Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 vs Michelin X Ice North 4
The data shows a clear pattern: Goodyear repeatedly wins wet braking and handling, along with frequent wins in dry and snow braking, whereas Michelin dominates ice traction and often edges subjective handling feel. Overall results are close (UG Arctic 2: two overall test wins; X-Ice North 4: four), but the surface you drive on most will likely decide the better fit.
Test Results
Independent comparison tyre tests are the best source of data to get tyre information from, and the good news is there have been six tests which compare both tyres directly!
| Tyre | Test Wins | Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 | two | |
| Michelin X Ice North 4 | four |
While it might look like the Michelin X Ice North 4 is better than the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 purely based on the higher number of test wins, tyres are very complicated objects which means where one tyre is better than the other can be more important in real world use.
Let's look at how the two tyres compare across multiple tyre test categories.
Key Strengths
- Best-in-group wet braking and handling across almost all tests
- Consistently short dry and snow braking distances
- Strong ice braking with calm, predictable behavior
- Better value: lower purchase price in multiple tests
- Class-leading ice traction and frequent wins in ice handling
- Stable, understeer-biased balance inspires confidence on winter roads
- Often stronger subjective steering precision/feel
- Competitive noise and rolling resistance in some tests
Dry Braking
Looking at data from five tyre tests, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 was better during three dry braking tests. On average the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 stopped the vehicle in 0.19% less distance than the Michelin X Ice North 4.
Best In Dry Braking: Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2
See how the Dry Braking winner was calculated >>
Subj. Dry Handling
Looking at data from three tyre tests, the Michelin X Ice North 4 was better during two subj. dry handling tests. On average the Michelin X Ice North 4 scored 27.83% more points than the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2.
Best In Subj. Dry Handling: Michelin X Ice North 4
See how the Subj. Dry Handling winner was calculated >>
Wet Braking
Looking at data from five tyre tests, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 was better during five wet braking tests. On average the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 stopped the vehicle in 5.52% less distance than the Michelin X Ice North 4.
Best In Wet Braking: Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2
See how the Wet Braking winner was calculated >>
Wet Handling [s]
Looking at data from five tyre tests, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 was better during five wet handling [s] tests. On average the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 was 1.98% faster around a wet lap than the Michelin X Ice North 4.
Best In Wet Handling [s]: Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2
See how the Wet Handling winner was calculated >>
Subj. Wet Handling
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 was better during one subj. wet handling tests. On average the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 scored 22.22% more points than the Michelin X Ice North 4.
Best In Subj. Wet Handling: Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2
See how the Subj. Wet Handling winner was calculated >>
Straight Aqua
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 was better during two straight aqua tests. On average the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 floated at a 2.27% higher speed than the Michelin X Ice North 4.
Best In Straight Aqua: Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2
See how the Straight Aqua winner was calculated >>
Snow Braking
Looking at data from five tyre tests, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 was better during three snow braking tests. On average the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 stopped the vehicle in 0.39% less distance than the Michelin X Ice North 4.
Best In Snow Braking: Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2
See how the Snow Braking winner was calculated >>
Snow Traction
Looking at data from five tyre tests, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 was better during two snow traction tests. On average the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 accelerated 0.2% faster than the Michelin X Ice North 4.
Best In Snow Traction: Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2
See how the Snow Traction winner was calculated >>
Snow Handling [s]
Looking at data from four tyre tests, the Michelin X Ice North 4 was better during two snow handling [s] tests. On average the Michelin X Ice North 4 was 0.17% faster around a lap than the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2.
Best In Snow Handling [s]: Michelin X Ice North 4
See how the Snow Handling winner was calculated >>
Ice Braking
Looking at data from five tyre tests, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 was better during four ice braking tests. On average the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 stopped the vehicle 2.59% shorter than the Michelin X Ice North 4.
Best In Ice Braking: Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2
See how the Ice Braking winner was calculated >>
Ice Traction
Looking at data from five tyre tests, the Michelin X Ice North 4 was better during five ice traction tests. On average the Michelin X Ice North 4 accelerated 8.92% faster than the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2.
Best In Ice Traction: Michelin X Ice North 4
See how the Ice Traction winner was calculated >>
Ice Handling [s]
Looking at data from four tyre tests, the Michelin X Ice North 4 was better during three ice handling [s] tests. On average the Michelin X Ice North 4 was 0.93% faster around a lap than the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2.
