Why We Recommend the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 for Winter 2025
If you’re thinking about getting ready for winter driving, one of the most important choices you can make is the tires. Snow, slush, freezing rain… we see it all here in New Hampshire. For 2025, one tire we’re really impressed with is the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4. It has a great mix of winter traction, everyday drivability, and good road manners when conditions are dry. Basically—this one just works well for real winter driving. It is a great option for vehicles that have low profile tires. There are a lot of tire size options available.
What Makes This Tire Different?
There are a lot of winter tires out there, but the PA4 is what’s called a “performance winter” tire. That means it’s designed for actual winter weather, but without turning your vehicle into a loud, soft, snow-only setup. It’s 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake rated, so it’s a true winter tire, and it’s been tested in real snow and freezing temperatures. Drivers and testers consistently talk about how confident this tire feels when the weather gets bad, but it still rides nicely on clear days too.
Tire Rack did a full performance winter test which showed solid traction in cold, slushy, and snowy conditions. They found it handled emergency maneuvers well and stayed predictable even when roads weren’t ideal. If you want to see the full test results, you can check them out here: Tire Rack Winter Test.
How Does It Compare?
This tire strikes a nice balance: enough grip for snow days, but still comfortable and stable for normal winter driving. A lot of winter tires are great when there’s 6 inches of snow, but feel pretty sloppy the other 95% of the time. That’s not the case here. Owners and reviewers often talk about the PA4 feeling more like a regular performance tire that just happens to work really well in cold weather.
Real-World Driving
Some of the things we noticed: confident braking on snow, predictable steering when roads change from dry to wet to slushy, and less road noise than you usually get from a winter tire.
Who We Recommend It For
This tire is a great choice if you get a mix of winter conditions—which most of us do here. Snow one day, dry roads the next, freezing rain the day after. If you want a tire you can leave on all winter that handles all of that, the PA4 is a really strong option. If you only drive on unplowed dirt roads and deep snow, there are other tires we’d talk about. But for most drivers, this one does everything well.
Our Recommendation
Overall, the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 is one of our top picks for winter 2025. It gives you winter traction when you need it, without making the car feel mushy or noisy when the roads are clear. If you need help picking winter tires, or want us to install and balance a set, we’re happy to help.
We install snow tires, perform alignments, brake service, and full winter prep on all makes and models.
