[presto8]

Thought I would share our good experiences so far with a 2018 PacHy Limited with 17" Michelin X-Ice Xi2 traction tires ($550 for four at Costco, including installation).

We have done about 8 hours of driving so far in blizzard conditions driving to and from the ski resorts in Oregon. We passed dozens of cars in the ditch and sliding around. PacHy performed perfectly, briefly flashing the traction icon on the dash only one time in all that driving. Both kids in the back, content watching videos, myself as the driver with my heated seat, heated steering wheel, and satellite radio. Life is good!

It's also very nice being able to pop the lift gate and sit in the back while we put on all of our ski gear. All in all, a great family ski vehicle!

Only thing I am embarrassed to say that I can't figure out, is how do I turn on the side view mirror defrosters?

 

[bicosan]

Only thing I am embarrassed to say that I can't figure out, is how do I turn on the side view mirror defrosters?

The Side-View Mirror Defrost comes on when you turn on the Rear Window Defrost.

Thought I would share our good experiences so far with a 2018 PacHy Limited with 17" Michelin X-Ice Xi2 traction tires ($550 for four at Costco, including installation).

We have done about 8 hours of driving so far in blizzard conditions driving to and from the ski resorts in Oregon. We passed dozens of cars in the ditch and sliding around. PacHy performed perfectly, briefly flashing the traction icon on the dash only one time in all that driving. Both kids in the back, content watching videos, myself as the driver with my heated seat, heated steering wheel, and satellite radio. Life is good!

I have the same X-Ice tires, and although I think they perform quite well in the snow, their wet-weather performance is noticeably inferior to the stock Michelin Premiers, even at temps near freezing. I was so disappointed that I haven't put them back on this season (with el Niño back, the Jan-Mar long-range forecast for the PNW is for warmer and dryer than normal conditions, and I've got too much going on to ski much if at all this year).

I find that they break loose easily coming off the line and skid more easily when breaking in Seattle's typical 45F and raining winter conditions. I asked a ton of questions about this at Discount Tire and of Michelin customer service, and both assured me the softer rubber compound would perform better in wet <50F temps, but that has definitely not been born out in real-world driving--on my van, at least. Additionally, they are really quite loud comparatively (though I'd pretty happily live with that if they performed better).

So, for me, they perform great during 1% of my driving and not as well as all-seasons during 99% of my driving, which, for my driving needs, is not the balance I was hoping for.

 

[SciTchr]

The Side-View Mirror Defrost comes on when you turn on the Rear Window Defrost.

I have the same X-Ice tires, and although I think they perform quite well in the snow, their wet-weather performance is noticeably inferior to the stock Michelin Premiers, even at temps near freezing.

So, for me, they perform great during 1% of my driving and not as well as all-seasons during 99% of my driving, which, for my driving needs, is not the balance I was hoping for.

If you put your van info (year, trim, gas/hybrid, etc.) in the signature line of the UserCP, it might give us a point of reference in case you have a gas van vs a hybrid one. Yes, this is under a hybrid thread, but not every one checks that when posting.

 

[presto8]

The Side-View Mirror Defrost comes on when you turn on the Rear Window Defrost.

Awesome, thanks!

I have the same X-Ice tires, and although I think they perform quite well in the snow, their wet-weather performance is noticeably inferior to the stock Michelin Premiers, even at temps near freezing.

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I'll definitely keep an eye on the wet weather performance and report back. It has been (relatively) dry around here lately, but the rain is picking up.

Have you found winter tire that you like instead of the X-Ice?

 

[presto8]

If you put your van info (year, trim, gas/hybrid, etc.) in the signature line of the UserCP, it might give us a point of reference in case you have a gas van vs a hybrid one. Yes, this is under a hybrid thread, but not every one checks that when posting.

Thanks for the tip, I'll do that!

This was a 2018 hybrid limited, by the way. I thought I put PacHy in my description, apologies for the confusion if I overlooked that!

 

[SciTchr]

Thanks for the tip, I'll do that!
This was a 2018 hybrid limited, by the way. I thought I put PacHy in my description, apologies for the confusion if I overlooked that!

Yes, @presto8 put it in the title, but @bicosan didn't put it in the info shared. Probably a hybrid also. Thanks for updating the signature line when you can.:smile2:

 

[EvilHomer]

There is a lil more winter in our neck of the woods.
Bridgestone Blizzack's DMV2 model performs quite well and has the same load characteristics as the OEM keeping the 6300 lb GVWR in mind as this is a heavy vehicle.