Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci, Quebec — It's already time to start thinking about next winter. That's why French tire manufacturer Michelin invited us to discover its most important upcoming new product: the improved version of its now-popular X-Ice Snow winter tire, which now becomes the X-Ice Snow+.

In truth, the X-Ice Snow returns with the qualities that have already made it a success. So how do you explain that '+' to your customers? Through improvements that may not be immediately visible, but are above all technical.

To begin with, the X-Ice Snow+ can be identified by its new sidewall patterns, which are designed to add grip in deep snow. There is also a new pictogram added to the information displayed on those same sidewalls. It consists of a second mountain silhouette, without a snowflake in the centre. This pictogram indicates the tire's capabilities on icy roads.

This new characteristic, which could be described as 'chemical grip,' is made possible by a new rubber compound Michelin calls Flex-Ice 3.0. Its engineers explained to us that this compound adapts to extremely low temperatures by remaining very flexible, which helps optimize grip on icy or snow-covered roads.

Michelin says the X-Ice Snow+ delivers a 1% improvement in snow, 4% on ice, 7% on dry pavement and 14% on wet pavement. Unfortunately, there was no discussion of performance in slush, simply because slush never has a consistent composition.

The Michelin X-Ice Snow+ will initially be available in 85 sizes to meet most market needs. In addition to specifying that this tire is also suitable for electric vehicles, Michelin says that 65 additional sizes will follow.

Here in Quebec, we are fortunate to be able to test several new tires at the Mécaglisse centre in the Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci area of Lanaudière. It was on this winter test track that we were able to get acquainted with the new X-Ice Snow+ on various types of vehicles, including popular SUVs such as the Toyota RAV4, mainstream sedans such as the Toyota Corolla, electric SUVs such as the Chevrolet Equinox EV, front-wheel-drive SUVs such as the GMC Terrain, and even luxury electric vehicles such as Polestar models.

Naturally, several of these tests took place on the site's icy circuits, on slopes and through slalom sections, and especially on the deep-snow trails, a very convincing exercise in the case of the X-Ice Snow+. Needless to say, at every stage, participants were able to appreciate the effectiveness of this new Michelin product. All that remains now is for us to try it again next winter on our own roads.