Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 SUV

Disclaimer1. I differentiate strongly between “winter” tires and “snow” tires with all snow tires being winter tires but not all winter tires being snow tires. By winter tires I mean tires driven under varied winter conditions including dry, wet, slushy and snow roads under 7C and by snow tires, tires that are particularly good in purely snowy conditions. For this reason living in a city I predominantly use winter tires but when I go skiing or to places with more snow I switch to snow tires.
Disclaimer2. While my preferred summer tire is a Michelin I never chose Michelin winter tires (Pilot Alpin) as I find them exceptional in snow but not necessarily in overall winter conditions. This time I was forced to buy them as two full sets of my preferred Conti’s were warranty claimed with Continental (and claim accepted) and there was no other tire in my dimensions and in XL available.

Plus
Ultra quiet tire. While this is last on my list of requirements and one I don’t care about I have never driven on a tire that quiet – almost unnoticeable and this being said for a winter/snow tire.
Best snow grip and traction. Very good breaking in the snow. Highly predictable driving. Probably best snow tires I have experienced across my winter tires to-date although Bridgestone Blizzak LM22 and Dunlop Wintersport M2/M3 I used as purely snow tires were also outstanding.
Comfortable under low speeds up to 80kph. Especially predestined for cities and regular roads with lower than highway or expressway speed limits.

Reservations
Noticeable higher fuel consumption – on average almost 0.8-1.0 liter/100 km more.
Very soft and overly too progressive. While this is expected from a snow tire with a snow compound they are too soft for my liking even though in Extra Load version and even though I had to add 0.3 bar pressure per tire. Still not what I would like them to be. The relative softness makes highway dynamic lane changing a poor experience and one that I am never sure how the tire is reacting. Similar when taking curves at higher speeds the lateral holding and stability are questionable or at least causing doubts/concerns. Nothing compared to proper UHP winter tires I have used to-date
Lot’s of road feedback but in my opinion much too much especially above 80-100 kph. Perfect road/traction feedback up to 80kph
Never sure how they are going to react under specific loads and driving conditions which probably is the worst thing to say about a tire.
Limited FR protection.
Highest speed index available for my tires was H (210kph) which is understood if these tires are snow tires.
Also all four tires were so different that there was a problem with wheel balancing. Two were perfect, one ok and the fourth required extended road testing to get it within manufacturers norms.

Conclusion
Great for snow covered ski resorts and driving up to 80 km/h. I would definitely use them as a second set of tires dedicated to pure snowy conditions. Otherwise for winter slush and varied road conditions in city and on highway I would opt for other tires.

Based on the consistently excellent reviews of the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 SUV, I replaced my old set of Nokian WR3 SUV with the Michelins instead of the Nokian WR4 SUV, the successor to the WR3 SUV, and which is now itself outdated, as no longer listed on the Nokian website, but still available from online tire shops.

Initially, the Pilot Alpin 5 SUV made a great impression for their grip, both in the dry and in the wet, and the quietness is just incredible in comparison with the Nokians.

But: the real test was in the snow. They scared me off. At urban speeds (!) I slipped on snow when gently accelerating from stop and I slid sideways when driving on snow and on slush. This is miles away from the reassuring Nokians, which just ploughed the car through 10 cm of snow on the fast lane while the rest of the traffic was stuck behind lorries on the slow lane. What a bummer these Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 on my Tesla Model X…

I should have gone for the Nokian WR4 SUVs…

Would I buy them again? No. But I will keep driving them until they need replacement or the car will be replaced.

This is the first winter I have fitted these tires. I have driven them for 2 months and 7,500 km.
Previously I had the Nokian WR SUV 3 for 7 winters. I was very happy with them and always had excellent traction in snowy conditions and never loss of traction or slippage. They showed hardly any wear, but replaced them after 7 years as a precaution.
I chose the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 SUV based on the reviews here, as it came first in snow handling and snow traction and third in snow braking. The successor to the Nokian WR SUV 3 that I had before, the WR SUV 4 seems to be an old tire now (even if still available in my market) and Nokian does not list it any longer on its website. The corresponding Nokian tire, the Snowproof 2, fared less well in the tests than the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 SUV, so I chose the latter.
My first experience in snow with the Michelins is frankly a disappointment, I am afraid. I have had several moments of loss of grip either when moderately accelerating uphill (my car is AWD) or when turning at moderate speed (20 km/h?).

Also, they have a quite high rolling resistance and my consumption has gone up from around 20 kWh/100 km to 23 kWh/100 km. I would have expected to compensate that with snow grip, but apparently that is not the case from my experience.

Otherwise, they are very silent and comfortable.

These are my initial thoughts and I cannot say anything about wear yet. Let's see how they evolve over the years and what the market offers when replacement is due in around 7 years, if I still have the car. But if I had to buy a set of new winter tires for my car now, I would not choose them again, I am afraid.