Goodyear wins on dry grip and handling; Michelin wins on mileage, noise and wet braking.
Goodyear and Michelin have built two of the most respected names in the premium touring segment, and the Efficient Grip Performance 2 and Primacy 5 both chase the same customer: someone who wants a safe, comfortable, long-lasting summer tyre rather than outright sportiness. The Goodyear is the successor to the original Efficient Grip Performance and, despite the name's efficiency focus, testers consistently find it the more rounded, more engaging tyre to actually drive. The Michelin, meanwhile, replaces the well-liked Primacy 4+ and leans even harder into economy and refinement, with Michelin's own marketing promising 18% better mileage and a 4% shorter wet braking distance than its predecessor.
Michelin frames the Primacy 5 around 'everyday confidence' and 'safety made to last' — longevity and consistent wet performance over the tyre's life, not outright grip. Goodyear's positioning is quieter but the test data tells a clearer story: this is a tyre built to disappear beneath the driver, majoring on comfort and low rolling resistance while still delivering handling that testers repeatedly call well balanced. Both sit at 87/100 and 86/100 in our own rating — a virtual dead heat on paper — but the character underneath is different enough that the right choice depends heavily on what you actually want from the drive.
The biggest single difference shows up head-to-head: in the two mutual tests available, the Goodyear beat the Michelin both times, finishing third against seventh in the ADAC 2026 test and third against fourth at AvD 2026. That's not a landslide margin, but it's a consistent one, and it lines up with what the wider dataset shows — Goodyear's dry and handling scores are meaningfully stronger, while Michelin claws back ground on comfort, noise and running costs.
Efficient Grip Performance 2
Primacy 5
Averaged from 2 tests
Michelin Primacy 5Michelin Primacy 5Michelin Primacy 5Michelin Primacy 5Wet performance flips the story, though not completely. Michelin's wet-braking score of 81 clearly outpaces Goodyear's 78, and this shows up consistently in test data: Die Reifentester 2026 measured a solid 34.9m wet braking distance for the Primacy 5 and called it dependable and even, while Autoexpress 2026 placed it third in the wet-braking discipline outright. Michelin's own marketing claim of a 4% shorter wet braking distance than the Primacy 4+ looks credible against this backdrop — the tyre genuinely delivers where the brand said it would.
Aquaplaning resistance tells a similar story in Michelin's favour. Its aquaplaning score of 81.3 beats Goodyear's 72, backed by Tyre Reviews' 2026 measurement of 76.97 km/h in the straight-line aquaplaning test and Automotorsport's praise for 'guter Aquaplaningschutz' thanks to generous cornering reserves. Goodyear, by comparison, was flagged for 'slightly average aquaplaning resistance' by Tyre Reviews in 2023 — a genuine soft spot given how strong the rest of its wet package is.
Where it gets more interesting is wet handling and cornering confidence, which is closer than the braking numbers suggest and occasionally favours the Goodyear. Its wet-circle-cornering average of 88.9 and wet-handling-measured score of 83.5 point to a tyre that stays composed and predictable when cornering on a soaked surface, something vibilagre's 2024 test specifically credited. Michelin's own subjective wet handling was marked down by AvD 2026 as 'unterdurchschnittlich' (below average), and Autoexpress placed it seventh in wet handling despite its braking strength — suggesting the Primacy 5 stops well in a straight line but doesn't inspire quite the same confidence once the road curves. In heavy rain, the honest picture is that the Michelin is the safer bet for pure stopping power and floating resistance, while the Goodyear holds its composure better once you're actually steering through the wet.
Michelin Primacy 5Michelin Primacy 5On dry tarmac, the Goodyear is the more capable tyre by a clear margin. Its dry-braking performance score of 73.9 sits well above the Michelin's 70, and the gap widens further in real-world testing: Die Reifentester's 2026 test recorded the Primacy 5 as the weakest dry-braking summer tyre on test at 37.23m, while ADAC 2026 flagged 'deutlich schwächere Trockenleistung' (significantly weaker dry performance) for the Michelin outright. The Goodyear's Autobild 2022 test, by contrast, praised 'kurzen Bremswegen' — short braking distances — as part of an overall convincing handling package.
