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Winter tire Updated October 2026

Michelin X-Ice North 4 review

Relative score 60% tests + 40% owners

Owners 65 · 11 reviews analysed Road tests 73 · 28 tests

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The Michelin X Ice North 4 is widely praised as an exceptional studded winter tire, offering class-leading grip and traction on severe ice and snow surfaces. Users also highlight its surprisingly low road noise for a studded tire, though experiences with long-term stud retention vary significantly.

Owners rate it 8.4 points lower than the instrumented road tests do — see the two score breakdowns below for where they disagree.

Michelin X-Ice North 4

Two scoring systems, side by side

Owner scores come from reviews found online; road-test scores come from instrumented tests. Where they disagree, it is usually a discipline owners rarely push to the limit.

How scores work
Relative score
0–100. Blends road tests (60%) and owner reviews (40%) category by category, the same way on every TireWheelGuide page. With only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from it, so the score stays closer to average. It needs at least one road test or five owner reviews.
Road tests
0–100 per score, from published tests, newer tests counting more. Each result is compared with every other tire in the same test, so a win against a strong field counts for more. The average tested tire gets 70, the best 100; with only one or two tests a tire stays nearer 70. The discipline rows show % of the best tire in that test.
Owner reviews
0–100 from the owner reviews we found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates and scaled like the road tests: the average tested tire gets 70. With only a few reviews a tire stays near the average.

By owner reviews

65/100

From 11 owner reviews analysed, scaled like the road tests: the average tested tire gets 70.

Would buy again 90%
Dry
Overall dry
55
Corner stability
56.9
Dry traction
56.9
Steering response
53.7
Wet
Overall wet
63.6
Wet traction
61.3
Snow & ice
Overall snow & ice
74.7
Ice
72
Comfort
Overall comfort
66.9
Treadwear
Overall treadwear
69
Handling
Overall handling
62.6

Own these tires? Write a review →

By road tests

73/100

Scaled across every tested tire: the average gets 70, the best 100.

Dry
80
Wet
58
Snow
86.4
Comfort
76.1
Noise
56.1
By discipline (% of best in test)
Dry Braking
78.9%
Subj. Dry Handling
90.5%
Wet Braking
65.5%
Subj. Wet Handling
61.9%
Wet Handling
17.3%
Straight Aquaplaning
37.5%
Snow Braking
80.4%
Snow Handling
70.8%
Subj. Snow Handling
100%
Snow Traction
80.4%
Ice Braking
93.8%
Ice Handling
87.5%
Subj. Ice Handling
100%
Ice Traction
87.5%
Inside Noise level
23.8%
Rolling Resistance
33.3%

What owners like and dislike

Themes extracted from 11 owner reviews found online.

The Michelin X Ice North 4 is widely praised as an exceptional studded winter tire, offering class-leading grip and traction on severe ice and snow surfaces. Users also highlight its surprisingly low road noise for a studded tire, though experiences with long-term stud retention vary significantly.

Pros

  • Outstanding grip and traction on ice and snow
  • Significantly lower road noise compared to competing studded tires
  • Comfortable ride quality
  • High initial tread life and slow wear during early seasons

Cons

  • Premature stud loss reported by some users over multiple seasons
  • Slightly slippery feel on rain and dry concrete
  • Light studs can struggle to penetrate loose snow sitting on top of hard ice

Worth knowing

  • Users with AWD vehicles, such as a Kia Stinger GT and older analogue AWD setups, reported excellent confidence and improved handling dynamics in winter conditions.
  • Narrower tire dimensions can exhibit a wallowy feel on dry roads.

Reviews from our readers

Drivers who have these tires on their car, in their own words. We check every review before it goes live.

No reviews from our readers yet

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28 published test appearances

Placement within each field. Open a test for the discipline-by-discipline result.

