thanks for your response...and although i agree with most/all of what you said, I would be comparing the same tire, same tread, just a slightly larger version...so you are right...people get passionate about their tires (for some reason, im not really sure)...and everyone has an opinion...my opinion is i know the Michelin Defender is an ugly tire, but it just performs as good if not better than any other tire in that category...so i am getting that for my wife's vehicle because she doesnt care about looks or anything else...i am just comparing stock size to a slightly larger version...