I believe the wheels are Sport Edition A7. Obviously there's been no winter weather yet to try them out in, but so far I'm already impressed. Last winter I had Blizzaks (DM-V1) on my Highlander and it was great but definitely felt like a winter tire in mild weather. These Michelins so far feel a whole lot more like a normal tire on dry roads in mild weather. In fact, I'd dare say that they perform better than the OEM Continentals in just about every way. Road noise is much much lower. Handling is more consistent. Mileage is equal to if not better. And they feel stronger (absorbing more of the bumps in the road than the OEMs did). It's making me think about replacing the OEM crap on my summer wheels with something good once Spring comes around.
One initial difference between the Blizzaks and the Xi3 I notice right away is that the Xi3 did not stink up the garage with a very strong rubbery smell the first night like the Blizzaks did. Whether good or bad, I won't know until winter weather shows up. I just found it odd.
I'll have to try to remember to add to this post once I get a chance to try them on snow/ice.
Update 11/28/12:
No major winter weather yet, but we have had a few transition days. Mid 20s and slight amounts of slush/snow/ice on the roads. Everything's still feeling good so far, but the real question mark is on moderate to deep snow performance and also heavy slush. I expected to sacrifice some in that area but will it be too much of a loss compared to the Blizzaks or will it hold its own.

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One initial difference between the Blizzaks and the Xi3 I notice right away is that the Xi3 did not stink up the garage with a very strong rubbery smell the first night like the Blizzaks did. Whether good or bad, I won't know until winter weather shows up. I just found it odd.
I'll have to try to remember to add to this post once I get a chance to try them on snow/ice.
Update 11/28/12:
No major winter weather yet, but we have had a few transition days. Mid 20s and slight amounts of slush/snow/ice on the roads. Everything's still feeling good so far, but the real question mark is on moderate to deep snow performance and also heavy slush. I expected to sacrifice some in that area but will it be too much of a loss compared to the Blizzaks or will it hold its own.

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