Tire Review: Michelin X-Ice SNOW

Most drivers seldom think of the tires under their vehicles until the weather suddenly turns bad and driving conditions go from easy peasy to white knuckle.  That’s precisely what happens for many drivers when the first snow of winter turns covers the road with several inches of fresh snow on top of what was clear, rain-slicked pavement just hours earlier.

The good news is if you have the right winter tires under your vehicle, many of the things that can make winter driving conditions a real challenge can be taken in stride. I have found that out over the years of living in the Pacific Northwest and Southern Idaho. When winter arrives, it usually does so with gusto—and with plenty of snow in the higher elevations.

A Good Tire Switch

I was well prepared at the beginning of this winter, switching out the all-season tires on my 2018 Mazda CX-5 AWD for the same set of 235/55R19 Michelin X-Ice SNOW tires that I ran the previous winter.  In many regions of the country, nearly every winter day could be a “snow day,” and that’s where dedicated snow tires play a huge role in driving safety. 

Some may ask, “Why wait a year to do a tire review?” I wanted to get a couple winters of driving on these tires (more than 3,500 miles) before doing this review. After all, they are only run for a few months before going back to storage when all-season tires take their place.  So getting a really good feel for a snow tire’s performance takes more calendar time than doing a review of typical street tires.

What Is A Michelin X-ice Snow Tire

The Micehlin X-Ice Snow tire is a dedicated winter tire specifically designed for SUVs and passenger cars. These tires, which replaced the Michelin's X-Ice Xi3 and Latitude X-Ice Xi2 tire lines in 2021, take a huge bite out of worry when winter driving.

It’s also become the gold-standard  when it comes to winter traction and snow tire tread-life warranty. Snow tires a notorious for fast tread wear because of their softer tread compounds. Still Michelin’s engineering team has been able to develop a tread compound that brings with it a 40,000-mile tread life warranty, without sacrificing the exceptional traction in snow.

I’ve spent many, many hours with tire engineers under controlled conditions on snow-covered and plowed test tracks doing comparative tire testing using electronic data gathering and the different tires rolling under the same pickup or vehicle. Testing of this type reveals a lot about tires and the nuances between them.

But in the real world, when there’s only one set of tires to drive on, you go by what your seat of the pants reveals. What I’ve seen and felt during the past two winters of driving in sub-freezing temperatures, heavy snow, and hard rains,  the X-Ice Snow’s biting edges, “V”-shaped tread pattern, and unique siping in each tread block really helps grab and hold fresh powder while dispersing water, greatly reducing the chances of hydroplaning on rain-soaked road surfaces.  

That combination provides a more responsive and predictable reaction to steering, acceleration and and braking inputs than I’ve experienced with all-terrains, mud tires, and all-season tires under similar driving conditions.

Pro’s

• Excellent traction on both powder and plowed roads
• Tread siping state-of-the-art
• Fits a wide range of vehicles and wheel sizes
• Drives like an all-season tire
• Reduces chances of hydroplaning on wet pavement
• Very quiet on dry pavement
• Excellent tread wear warranty for snow tire

Con’s

• Cost at upper end of snow tire price range
• Not a good as studded tires on ice

Enhanced Tire Design

 "Our Michelin X-Ice SNOW tire is designed to give drivers peace of mind when driving in extreme winter conditions," said Sylvaine Cuniberti, Michelin's marketing director back in 2020 when this new tire was first revealed. "We have an exceptional winter tire with a new tread design and innovative technologies, resulting in improved snow performance¹ and leadership in ice braking.”

To one-up the previous Michelin snow tire offerings, Michelin engineers developed a three-pronged approach to enhance cold weather traction for the studless X-Ice Snow:

• FLEX-ICE 2.0 tread compound: utilizes inclusion technology, which generates micro-roughness on the tread surface, helping improve grip both in snow and on ice. The compound also contains a high silica content that ensures the tire maintains its flexibility, even in severe climates. 
• MICHELIN EverGrip technologies: an innovative tread compound with rigid polymer for improved grip on both snow and ice for the duration of the wear life.¹

• Two types of full-depth, interlocking 3-D sipes: hundreds and hundreds of deep cuts in the tread blocks across the tire face provide for an increased claw effect on snow and ice, and for long-lasting biting edges.

On top of that, the X-Ice Snow distinctive “V”-tread design gives these tires a much more aggressive look than either the Michelin Ice Xi3 and Latitude X-Ice Xi2 tire lines it’s replaced. It turns heads in both looks and performance.

Great Road Manners

Another element of the Michelin X-Ice SNOW that struck me favorably was how quiet and smooth riding they are on the road when snow isn’t a factor. Not every day of winter is a snow day, so there are times when the pavement is clear.  A number of dedicated snow tires on the market seem to increase road noise in the vehicle when the pavement is dry. Not so with the X-Ice Snows. The softer tread compound absorbs road irregularities with ease, and dampens road-induced noise coming into my Mazda CX-5 AWD.

These tires were also slightly quicker responding to steering and braking inputs on both wet and dry pavement than the all-season Goodyear WeatherReady 2s they replaced for winter driving duties.

X-Ice Snow Tires Set High Bar

All in all, the high bar for dedicated studless snow tires for cars, pickups and SUVs up to this point has always been the Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2. But the Michelin X-Ice SNOW has taken that spot, even though they might cost a little more the competitors.  

It really is an exceptional winter tire that a driver can count on for providing the best margin of safety when the road surface turns white and slippery. Today the X-Ice Snow is available in 150 sizes to fit rims from 15-22 inches.

You can rest assured the ones under my ADW Mazda will be placed back in the garage in mid-March, ready for yet another winter of use under my cross-over SUV. Kudos, Michelin.