Michelin x ice 3 xi3.
Michelin x ice xi2 vs nokian hakkapeliitta r2 suv.
It s also worth mentioning that the 125 alternative.
Michelin s snow tires particularly the x ice line are consistently among the top 3 on the market.
The nokian hakkapeliitta r3 is a friction non studdable tire replacing the former r2.
The one category this tire didn t win is price.
Wet roads slush r3 dry roads xi3 slightly needless to say we now run the nokian hakka 9 studded.
The latitude x ice xi2 michelin s flagship winter tire aimed at light trucks suv s and crossover vehicles competes with nokian s hakka r2 suv and bridgestone s blizzak dm v1 in a massive 3 cornered dogfight for the top spot.
For comparison michelin provided an identical vehicle fitted with nokian hakkapeliitta r3 tires a respected competitor.
Here s my 2 cents based on our nokian michelin experience on our 16 forester.
Not as grippy as its hakkapeliitta 9 sibling in deep snow the r3 is a knockout on.
And saying hakkapeliitta out loud is nearly as enjoyable as driving them.
He strongly recommended the michelins as he stated that they found the nokians to be a difficult tire to work with and to balance correctly.
So nokian hakkapeliitta r2 suv tends to get more favorable reviews than michelin x ice as seen on the chart below.
The studs sink into ice and limit slipping which translates into the finest handling one can get.
In this size the r2 costs 48 more per tire than the second place michelin.
The hakkapeliitta 8 boasts the most advanced studded tire on the market for all weather conditions and has made improvements on downside to studded tires the noise.
The x ice snow tire provides driver confidence in all kinds of winter weather.
The current unavailable price was 1030 incl tax for 4 of the michelin ice xi3 and 1089 for the nokian hakka r2.
Deep snow the r3 is noticeably better ice hard pack very similar.
The r3 may have been more predictable.
Lately however many reviewers have been pointing at michelin s x ice xi2 as at least the equal of nokian s flagship hakka r.
The x ice comes with a premium price but with that comes excellent quality.
However it s fairly safe to say that michelin x ice are more popular snow tires based on their reviews.