The Michelin X-Ice tread pattern is really close to the Blizzaks that have on my Vibe. This type of tire is great on ice, but they are slightly less sure footed on deeper or wetter snows. We bought a set of General Altimax Arctics for our '05 Prius and they turned out to be exceptional on any kind of snow, but were a little less grippy on glare ice. Both of these snow tire sets were quite quiet, for snow tires. We noted that the Altimax Arctics were very durable. You'll have to decide which type of tire would be better for the Winter conditions you generally find where you live. Something that I've always tried to do is get a slightly taller tire for that little extra snow clearance under the car. I'm considering a Prius c (will go drive one in the morning) and I would probably install a 185/65 snow tire on 15 inch wheels if I buy one. For the snow we normally drive on here in Maine, I would choose the Altimax Arctic. Plus, if I remember right, the Altimax Arctic was less expensive than most other snow tires we looked at.
I'm finding the Michelin X-Ice a very well behaved snow tire, ie: if I didn't know they were on there I wouldn't notice, just from the feel. This is on our (regular) Prius, that came with the 17" low profile tires, similar to US model V. That might mean they're not the best in deep snow, but it seems a good compromise. BTW, what size of tire do the Prius C take?
It's funny, but tirerack's review of the X-Ice was that it was weaker on ice than others. I have X-Ice Xi2 and they've been OK but it's hard to tell because it's my first winter and (fortunately) I haven't had the opportunity to drive much in snow this winter. They're definitely much better than driving on the Yokohama Avids, but that's obvious. I picked the X-Ice based on TireRack's review, since I was really buying for my wife's driving and most of her winter driving is dry, wet or slushy roads rather than ice. (She's a schoolteacher: snowy days and summers off). We both commute on main roads.
The X-Ice is not the best winter tire, but it is the best choice for someone who has a long commute as these people tend to drive more miles on better cleared roads. If your driving is primarily city you are better off with ws70 (bridgestone blizzak) or extremeWINTERcontact (continental), I've had so many winter tires I'm dying to try Goodyears new UltraGripIce WRT, although there's some cheapo chinese winter tire on tirebuyer.com that everyone there is swearing by and the price is unbelievable with no tax and free shipping. But then again Michelin is offering a $70 rebate . . . upsizing the width will inherently increase the overall diameter thus increasing your ground clearance which is good in a prius as they cannot be rocked out of trouble like a conventional car, but it will hurt your fuel economy. There are 9 months of the year you should worry about fuel economy, the other 3 months you should be more concerned about coming out of that season in one piece.
What do you guys think of the hankook icebear w300? I currently have a set on my Mazda 3 and they've served me well in the Canadian winters. I've never had experience with other winter tires but found these stopped well on fresh snow, except that my car always had to engage the abs in these conditions. The car never skid though
I got Michelin X Ice 3 winter tires installed last week on my C. I was amazed by the improvement in ride quality relative to the Goodyear Turanza tires that came with the car. They provide a much smoother ride and I use higher than Toyota's recommended tire pressures : 40 psi forward / 38 psi rear (compared to 35 / 33). I still have to test them in winter conditions, but based on the reviews I have seen so far, I am expecting to be satisfied. Will provide an update later.
Picking up my PriusC with newly mounted Blizzaks today. I'll let you know what I think in a couple weeks. So far, flurries but no accumulating snows. Update, C rides nice on Blizzak WS70s. So far, mileage doesn't appear to have been reduced much as I got 51 mpg in mixed driving on the ten mile trip home.
I also purchased the x ice 3. I have not experienced any snow conditions yet but I immediately noticed the these Michelines are much quieter than the stock 4 seasons.
