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Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.

Head-to-head Updated

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 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 0 + 13 road tests and 11 + 20 owner reviews. How we score

Pilot Alpin PA3 leads, 76–73 Narrow edge

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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. 77

    Dry

    Pilot Alpin PA3 +10
    67
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Alpin PA3X Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 11 tests≈ 74 (est.)65
    Reviews found online8371

    Pilot Alpin PA3: 60% × 73.9 (est.) + 40% × 82.5 = 77

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

    No road tests of dry for Pilot Alpin PA3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 81

    Wet

    Pilot Alpin PA3 +10
    71
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Alpin PA3X Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 12 tests≈ 78 (est.)65
    Reviews found online8579

    Pilot Alpin PA3: 60% × 78.4 (est.) + 40% × 84.8 = 81

    X Ice Snow: 60% × 64.9 + 40% × 79.1 = 71

    No road tests of wet for Pilot Alpin PA3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. 68

    Snow

    X Ice Snow +8
    76
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Alpin PA3X Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 12 tests≈ 69 (est.)73
    Reviews found online6781

    Pilot Alpin PA3: 60% × 69.4 (est.) + 40% × 67 = 68

    X Ice Snow: 60% × 73.2 + 40% × 81.1 = 76

    No road tests of snow for Pilot Alpin PA3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).

  4. 78

    Comfort

    X Ice Snow +2
    80
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Alpin PA3X Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests≈ 71 (est.)81
    Reviews found online8279

    Pilot Alpin PA3: 40% × 71.3 (est.) + 60% × 81.9 = 78

    X Ice Snow: 40% × 80.9 + 60% × 78.8 = 80

    No road tests of comfort for Pilot Alpin PA3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  5. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    75
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Alpin PA3X Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 8 tests–81
    Reviews found online–≈ 66 (est.)

    X Ice Snow: 60% × 80.5 + 40% × 66.5 (est.) = 75

    No owner ratings of noise for 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. 76

    Treadwear

    Level
    76
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Alpin PA3X Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 72 (est.)≈ 72 (est.)
    Reviews found online8281

    Pilot Alpin PA3: 60% × 72.1 (est.) + 40% × 81.9 = 76

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

    No road tests of treadwear for Pilot Alpin PA3. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

    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. 82

    Handling (owners)

    Pilot Alpin PA3 +7
    75
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Alpin PA3X Ice Snow
    Reviews found online8275
  8. –

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    77
    Why this score
    SourcePilot Alpin PA3X Ice Snow
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 6 tests–77
Scores at a glance
CategoryMichelin Pilot Alpin PA3Michelin X Ice Snow
Relative Score 76 73
Dry 77 67
Wet 81 71
Snow 68 76
Comfort 78 80
Noise – 75
Treadwear 76 76
Handling (owners) 82 75
Efficiency – 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

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Not important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Recomputed
Headline score
± 8

Pilot Alpin PA3

± 5

X Ice Snow

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

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.

DisciplineCategoryPilot Alpin PA3X Ice SnowΔHead-to-head
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #6/7 2011 Auto Bild Performance Winter Tyre Test #7/10 2026 Tire Rack All-Weather vs Winter Tyre Test – Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A Pilot Alpin PA3

Pros

  • Exceptional traction and grip on ice, light-to-moderate snow, and wet roads
  • High comfort levels and very low road noise, comparable to summer tires
  • Durable tread life with slow, even wear over thousands of miles

Cons

  • Premium price point that some users find lacking in value
  • Not optimized for deep snow or slow-speed climbing in mountainous 'white' roads
  • Slight loss of braking performance felt on dry roads by some drivers
All owner themes in the Pilot Alpin PA3 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 · Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 B · Michelin X Ice Snow
CategoryWinterWinter
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—100
Rim diameters—13″ – 21″

Which one should you actually buy?

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3

Michelin X Ice Snow

Narrow edge: Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 — better dry, wet and handling. Pick the Michelin X Ice Snow if snow matters most to you. Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 11 reviews), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 scores 77 vs 67 on dry.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 scores 81 vs 71 on wet.

Pick tire B You drive through snowy winters

Michelin X Ice Snow scores 76 vs 68 on snow.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 scores 82 vs 75 on handling.

Tire A · Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3
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Tire B · Michelin X Ice Snow
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Pilot Alpin PA3 or X Ice Snow?

Which is better in the wet, Pilot Alpin PA3 or X Ice Snow?

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3, 81 vs 71 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Pilot Alpin PA3 or X Ice Snow?

Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3, 77 vs 67 on our dry score.

Which is better in snow, Pilot Alpin PA3 or X Ice Snow?

Michelin X Ice Snow, 76 vs 68 on our snow score.

Which is more comfortable, Pilot Alpin PA3 or X Ice Snow?

Neither, by our numbers: 78 vs 80 on the comfort score, within 3 points.

Which lasts longer, Pilot Alpin PA3 or X Ice Snow?

Neither, by our numbers: 76 vs 76 on the treadwear 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