2027 NAF Motor Studded Winter Tire Test R17 · 215/65R17

3rd of 6

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: NAF Motor

2026 Vi Bilagare Studded tire Test · 215/65 R17

3rd of 8
Best: Snow Traction · 1st Weakest: Wet Handling · 6th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Handling6th of 8
Snow Traction1st of 8
Snow Handling2nd of 8
Ice Handling4th of 8
Straight Aqua5th of 8
Subj. Dry Handling1st of 8
Noise3rd of 8
Ice Traction3rd of 8
Subj. Noise5th of 8
Fuel Consumption4th of 8

Source: Vi Bilägare

2026 Teknikens Värld Studded, Nordic and Central European Winter tire Test · 235/45 R18

14th of 18
Best: Subj. Comfort · 13th Weakest: Straight Aqua · 17th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Straight Aqua17th of 18
Subj. Comfort13th of 18
Subj. Wet Handling17th of 18
Subj. Road Score13th of 18
Fuel Consumption15th of 18
Subj. Snow Handling17th of 18
Dry Lane Change13th of 18
Subj. Ice Handling13th of 18

Source: Teknikens Värld

2025 Studded, Friction and European Winter tire Test · 235/45 R18

17th of 20
Best: Subj. Wet Handling · 6th Weakest: Fuel Consumption · 19th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Straight Aqua12th of 20
Subj. Comfort15th of 20
Subj. Wet Handling6th of 20
Fuel Consumption19th of 20
Subj. Snow Handling6th of 20
Subj. Ice Handling7th of 20

2025 Friction and Studded Winter tire Test · 205/55 R16

11th of 14
Best: Snow Traction · 8th Weakest: Wet Braking · 13th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Braking13th of 14
Wet Handling11th of 14
Dry Braking11th of 14
Snow Braking10th of 14
Snow Traction8th of 14
Ice Braking12th of 14
Subj. Dry Handling8th of 14
Subj. Wet Handling12th of 14
Ice Traction11th of 14
Subj. Noise8th of 14

Source: Tekniikan Maailma

2025 NAF Motor Studded Winter Tire Test R17 · 225/45R17

3rd of 6
Best: Subj. Comfort · 1st Weakest: Wet Circle · 8th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Braking7th of 6
Wet Circle8th of 6
Longitudinal Aquaplaning4th of 6
Dry Braking6th of 6
Snow Braking5th of 6
Snow Traction2nd of 6
Ice Braking4th of 6
Ice Handling3rd of 6
Exterior Noise3rd of 6
Rolling Resistance6th of 6
Subj. Comfort1st of 6
Ice Traction4th of 6
Snow Dry Circle5th of 6

Source: NAF Motor

2025 Teknikens Värld Winter Tire Test R17 · 225/50R17

11th of 15

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Teknikens Värld

2025 UTAC Ivalo Studded Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16

3rd of 10

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: UTAC Ivalo

2024 Studded tire Test · 225/45 R17

3rd of 8
Best: Subj. Dry Handling · 1st Weakest: Wet Handling · 8th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Handling8th of 8
Snow Traction2nd of 8
Snow Handling5th of 8
Ice Handling3rd of 8
Straight Aqua4th of 8
Subj. Dry Handling1st of 8
Noise3rd of 8
Ice Traction4th of 8
Fuel Consumption3rd of 8

Source: Vi Bilägare

The Best Studded / Friction Winter tires for 2024 · 225/50 R17

9th of 17

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

2024 Aftonbladet Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16

3rd of 15

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Aftonbladet

2023 Studded tire Test · 225/45 R17

2nd of 8
Best: Subj. Dry Handling · 1st Weakest: Rolling Resistance · 7th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Handling6th of 8
Snow Traction2nd of 8
Snow Handling4th of 8
Ice Handling2nd of 8
Rolling Resistance7th of 8
Straight Aqua6th of 8
Subj. Dry Handling1st of 8
Subj. Comfort4th of 8
Noise7th of 8
Ice Traction1st of 8

Source: Vi Bilägare

2023 UTAC Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16

5th of 17
Best: Dry Braking · 3rd Weakest: Snow Traction · 14th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Braking9th of 17
Wet Handling7th of 17
Dry Braking3rd of 17
Snow Braking8th of 17
Snow Traction14th of 17
Snow Handling7th of 17
Ice Braking3rd of 17
Ice Handling3rd of 17
Exterior Noise11th of 17
Rolling Resistance10th of 17
Subj. Dry Handling3rd of 17
Subj. Wet Handling5th of 17
Ice Traction4th of 17

