Although the Agilis CrossClimate trial is still in its early stages – it began in December 2017 – the operator says other improvements include better grip, robustness, and improved uptime thanks to not having to switch to seasonal tyres.
Dave Leggett, Anglian Water’s fleet operations manager, says: “During the Beast from the East, when our drivers did go out, they felt like they had the extra confidence because of the additional grip.
“Now in the hot weather we’re seeing the same level of performance. A lot of the vans have to go down dirt tracks, across fields and difficult terrains, and the drivers have noticed a step up in grip and general traction.
“The trial’s been really positive and when other sizes become available they will be going on everything we’ve got.”
Leggett adds that the company is also seeing financial savings from fitting the CrossClimate tyres on its cars.
“Because we only use one type of tyre now all year round, we’re saving on storage costs, as well as the financial burden and downtime from swapping tyres.”
Anglian Water was selected as one of a handful of international fleets to trial Michelin’s new Agilis CrossClimate tyres ahead of the product’s May 2018 launch.
Michelin’s internal calculations based on longevity tests carried out by DEKRA found that with Agilis CrossClimates, four tyres are saved on average every 62,000 miles.