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The X-ICE winter tires are as capable as expected.
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So far, they have weathered the ever-changing conditions this winter effortlessly.
Disturbingly, winter finally reared its white face in the greater Montreal area nearly a week following New Year’s Day. While most of North America was frozen or crawling out with several feet of snow, Montreal had to deal with mild temperatures and rain. But when winter came, we were treated to freezing rain, followed by snow and lots of ice. I was not worried since my Golf was shod with new Michelin X-ICE snow winter tires.
Michelin X-ICE Snow winter tire test: vulcanized in Canada for Canadians
Confidence is a good feeling. Thanks to the blessed combination of the capabilities of the Michelin X-ICE tires and the Golf’s more than adequate 4MOTION all-wheel-drive system, getting into an unintentional slide situation or being stuck is essentially the direct result of the driver who pushes his luck. Indeed, while all-wheel drive contributes to the forward momentum, it is the tires that are responsible for reducing speed and keeping the nose of the vehicle in the desired direction.
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 there is.
I’ll be completely honest: I didn’t drive my Golf with Michelin X-ICE tires in really snowy conditions.*. The heaviest snowfall we have received at the time of writing this article was only regarding 15cm in 24 hours. But let’s be honest, there’s no doubt that the deep, interlocking 3D sipes grip the snowy surface effortlessly and keep you going. I did, however, ride tire to tire on ice, slush, wet and dry surfaces.
Now more than ever, and perhaps even more so in the future, winter tires will have to deal with quite extreme and rapidly changing driving conditions. In my case, I went from a rainy +8 degree Celsius followingnoon to a freezing -5 degree Celsius night resulting in treacherous driving conditions in the morning. With good on-road driving habits and Michelin X-ICE snow tires, there’s never a reason to worry.
With reasonable effort on the throttle, the same 3D interlocking sipes and next-generation 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 tire’s contact patch remains soft enough to grip the icy road as well as possible.
It is the tire’s ability to perform as desired in all 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 well, showing a strong propensity for stability and responsiveness, while generating barely audible rolling noise.
Although we are already deep into January, cold and dry conditions were the dominant driving conditions. Despite this, on countless occasions and in the blink of an eye, a quick thaw covered the roads with water which inevitably froze a few hours later. Here once more, the sipes and the “V” design of the tire pass without transition from the evacuation of water, making it possible to avoid aquaplaning, to the attachment to freshly formed ice.
As it is, the latest generation Michelin X-ICE snow tire is designed to cope with our increasingly varied winter driving conditions. Basically, they’re packed with the right kinds of capabilities and technologies to tackle the increasingly extreme riding conditions.
Finally, and even if I cannot evaluate Michelin’s EverGrip technologies which promise sustained performance in all circumstances for seasons to come, I have no reason to doubt their value.
*Just days before publication, 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 mobility.
