Quote:
Originally Posted by Lotus99
Hang on... Getting 7.05 on the dry and wet results vs. 6.93 is WAY ahead in your opinion?
If that's the case, then by that standard, the snow handling of the Michelin is dismal compared to the WS80 seeing there's a 0.35 difference...
For me, for a snow tire that's almost equal in dry and wet conditions, but is significantly better in snow, I'll take that. The tires they tested are all crowded around the 6.6 mark for snow, whereas the WS80 is rated 7. 0.35 is a large difference statistically in that tight a ranking. When they describe the tire as "setting a new standard", that seals it for me. 
I don't know how the mileage guarantee will work in practice, but seeing that the WS80 come with an extra 2/32" almost in tire tread for the same price / less, that gives me any extra mileage that I might be worried about.
I'm sure no one will go wrong buying either tire.
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Those numerical ratings are subjective as stated in the text.
But it doesn't tell us anything we did not expect. The WS80 is better for deep snow and ice. The X-Ice Xi3 is better for dry and wet handling.
What value you place on each determines which one suits your use
I typically drive anywhere between Maryland and New Jersey. Highway dry/wet performance is more important since we probably don't get the same snowfall you have in Canada. However, my 335i is RWD and my daily driver so I wasn't convinced that a performance winter tire would suffice.
I wouldn't place too much stock in how deep the tread is in determining how long a tire might last. It works if you assume that the compounds are the same but that's clearly not the case. There's a reason why Michelin offers a pretty substantial treadwear mileage warranty and Bridgestone doesn't.