either equal or exceed each consideration, so at no time is the quality of the tyre degraded and its performance be quite clearly superior to the preceding tyre.

At the same time, each new generation of tyre carries over some key elements of design, most of which is in the make-up of the tyre.

The Pilot Sport series is characterised by its internal construction, which incorporates a combination of nylon and Aramid.

Branded Max Touch, this proprietary blend is largely responsible for the flexing of the tyre’s contact patch to deliver the highest level of grip under hard cornering.

Each evolution of the Pilot Sport tyres draws on Michelin’s 120 years of motorsport experience and in the case of the PS5, that is embodied in the Dual Sport Tread design, so named for the 60/40 split making up the tread surface between the inner and outer edges of the tyre.

The inner edge (40 percent) has large grooves and greater space between the tread blocks to expel water faster which in turn, provides increased wet grip. The outer edge (60 per cent) has larger and more rigid tread blocks designed to better handle dry running, dissipate heat, and improve longevity.

Thus, the PS5 addresses – and improves on – dry and wet braking, grip, and longevity. Anything else?

Safety of course is a given and if braking and grip is improved, safety is too, by default. But quality has also been improved and is manifested in the aesthetic of the tyre.

Visually, the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 distinguishes itself from its competition by having a very sexy sidewall which features Velvet Touch.

Feel it to believe it, but this ‘black velvet’ accentuates the premium nature of the Pilot Sport 5, which is marketed as the tyre of choice for a discerning performance driver.       

In terms of road testing the Pilot Sport 5, NZ Company Vehicle was invited to experience a PS5-equipped Volkswagen Golf 8 GTi – supplied through Ebbett Volkswagen in Hamilton and therefore independent of any input from Michelin – for an extended day drive.

Independent tests of this nature are stock in trade for Michelin, which invites thousands of independent evaluations every year to gain unbiased and credible opinion/reports on its products.

Our spirited drive experience more than proved Michelin’s performance claims regarding the PS5. While dry testing was the order of the day, we were impressed with the amazing amount of grip the PS5 tyres were able to demonstrate.

What we picked up the most was the increased confidence the PS5’s inspired. The Golf has a measured amount of understeer inherent in its chassis.

The Michelin Pilot Sport 5 is designed to iron out understeer through its increased grip and the positive effects are noticeable, even at legal road speeds.

On some corners, there were moments of ‘ooh, that might be a tad quick’ at the point of commitment. In those cases, there was the slightest hint of give from the tyres, but this was firmly dealt to in the space of a heartbeat, not even time enough for the car’s ‘nana’ functions to engage.

We felt the tyres were doing more than advertised in most cases, making the car and the driver look good when cornering at speed and on S-turns where the mass of the car changed direction.

While we didn’t undertake any hard braking tests, there were times when rapid deceleration was called for and the Michelins once again delivered confidence-inspiring responsiveness.

From our independent standpoint, the Pilot Sport 5’s delivers on their promise of being a significant improvement over the PS4’s and given our testing was done in real world conditions as opposed to being on a track, we believe the larger part of our readers will be as impressed with the PS5 performance as we were.

For more information and availability of Pilot Sport 5 tyres, visit the www.michelin.co.nz website.