Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 vs Michelin X Ice North 4 SUV: We have covered the studded tire segment quite with a top 2 titan clash in the form of Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10 vs Michelin X Ice North 4 with Hakkapeliitta showing great performances in ice & snow. This time we would like to introduce another premium competitor in the form of Goodyear’s UltraGrip Arctic 2.
This new studded tire from Goodyear was launched in 2021 replacing UltraGrip Ice Arctic after a 9 year gap. UltraGrip Arctic 2 covers all tire sizes from 14″ all the way to 20″. On the other corner, we have Michelin’s X Ice North 4 which is famously known for having the highest amount of stud (250) among the field. Let’s put them head to head and see who will come out on top !
The graph above shows the comparison between Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 vs Michelin X Ice North 4 SUV based on the relevant performance category. The UltraGrip Arctic 2 was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark. The handling criteria shown in the test are evaluated objectively through lap times except for dry handling. Note that for subjective evaluation, we equate 1 point as 5%. Hence for example if tire A is graded 5 while tire B is graded 4, A is better than B by 5%.
The tire size of interest is 235/55 R18 which is a common tire size for Volkswagen Tiguan and the Audi Q3. The test vehicle of choice is a Volkswagen Tiguan. You can check out our latest tire size table for more information. The testing vehicle of choice is a Volvo XC40 SUV.
Table of Contents
Ice
Ice forms a key requirement when it comes to driving in a Nordic country during winter. As the usage conditions are usually lower than -10°C, tricky ice conditions are widely present outside of the cities. UltraGrip Arctic 2 was promoted heavily via Goodyear’s MultiControl Ice Technology, which states it provides ” revolutionary stud technology that increases stud contact with the road surface, for highly effective ice grip and handling”.
True to its word, UltraGrip Arctic 2 was dominating in ice braking as it stopped 1.54m (5 feet) earlier compared to X Ice North 4 SUV. UltraGrip Arctic 2 was the best tire in the competition for ice braking. The trend continued in ice traction as UltraGrip Arctic 2 was 0.05 seconds faster accelerating from 5km/h (3mph) to 15 km/h (9mph).
While in ice handling, X Ice North 4 SUV was the front runner as it has a 1.9 seconds advantage over UltraGrip Arctic 2. It is clear in this comparison that UltraGrip Arctic 2 dominated in objective ice while X Ice North 4 SUV is the better ice handling performing tire.
X Ice North 4 SUV :
- -12.2% in ice braking
- -2.1% in ice traction
- +3.2% in ice handling
Snow
With a clear differentiation in ice, snow was dominated by X Ice North 4 SUV. In snow braking, X Ice North 4 SUV topped the charts by being the best in class snow braking tire with a 0.22m (0.7 feet) advantage against UltraGrip Arctic 2. While in snow traction, X Ice North 4 SUV was once again the best tire among the field by beating UltraGrip Arctic 2 just by 0.09 seconds from an acceleration of 5-25 km/h (3-15 mph).
X Ice North 4 SUV is also the better snow handling tire with a lap time of 77.99 seconds which came in 2nd best with UltraGrip Arctic 2 coming behind with a deficit of 1.42 seconds per lap, Overall it is clear that X Ice North 4 SUV is the better snow tire without a doubt.
X Ice North 4 SUV :
- +2% in snow braking
- +1.7% in snow traction
- +1.8% in snow handling
Wet
As studded tires are exempted from providing an EU label, the only way to compare them is through testing. UltraGrip Arctic 2 managed to out brake X Ice North 4 SUV by 2.67 meters (8,8 feet) as the Michelin finished last in the competition. X Ice North 4 did not perform well either in the wet handling track as it finished the worst among the field by being 0.43 seconds slower compared to X Ice North 4 SUV.
Aquaplaning was also worst for X Ice North 4 SUV as it once again found itself at the bottom of the league with a slip speed of 53.9 km/h (33.5 mph) compared to 55.7 km/h (34.6 mph) of UltraGrip Arctic 2. Overall UltraGrip Arctic 2 was clearly the better wet tire as X Ice North 4 SU was rated the worst performing wet studded tire in the competition.
X Ice North 4 SUV :
- -6.6% in wet braking
- -1% in wet handling
- -3.2% in aquaplaning
Dry
Unlike wet, dry performances heavily favored X Ice North 4 SUV as it managed to brake 0.28m earlier compared to UltraGrip Arctic 2. While in subjective dry handling, X Ice North 4 SUV was rated 5/5 while UltraGrip Arctic 2 was only rated 3/5. Overall, X Ice North 4 SUV has the clear initiative in dry performances.
X Ice North 4 SUV :
- +0.8% in dry braking
- +10% in subjective dry handling
Noise
X Ice North 4 SUV clocked an average interior noise of 75.5 dB topping the charts with the lowest value compared to the higher 76.4 dB of UltraGrip Arctic 2.
X Ice North 4 SUV :
- +1.2% in interior noise (-0.9 dB)
Fuel Consumption
When it comes to studless/studded tires, rolling resistance is definitely not at the highest priority as the engineer has to handle the most important winter vs summer target conflict. However with the sustainability topic being more prevalent, rolling resistance has been widely used as a competitive marketing tool as it could be easily seen in the label values.
Being a studded tire, rolling resistance is greatly hampered as the studs do create more resistance in rolling. X Ice North 4 SUV had a lower fuel consumption value of 5.5 liter/100km compared to 5.96 liter /100 km of UltraGrip Arctic 2.
X Ice North 4 SUV :
- +8.4% in fuel consumption
Price
Based on the test report, the prices of the tires were also noted down.
Tire size: 235/55 R18
UltraGrip Arctic 2 : 3079 kr // €284
X Ice North 4 SUV : 3189 kr // € 294
Difference: +3% more expensive for X Ice North 4 SUV.
Summary
Based on the test results, both tires took turns to excel in various performance fields. UltraGrip Arctic 2 showed clear strengths in ice & wet while X Ice North 4 SUV was good in snow, dry, noise & fuel consumption. As the results were really close together, there is no clear winner in this duel ! Enjoy!