Best In Ice Handling [s]: Michelin X Ice North 4
See how the Ice Handling winner was calculated >>
Subj. Comfort
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Michelin X Ice North 4 was better during one subj. comfort tests. On average the Michelin X Ice North 4 scored 33.33% more points than the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2.
Best In Subj. Comfort: Michelin X Ice North 4
See how the Subj. Comfort winner was calculated >>
Subj. Noise
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 and Michelin X Ice North 4 performed equally well in subj. noise tests.
Best In Subj. Noise: Both tyres performed equally well
See how the Subj. Noise winner was calculated >>
Noise
Looking at data from three tyre tests, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 was better during two noise tests. On average the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 measured 0.23% quieter than the Michelin X Ice North 4.
Best In Noise: Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2
See how the Noise winner was calculated >>
Price
Looking at data from two tyre tests, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 was better during two price tests. On average the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 cost 8.36% less than the Michelin X Ice North 4.
Best In Price: Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2
See how the Price winner was calculated >>
Rolling Resistance
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Michelin X Ice North 4 was better during one rolling resistance tests. On average the Michelin X Ice North 4 had a 3.51% lower rolling resistance than the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2.
Best In Rolling Resistance: Michelin X Ice North 4
See how the Rolling Resistance winner was calculated >>
Fuel Consumption
Looking at data from one tyre tests, the Michelin X Ice North 4 was better during one fuel consumption tests. On average the Michelin X Ice North 4 used 3.51% less fuel than the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2.
Best In Fuel Consumption: Michelin X Ice North 4
See how the Fuel Consumption winner was calculated >>
Real World Driver Reviews
Tyre Reviews also collects real world driver reviews for the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 and Michelin X Ice North 4.
In total the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 has been reviewed 1 times and drivers have given the tyre 91% overall.
The Michelin X Ice North 4 has been reviewed 11 times and drivers have given the tyre 85% overall.
This means in real world driving, people prefer the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2.
Conclusion
For drivers spending more time on compacted snow and especially ice, the X-Ice North 4 shines with superior ice traction and composed, understeer-stable balance. It can feel more precise subjectively, but it trails meaningfully on wet grip and sometimes wet braking, and can carry a price and rolling-resistance penalty depending on size/test. Choose Michelin for maximum bite on ice; choose Goodyear for confidence when winter turns slushy, rainy, or dry-cold.
Practical takeaway: match the tyre to your most common surface-Goodyear for wet/asphalt-heavy winters, Michelin for sustained ice and deep-winter regions.
Key Differences
- Wet performance: Goodyear dominates wet braking/handling (5/5 category wins), Michelin lags in wet grip.
- Ice performance: Michelin leads ice traction decisively (5 wins), Goodyear often matches in ice braking but not traction.
- Dry and snow braking: Goodyear edges more category wins, offering shorter stops on average.
- Subjective feel: Michelin typically scores higher in dry/winter handling feel; Goodyear steering can feel vague.
- Value: Goodyear frequently cheaper (e.g., ~6-15% lower in listed tests); Michelin can be pricier.
- Efficiency/noise: Mixed-Michelin shows lower fuel use/rolling resistance in some tests, but also flagged for very poor RR in another; noise advantages are marginal either way.
Overall Winner: Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2
Based on the tyre test data and user reviews we have in our database, the Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 has demonstrated better overall performance in this comparison. However, as you can see from the spider diagram above, each tyre has its own strengths which should be considered in your final tyre buying choice.Similar Comparisons
Looking for more tyre comparisons? Here are other direct comparisons involving these tyres:
Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 Top Comparisons
Footnote
This page has been developed using tyre industry testing best practices. This means we are only comparing tests which have had both tyres in the same test.
Why is this important? Tyre testing is heavily affected by things like surface grip levels and surface temperature, which means you can only compare values from the same day. During a tyre test external condition changes are calculated into the overall results, but it is not possible to calculate this between tyre tests performed on different days or at different locations.
As a result you will see other tests on Tyre Reviews which feature both the %s and %s, but as they weren't conducted on the same day, the results are not comparable.
Lots of other websites do this sort of tyre comparison, Tyre Reviews doesn't.