Source: UTAC

2022 Moottori Studded Winter Tire Test R18 · 235/45R18

2nd of 7

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Moottori

2021 Nordic Studded Winter tire Test · 205/55 R16

2nd of 8
Best: Snow Traction · 2nd Weakest: Wet Handling · 8th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Handling8th of 8
Snow Traction2nd of 8
Snow Handling2nd of 8
Ice Handling2nd of 8
Noise8th of 8
Ice Traction2nd of 8

2021 Studless and Studded Winter tire Test · 205/55 R16

5th of 16
Best: Snow Handling · 1st Weakest: Wet Braking · 15th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Braking15th of 16
Wet Handling15th of 16
Dry Braking4th of 16
Snow Braking4th of 16
Snow Traction6th of 16
Snow Handling1st of 16
Ice Braking3rd of 16
Ice Handling2nd of 16
Ice Traction3rd of 16
Subj. Noise8th of 16
Price15th of 16

2021 Test World Large Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16

3rd of 15

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Test World

2021 Test World Winter Studded Tire Test R17 · 225/55R17

1st of 5

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Test World

2021 Moottori Winter Studded Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16

2nd of 8

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Moottori

2021 Za Rulem Studded Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16

2nd of 7

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Za Rulem

2020 Studded Winter tire Test · 205/60 R16

1st of 8
Best: Ice Handling · 1st Weakest: Wet Handling · 8th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Handling8th of 8
Snow Traction2nd of 8
Snow Handling5th of 8
Ice Handling1st of 8
Straight Aqua8th of 8
Subj. Dry Handling1st of 8
Ice Traction1st of 8
Subj. Noise1st of 8
Fuel Consumption1st of 8

Source: Vi Bilägare

2020 Nordic and Studded Winter tire Test · 205/55 R16

1st of 20
Best: Ice Handling · 1st Weakest: Wet Handling · 20th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Braking5th of 20
Wet Handling20th of 20
Dry Braking2nd of 20
Snow Braking5th of 20
Snow Traction8th of 20
Snow Handling9th of 20
Ice Braking2nd of 20
Ice Handling1st of 20
Ice Traction1st of 20
Subj. Noise19th of 20

2020 Motor Winter Studded Tire Test R16 · 205/60R16

1st of 8

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Motor

2020 Moottori Winter Studded Tire Test R17 · 225/50R17

1st of 8

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Moottori

2020 Test World Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16

2nd of 17

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Test World

2019 Studded Winter tire Test · 225/50 R17

2nd of 8
Best: Subj. Dry Handling · 1st Weakest: Wet Handling · 7th
DisciplinePlacementField position
Wet Braking6th of 8
Wet Handling7th of 8
Dry Braking4th of 8
Snow Braking3rd of 8
Snow Traction3rd of 8
Snow Handling3rd of 8
Ice Braking2nd of 8
Ice Handling3rd of 8
Straight Aqua6th of 8
Subj. Dry Handling1st of 8
Ice Traction3rd of 8

Source: Vi Bilägare

2019 Teknikens Värld Large Winter Tire Test R17 · 225/50R17

9th of 16

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Teknikens Värld

2018 Autofil Studdable Winter Tire Test R16 · 205/55R16

1st of 9

Only the final ranking was published for this test, not the results per discipline.

Source: Autofil

Michelin X-Ice North 4 compared

Compare any two
Michelin X-Ice North 4VSMichelin X Ice Snow
Hankook Winter i*pike RS2VSMichelin X-Ice North 4
Continental IceContact 3VSMichelin X-Ice North 4
Michelin X-Ice North 4VSMichelin X-Ice Snow SUV
Bridgestone Blizzak WS90VSMichelin X-Ice North 4
Michelin X-Ice North 4VSToyo Observe GSi-6 HP
Bridgestone Blizzak IceVSMichelin X-Ice North 4
Firestone Winterforce 2VSMichelin X-Ice North 4
Continental CrossContact LX25VSMichelin X-Ice North 4
Michelin X-Ice North 4VSMichelin X-Ice North 4
General Altimax Winter 3VSMichelin X-Ice North 4
Firestone Winterforce 2 UVVSMichelin X-Ice North 4

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