Michelin X-ICE Snow | Photo: Matt St Pierre
The X-ICE winter tires perform as expected.
So far they have weathered the ever-changing conditions this winter with ease.
Disturbingly, winter in the greater Montreal area finally showed its white face almost a week after the New Year. While most of North America was frozen or crawling out with several feet of snow, Montreal had to contend with mild temperatures and rain. But when winter came we were treated to freezing rain, followed by snow and lots of ice. I wasn’t worried as my Golf was shod with new Michelin X-ICE winter tires.
Michelin X-ICE Snow winter tire test: vulcanized in Canada for Canadians
Trust is a good feeling. Thanks to the blessed combination of Michelin X-ICE tire prowess and the Golf’s more than adequate 4MOTION all-wheel drive system, unwanted skidding or getting stuck is essentially the direct result of the driver pushing their luck. While four-wheel drive contributes to forward propulsion, it’s the tires that are responsible for reducing speed and keeping the vehicle’s nose in the desired direction.
Michelin X-ICE Snow | Photo: Matt St Pierre
The Michelin X-ICE Snow winter tire is still one of the top choices in North America when it comes to choosing a good tire for the cold season. This has been the case for many years, but this latest generation of the X-ICE is the most complete out there.
I’ll be honest: I haven’t driven my Golf with Michelin X-ICE tires in really snowy conditions.*. The heaviest snowfall we’ve received at the time of writing this article was only about 15cm in 24 hours. But let’s face it, there’s no doubt that the deep, interlocking 3D sipes grip the snowy surface with ease and keep you going. However, I have ridden tire to tire on ice, slush, wet and dry surfaces.
Michelin X-ICE Snow | Photo: Matt St Pierre
Now more than ever, and maybe even more in the future, winter tires have to cope with rather extreme and rapidly changing driving conditions. In my case, it went from a rainy afternoon of +8 degrees Celsius to a freezing -5 degrees Celsius night, resulting in treacherous morning riding conditions. With good road driving habits and Michelin X-ICE winter tires, there is no need to worry.
With reasonable effort on the accelerator, the same next-gen interlocking 3D sipes and V-tread pattern work together to keep the rubber in contact with the surface. And thanks to the FLEX-ICE 2.0 tread compound, the contact area of the tire remains soft enough to have the best possible grip on icy roads.
Michelin X-ICE Snow | Photo: Matt St Pierre
It is the tire’s ability to deliver the desired performance in all of these conditions that makes the Michelin X-ICE winter tire so desirable. Its unique and patented rubber compound is designed to perform in all conditions including icy and dry surfaces. Here, the tires behave admirably, showing a strong tendency towards stability and responsiveness, and producing barely audible road noise.
Although we are deep in January already, cold and dry conditions were the dominant riding conditions. Despite this, a rapid thaw has countless times covered the streets in the blink of an eye with water that inevitably froze a few hours later. Again, the tire’s sipes and “V” design transition seamlessly from draining water to prevent aquaplaning to gripping newly formed ice.
Michelin X-ICE Snow | Photo: Matt St Pierre
As it is, the latest generation Michelin X-ICE winter tire is designed to cope with our increasingly varied winter driving conditions. Basically, they are packed with the right skills and technology to handle the increasingly extreme driving conditions.
Finally, while I cannot rate Michelin’s EverGrip technologies, which promise sustained performance under all circumstances for seasons to come, I have no reason to doubt their value.
*Just days before release, Mother Nature finally dumped 20cm on us in a matter of hours, and as expected, the X-ICE tires scoffed at the fluffy white stuff’s attempts to impede forward motion.
Michelin X-ICE Snow | Photo: Matt St Pierre
Michelin X-ICE Snow | Photo: Matt St Pierre
Michelin X-ICE Snow | Photo: Matt St Pierre