Tests 75 · 8 tests Owners 63 · 32 reviews
Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2020 Nordic and Studded Winter Tyre Test (snow braking)
Head-to-head
Updated
Continental VikingContact 7 vs Michelin X Ice Snow — Compared
Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 8 + 13 road tests and 32 + 19 owner reviews. How we score
X Ice Snow is ahead, 74–69
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Tests 70 · 13 tests Owners 79 · 19 reviews
Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tyre Test (comfort (tester's mark))
Category by category
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
Key facts
- In 6 tests that measured ice handling for both, VikingContact 7 won 4 and X Ice Snow won 0 (average 91% vs 82% of the best).
- In 6 tests that measured snow handling for both, VikingContact 7 won 5 and X Ice Snow won 0 (average 98% vs 96% of the best).
- In 5 tests that measured wet handling for both, VikingContact 7 won 3 and X Ice Snow won 2 (average 93% vs 91% of the best).
- In 5 tests that measured ice traction for both, VikingContact 7 won 1 and X Ice Snow won 2 (average 78% vs 80% of the best).
- In 5 tests that measured snow traction for both, VikingContact 7 won 3 and X Ice Snow won 0 (average 95% vs 94% of the best).
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67
Dry
X Ice Snow +168Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 X Ice Snow Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / 11 tests 77 65 Reviews found online 53 72 Dry Braking (% of best) · 4 shared tests · wins 3–1 92% 84% Dry Handling (tester's mark) (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 0–0 77% 77% VikingContact 7: 60% × 76.6 + 40% × 52.8 = 67
X Ice Snow: 60% × 65.3 + 40% × 72.2 = 68
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68
Wet
X Ice Snow +371Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 X Ice Snow Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / 12 tests 68 64 Reviews found online 67 81 Straight Aquaplaning (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 0–2 88% 89% Wet Handling (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–0 70% 70% Wet Braking (% of best) · 4 shared tests · wins 2–0 78% 77% Wet Handling (% of best) · 5 shared tests · wins 3–2 93% 91% VikingContact 7: 60% × 68.4 + 40% × 66.5 = 68
X Ice Snow: 60% × 64.2 + 40% × 80.6 = 71
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76
Snow
X Ice Snow +177Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 X Ice Snow Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / 12 tests 79 73 Reviews found online 72 82 Ice Braking (% of best) · 4 shared tests · wins 0–3 82% 85% Ice Handling (% of best) · 6 shared tests · wins 4–0 91% 82% Ice Traction (% of best) · 5 shared tests · wins 1–2 78% 80% Snow Braking (% of best) · 4 shared tests · wins 2–1 95% 99% Snow Handling (% of best) · 6 shared tests · wins 5–0 98% 96% Snow Traction (% of best) · 5 shared tests · wins 3–0 95% 94% Deep Snow Traction (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–0 100% 100% VikingContact 7: 60% × 79.1 + 40% × 72.4 = 76
X Ice Snow: 60% × 73.3 + 40% × 81.8 = 77
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71
Comfort
X Ice Snow +1081Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 X Ice Snow Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / 3 tests 70 82 Reviews found online 71 80 Comfort (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–0 100% 100% VikingContact 7: 40% × 70 + 60% × 71.3 = 71
X Ice Snow: 40% × 82.3 + 60% × 80 = 81
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81
Noise
VikingContact 7 +675Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 X Ice Snow Professional tests (TWG score) · 6 / 8 tests 89 81 Reviews found online 69 ≈ 67 (est.) Noise (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 1–0 100% 99% Exterior Noise (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–0 100% 100% Noise (tester's mark) (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 3–0 100% 80% VikingContact 7: 60% × 88.6 + 40% × 68.7 = 81
X Ice Snow: 60% × 81.2 + 40% × 66.6 (est.) = 75
No owner ratings of noise for X Ice Snow. The owner half is the owners’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.
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60
Treadwear
X Ice Snow +1676Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 X Ice Snow Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 62 (est.) ≈ 72 (est.) Reviews found online 56 83 VikingContact 7: 60% × 62.5 (est.) + 40% × 55.7 = 60
X Ice Snow: 60% × 72.1 (est.) + 40% × 83.1 = 76
No road tests of treadwear for VikingContact 7. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).
No road tests of treadwear for X Ice Snow. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).
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64
Handling (owners)
X Ice Snow +1276Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 X Ice Snow Reviews found online 64 76 -
77
Efficiency
Level77Why this score
Source VikingContact 7 X Ice Snow Professional tests (TWG score) · 4 / 6 tests 77 77 Fuel Consumption (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 1–0 96% 93% Rolling Resistance (% of best) · 2 shared tests · wins 0–1 99% 100%
Scores at a glance
| Category | Continental VikingContact 7 | Michelin X Ice Snow |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 69 | 74 |
| Dry | 67 | 68 |
| Wet | 68 | 71 |
| Snow | 76 | 77 |
| Comfort | 71 | 81 |
| Noise | 81 | 75 |
| Treadwear | 60 | 76 |
| Handling (owners) | 64 | 76 |
| Efficiency | 77 | 77 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
Weight the categories that matter to you
Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Not important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score
69
/ 100
VikingContact 7
74
/ 100
X Ice Snow
The professional test results behind the scores
Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.