Handling is where the difference is most keenly felt. Goodyear's average dry-handling detail score of 78.2 and dry-lane-change score of 87 point to a tyre that turns in cleanly and holds its line through quick transitions, something Tyre Reviews' 2023 test backed up directly, calling it 'great dry handling' as part of a 'very well balanced tyre'. The Michelin's dry-handling average of 85 looks competitive on paper, but the underlying test comments tell a less flattering story: Autoexpress 2026 put it last in dry handling — a full 1.4 seconds off the class winner — with 'soft steering response', and Automotorsport's 2026 test noted longer dry braking distances alongside a hint of instability during fast evasive manoeuvres.
The why comes down to construction priorities. The Primacy 5's EverGrip and EverTread technologies are explicitly tuned for even wear and longevity rather than outright bite, which is exactly what shows up as understeer-prone handling in Die Reifentester's testing. The Goodyear, despite marketing itself around efficiency, has clearly not sacrificed its contact patch or carcass stiffness in the pursuit of rolling resistance — its 'Premiumprofil' delivers grip and precision that the Michelin, tuned harder for comfort and mileage, simply doesn't match on a dry road.
Michelin Primacy 5Comfort and refinement are where the Michelin's design priorities pay off most clearly. Its noise score of 89.3 comfortably beats Goodyear's 77.7, and Tyre Reviews' 2026 test measured a genuinely quiet 70.9 dB, with Automotorsport's team also flagging the trade-off directly — 'Komfortschwäche durch geringe Eigendämpfung' (a comfort weakness from low self-damping) on rougher surfaces, so it isn't a completely clean sweep. Goodyear counters with a strong ride-comfort detail score of 89.8 and 'pleasant road noise' according to vibilagre 2024, plus 'good levels of comfort' from Tyre Reviews 2023 — so while Michelin wins outright on cabin quiet, Goodyear isn't far behind on how the ride itself feels over bumps and expansion joints.
Running costs are where the Michelin genuinely pulls ahead. Its mileage score of 85 dwarfs Goodyear's 67, and multiple tests confirm it: ADAC 2026 gave it the best environmental rating in its entire field alongside the lowest rolling resistance, Die Reifentester 2026 tied it for best rolling resistance in the test at 6.3 kg/t, and Autoexpress 2026 called it the most economical tyre on test. Its EU fuel label reflects this, skewing heavily toward A and B grades, versus Goodyear's more middling B/A/C split. That said, Goodyear isn't a poor performer here either — vibilagre 2024 recorded the lowest rolling resistance in that specific test, and Autobild 2022 awarded it top marks in the cost chapter alongside high mileage, so the gap is real but not enormous.
Price positioning cuts against Michelin's efficiency case, though. ADAC 2026 flagged the Primacy 5's €165 price tag as a genuine weakness, while Goodyear's own price-value-ratio detail score of 96.5 — the highest of any metric in its dataset — suggests it delivers more performance per euro spent, even if Autobild 2022 separately noted its 'hohes Preisniveau' (high price level) in absolute terms. A real owner's account adds a useful caveat to Michelin's efficiency story too: one driver in cooler UK conditions reported the Primacy 5 losing grip below its roughly 25°C optimal working temperature, feeling like a budget tyre in anything but genuine summer heat — a reminder that Michelin's headline mileage and economy figures assume warmer, more consistent conditions than every buyer will actually get.
Michelin Primacy 5Michelin Primacy 5This is close on the scoreboard but fairly clear in practice. The Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance 2 wins both mutual head-to-head tests and is the stronger all-round drive — better dry braking, sharper handling, more composed wet cornering, and a genuinely excellent price-value ratio. If you actually enjoy driving, want a tyre that responds predictably in quick manoeuvres, and don't want to overpay for a badge, it's the smarter buy, and it doesn't give up much on comfort or rolling resistance to get there.
The Michelin Primacy 5 is the better choice for a specific kind of buyer: someone doing high annual mileage who wants the lowest possible running costs, the quietest cabin, and confident straight-line wet braking above all else. Its EverGrip and EverTread technology genuinely delivers on Michelin's longevity and efficiency promises, and its environmental credentials and rolling resistance are best-in-class in several tests. But it does this by trading away dry precision and cornering confidence — Autoexpress's 1.4-second dry handling deficit and Die Reifentester's weakest-in-class dry braking are not minor footnotes, and the tyre's clear preference for genuinely warm conditions is worth knowing before buying in a cooler climate.
Bottom line: choose the Goodyear if you want the more complete, better-handling tyre that still holds its own on comfort and cost. Choose the Michelin only if minimising fuel use, noise and wet straight-line braking distance outweighs everything else — and you're prepared to accept softer dry manners and a genuinely higher purchase price in return.
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