No apologies: Michelin's 'more sustainable' means safety and performance

I checked my hair in the rearview mirror and fought the urge to pull up my favorite playlist. Because I felt that comfortable behind the wheel of the Ford Explorer, like this was just a Starbucks trip.

It wasn't.

Sure, I was driving an everyday vehicle, but it was fitted with some atypical tires—Michelin's most sustainable passenger tires ever. Also, I was traversing some not-so-ordinary asphalt—the famous Sonoma Raceway.

Honestly, the first trip around the track wasn't bad. Maybe a bit speedy, but I kept pace with the three sports cars in front of me and felt comfortable enough. That second lap, though, got a whole lot faster as I—and two other journalists—acclimated to the track and our respective vehicles (three different makes and models, each fitted with a different Michelin tire.)

On a subsequent lap, I watched the speedometer surpass 90 and then cling to 80 as the Explorer rounded one of the curves. The tires squealed at just the right moment.

And, honestly … same.

Were Explorers supposed to take turns like this at speeds that high?

More significantly, was I?

Just in case the answer to that second question was no, I felt it best to clear my conscience.

Sins were confessed. Four-letter words were shouted … which ultimately resulted in more confessions.

But the tires? Good lord, the tires! They had absolutely nothing to apologize for.

These tires, these everyday-SUV-suited, 42-percent-sustainable-materials tires were built as much for safety as they were sustainability.

And that was the point of letting me drive on them.

Michelin wanted to prove—beyond doubt—that greater sustainability does not come at the expense of premium performance or optimal safety. When Michelin uses more sustainable materials—be it recovered carbon black or pyrolysis oils, rice husk ash silica or orange peels—it does so only because those materials maintain or enhance sustainability and safety and performance.

"Oh my god. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod," I muttered as we accelerated toward one of the track's trickiest turns. I white-knuckled the steering wheel and followed the lead of the professional driver, turning hard right. "C'mon, Michelin ... (please) prove it!"

Michelin did. Turn after turn. And it became clear exactly what "more sustainable" should feel like.

Safe. Reliable. Familiar.

Heart pounding, I parked the SUV and caught my reflection in the rearview mirror. The exhilaration in my eyes told me what I already knew: I am supposed to drive that quickly around hairpins and S-curves.

Faster maybe?

"Nice work," lead driver David Trimble said when I hopped out of the Explorer. "You really kept pace back there. Are you ready to go again?"

Hell yeah. Let's do it.

This time, though, I called dibs on the Porsche.

I wanted to see what that Michelin Pilot Sport could do.

Erin Pustay Beaven admittedly knows very little about cars. But she's always eager to learn more about their tires. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email [email protected].