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Continental WinterContact TS 870 P 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 32 + 13 road tests and 34 + 20 owner reviews. How we score

WinterContact TS 870 P is ahead, 82–73

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Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
Tire AContinental

WinterContact TS 870 P

Winter

± 4

Tests 83 · 32 tests Owners 80 · 34 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2026 Auto Bild Winter Tyre Test (dry handling)

Michelin X Ice Snow
Tire BMichelin

X Ice Snow

Winter

± 5

Tests 70 · 13 tests Owners 78 · 20 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.

  1. 81

    Dry

    WinterContact TS 870 P +14
    67
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PX Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 25 / 11 tests8365
    Reviews found online7971

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 83.3 + 40% × 78.5 = 81

    X Ice Snow: 60% × 64.9 + 40% × 70.7 = 67

  2. 91

    Wet

    WinterContact TS 870 P +20
    71
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PX Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 32 / 12 tests9565
    Reviews found online8679
    Straight Aquaplaning (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 1–0100%81%
    Wet Handling (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 1–080%60%

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 94.6 + 40% × 86.2 = 91

    X Ice Snow: 60% × 64.9 + 40% × 79.2 = 71

  3. 79

    Snow

    WinterContact TS 870 P +3
    76
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PX Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 31 / 12 tests8073
    Reviews found online7681
    Ice Handling (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–130%60%
    Snow Handling (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–170%80%

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 80.2 + 40% × 76.3 = 79

    X Ice Snow: 60% × 73.2 + 40% × 81 = 76

  4. 87

    Comfort

    WinterContact TS 870 P +7
    80
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PX Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / 3 tests9881
    Reviews found online8079
    Comfort (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–180%100%

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 40% × 98 + 60% × 80 = 87

    X Ice Snow: 40% × 80.8 + 60% × 78.8 = 80

  5. 73

    Noise

    X Ice Snow +2
    75
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PX Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 22 / 8 tests7880
    Reviews found online≈ 66 (est.)≈ 66 (est.)

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 77.6 + 40% × 66.3 (est.) = 73

    X Ice Snow: 60% × 80.2 + 40% × 66.3 (est.) = 75

    No owner ratings of noise for WinterContact TS 870 P or X Ice Snow. The owner half is the owners’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.

  6. 74

    Treadwear

    X Ice Snow +2
    76
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PX Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 8 / – tests70≈ 72 (est.)
    Reviews found online8081

    WinterContact TS 870 P: 60% × 69.9 + 40% × 80.2 = 74

    X Ice Snow: 60% × 71.9 (est.) + 40% × 81.4 = 76

    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 0.36).

  7. 83

    Handling (owners)

    WinterContact TS 870 P +8
    75
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PX Ice Snow
    Reviews found online8375
  8. 86

    Efficiency

    WinterContact TS 870 P +9
    77
    Why this score
    SourceWinterContact TS 870 PX Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 24 / 6 tests8677
    Fuel Consumption (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–196%100%
Scores at a glance
CategoryContinental WinterContact TS 870 PMichelin X Ice Snow
Relative Score 82 73
Dry 81 67
Wet 91 71
Snow 79 76
Comfort 87 80
Noise 73 75
Treadwear 74 76
Handling (owners) 83 75
Efficiency 86 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
± 4

WinterContact TS 870 P

± 5

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 1 tests that ran both, Continental WinterContact TS 870 P finished ahead 1 times and Michelin X Ice Snow 0 times.

DisciplineCategoryWinterContact TS 870 PX Ice SnowΔHead-to-head
Straight Aquaplaning Wet 100% 81% +19.0 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tyre Test · 235/45 R18
Wet Handling (tester's mark) Wet 80% 60% +20.0 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tyre Test · 235/45 R18
Ice Handling (tester's mark) Snow 30% 60% −30.0 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tyre Test · 235/45 R18
Snow Handling (tester's mark) Snow 70% 80% −10.0 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tyre Test · 235/45 R18
Comfort (tester's mark) Comfort 80% 100% −20.0 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tyre Test · 235/45 R18
Fuel Consumption Efficiency 96% 100% −4.2 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tyre Test · 235/45 R18
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #3/20 #9/20 – 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter Tyre Test · 235/45 R18

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A WinterContact TS 870 P

Pros

  • Exceptionally low noise levels and high ride comfort
  • Outstanding wet weather and slush performance, cutting through heavy rain effortlessly
  • Balanced dry and cold-weather handling with impressive cornering stability

Cons

  • Higher price point compared to some competitors
  • Steering response and initial stiffness are slightly softer and less sporty than dedicated summer tires or some rivals
  • Snow and ice traction can feel less exceptional or borderline inadequate for a small subset of users
All owner themes in the WinterContact TS 870 P review

Tire B X Ice Snow

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and traction in deep snow, packed snow, and slush
  • High confidence and predictable handling on icy and freezing roads
  • Impressive tread wear longevity and minimal wear over multiple seasons

Cons

  • Average performance on dry and wet pavement compared to dedicated non-winter tires
  • Slightly noisier on dry pavement as the tread wears down
  • Can feel slightly twitchy at the limit or less comfortable than older X-Ice generations
All owner themes in the X Ice Snow review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Continental WinterContact TS 870 P B · Michelin X Ice Snow
CategoryWinterWinter
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available121100
Rim diameters16″ – 23″13″ – 21″
Sizes in common4646

Which one should you actually buy?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P

Michelin X Ice Snow

Winner: Continental WinterContact TS 870 P — better wet, dry and efficiency. Where the Michelin X Ice Snow is ahead, it is by less than 3 points.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 91 vs 71 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 81 vs 67 on dry.

Pick tire A You want lower fuel or energy use

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 86 vs 77 on efficiency.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P scores 83 vs 75 on handling.

Tire A · Continental WinterContact TS 870 P
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Tire B · Michelin X Ice Snow
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WinterContact TS 870 P or X Ice Snow?

Which is better in the wet, WinterContact TS 870 P or X Ice Snow?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 91 vs 71 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, WinterContact TS 870 P or X Ice Snow?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 81 vs 67 on our dry score.

Which is better in snow, WinterContact TS 870 P or X Ice Snow?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 79 vs 76 on our snow score.

Which is quieter, WinterContact TS 870 P or X Ice Snow?

Neither, by our numbers: 73 vs 75 on the noise score, within 3 points.

Which is more comfortable, WinterContact TS 870 P or X Ice Snow?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 87 vs 80 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, WinterContact TS 870 P or X Ice Snow?

Neither, by our numbers: 74 vs 76 on the treadwear score, within 3 points.

Which rolls more easily, WinterContact TS 870 P or X Ice Snow?

Continental WinterContact TS 870 P, 86 vs 77 on our efficiency score.

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