In the overall rankings of 17 tests that ran both, Continental VikingContact 7 finished ahead 14 times and Michelin X Ice Snow 3 times.
| Discipline | Category | VikingContact 7 | X Ice Snow | Δ | Head-to-head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Braking | Dry | 92% | 84% | +7.9 | 3–1 in 4 shared tests Newest: 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 · 215/60R16 |
| Dry Handling (tester's mark) | Dry | 77% | 77% | 0.0 | 0–0 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Straight Aquaplaning | Wet | 88% | 89% | −1.7 | 0–2 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 · 215/60R16 |
| Wet Braking | Wet | 78% | 77% | +1.5 | 2–0 in 4 shared tests Newest: 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 · 215/60R16 |
| Wet Handling | Wet | 93% | 91% | +2.3 | 3–2 in 5 shared tests Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Wet Handling (tester's mark) | Wet | 70% | 70% | 0.0 | 0–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Deep Snow Traction | Snow | 100% | 100% | 0.0 | 0–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 · 215/60R16 |
| Ice Braking | Snow | 82% | 85% | −3.4 | 0–3 in 4 shared tests Newest: 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 · 215/60R16 |
| Ice Handling | Snow | 91% | 82% | +9.1 | 4–0 in 6 shared tests Newest: 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 · 215/60R16 |
| Ice Traction | Snow | 78% | 80% | −1.5 | 1–2 in 5 shared tests Newest: 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 · 215/60R16 |
| Snow Braking | Snow | 95% | 99% | −4.3 | 2–1 in 4 shared tests Newest: 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 · 215/60R16 |
| Snow Handling | Snow | 98% | 96% | +2.6 | 5–0 in 6 shared tests Newest: 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 · 215/60R16 |
| Snow Traction | Snow | 95% | 94% | +0.8 | 3–0 in 5 shared tests Newest: 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 · 215/60R16 |
| Comfort (tester's mark) | Comfort | 100% | 100% | 0.0 | 0–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2023 Autoreview Studless Winter Tire Test R16 · 215/60R16 |
| Exterior Noise | Noise | 100% | 100% | 0.0 | 0–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Noise | Noise | 100% | 99% | +0.7 | 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2023 Studless Friction Winter Tyre Test · 225/45 R17 |
| Noise (tester's mark) | Noise | 100% | 80% | +20.4 | 3–0 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2021 Studless and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Fuel Consumption | Efficiency | 96% | 93% | +2.8 | 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2023 Studless Friction Winter Tyre Test · 225/45 R17 |
| Rolling Resistance | Efficiency | 99% | 100% | −1.3 | 0–1 in 2 shared tests Newest: 2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16 |
| Also published by the testers (not in the score) | |||||
| Price | Cost | 46% | 47% | −1.1 | 0–1 in 2 shared tests Newest: 2021 Studless and Studded Winter Tyre Test · 205/55 R16 |
| Overall Ranking | Overall | #2/15 | #16/15 | – | 14–3 in 17 shared tests Newest: 2025 Teknikens Värld Winter Tire Test R17 · 225/50R17 |
Pros, cons & observations
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
Tire A VikingContact 7
Pros
- Exceptionally quiet and comfortable ride quality
- Strong performance in slush and deep snow
- Stable and predictable handling at highway speeds
Cons
- Mixed reports regarding tread life and longevity
- Noticeable decline in ice-braking performance compared to top-tier ice specialists
- Compound may harden or performance may degrade after multiple seasons
Tire B X Ice Snow
Pros
- Exceptional traction and lateral grip in deep snow and slush
- High level of confidence and stability on icy surfaces
- Excellent tread life and durability over multiple seasons
Cons
- Average performance and handling on dry or wet pavement
- Increased road noise as the tires wear over time
- Can feel slightly 'twitchy' or less stable at the absolute limit of handling
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Continental VikingContact 7 | B · Michelin X Ice Snow |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Winter | Winter |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
| Sizes available | 134 | 100 |
| Rim diameters | 14″ – 22″ | 13″ – 21″ |
| Tread depth | 10 - 11/32″ | — |
| Sidewall | Black Side Wall | — |
| Max pressure | 44 - 51 psi | — |
| Sizes in common | 71 | 71 |
Which one should you actually buy?
69
/ 100
Continental VikingContact 7
74
/ 100
Michelin X Ice Snow
Winner: Michelin X Ice Snow — better treadwear, handling and comfort. Pick the Continental VikingContact 7 if noise matters most to you.
Pick tire B
You want the longest tread life
Michelin X Ice Snow scores 76 vs 60 on treadwear.
Pick tire B
You enjoy sharp, responsive handling
Michelin X Ice Snow scores 76 vs 64 on handling.
Pick tire B
You want the most comfortable ride
Michelin X Ice Snow scores 81 vs 71 on comfort.
Pick tire A
You want a quieter cabin
Continental VikingContact 7 scores 81 vs 75 on noise.
Tire A · Continental VikingContact 7
Tire B · Michelin X Ice Snow
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VikingContact 7 or X Ice Snow?
Which is better in the wet, VikingContact 7 or X Ice Snow?
Michelin X Ice Snow, 71 vs 68 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, VikingContact 7 or X Ice Snow?
Neither, by our numbers: 67 vs 68 on the dry score, within 3 points.
Which is better in snow, VikingContact 7 or X Ice Snow?
Neither, by our numbers: 76 vs 77 on the snow score, within 3 points.
Which is quieter, VikingContact 7 or X Ice Snow?
Continental VikingContact 7, 81 vs 75 on our noise score.
Which is more comfortable, VikingContact 7 or X Ice Snow?
Michelin X Ice Snow, 81 vs 71 on our comfort score.
Which lasts longer, VikingContact 7 or X Ice Snow?
Michelin X Ice Snow, 76 vs 60 on our treadwear score.
Which rolls more easily, VikingContact 7 or X Ice Snow?
Neither, by our numbers: 77 vs 77 on the efficiency score, within 3 points.
How do we compare tires?
Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.
Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.
Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology