Continental Viking Contact 7 vs Michelin X-Ice Snow: As we saw from our previous comparison of Continental Viking Contact 7 vs Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3, the Continental was pretty much “dominating” against Nokian. This time around, we will compare it against the number tire company in the world with its Michelin X-Ice Snow. The X-Ice Snow was recently launch in 2020, while the Viking Contact 7 was introduced in 2018. So the Viking Contact 7 is 2 years older than the X-Ice Snow. We will use the test magazine results of 2020 Vi Bilagare Nordic Friction Winter Tire Test as our basis for comparison.
The graph above shows the comparison between Continental Viking Contact 7 vs Michelin X-Ice Snow based on the relevant performance category. The Viking Contact 7 was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark. Note that for handling evaluation, we equate 1 point as 5%. Hence for example if the tire A is graded 4 while tire B is graded 3, A is better than B by 5%. The natural scaling does not really make sense in evaluation whereby the max number is 5. The tire size chosen for the test is a 205/60R16 which is commonly used by Mazda 3 and Ford Focus.
Table of Contents
Ice
As what vanilla ice said in his famous song “Ice Ice Baby”, the song sums up the key needs for this particular segment. As the usage conditions are usually around lower than -10°C, ice is the most wanted criteria. This is where the Viking Contact 7 truly shines. It has a clear advantage when it comes to ice braking and ice handling.
X-Ice Snow:
- – 9.7% in ice braking
- – 7.1% in ice handling
Snow
Snow on the other hand was a little more closer compared to ice. The Viking Contact 7 is ahead by only 1.3% in snow braking while 1.6% in snow handling.
X-Ice Snow:
- – 1.3% in snow braking
- – 1.6% in snow handling
Wet
On wet braking, the Viking Contact 7 was clearly ahead at 4.6%. Things took a surprising turn for the wet handling whereby the X-Ice Snow managed to be just slightly ahead. While the X-Ice Snow was also better in aquaplaning,
X-Ice Snow:
- -4.6% in wet braking
- +0.6% in wet handling
- +1.9% in aquaplaning
Dry
Same story as the wet category. Viking Contact 7 was clearly the best in dry braking while the were equally matched in the lap times for dry handling.
X-Ice Snow:
- -5.9% in dry braking
- 0% in dry handling
Rolling Resistance
In the marketing material for X-Ice Snow, the word “Great fuel efficiency” was used but without much elaboration. However from the test we can see that the X-Ice Snow is indeed quite fuel efficient compared to the rest of the competition bagging the first spot while being 2.4% better than Viking Contact 7.
X-Ice Snow:
- +2.4% in rolling resistance
Noise & Comfort
Viking Contact 7 has an outstanding subjective noise performance by achieving the highest possible mark 5/5. Hence this tire is extremely quiet & comfortable which is ideal for people who really hate noise. X-Ice Snow on the other hand was a 3/5 and relatively louder and less comfortable.
X-Ice Snow:
- -10% in noise & comfort
Price
Based on the test report, the prices of the tires were also noted down.
Tire size: 205/60 R16
Viking Contact 7 : € 160
X-Ice Snow: € 152
Difference: -5% cheaper for X-Ice Snow
Summary
Based on the test results, Viking Contact 7 is clearly dominates in the winter category of ice & snow. This is usually the main objective of a Nordic tire which is to perform the best during cold weather conditions. The X-Ice Snow was strong in rolling resistance and aquaplaning while weak in noise & comfort. It also comes 5% cheaper than Viking Contact 7. Overall the clear performance winner is the Viking Contact 7!