Thanks for all the feedback. The sites and reviews I’d been seeing made the X-Ice sound like on the good side of so-so, y’all are making it sound like a completely different tire. I’ll take my chances and go with 4 of them.
btw - I’ve been doing as much winter driving on icy roads as I have summer driving living in the northern part of the upper peninsula of Michigan. Sliding and spinning is something I grew up with, but this is the first year with something this small and skittish; I can’t say I’m a fan of the way the traction control works either.
Not quite as hot as Phoenix, I imagine, but it gets well over 100 degrees
I agree about the age limit. I’ve seen plenty of 6 and 7 year old tires that had plenty of tread, but were hard as a rock and had lousy handling. Replacing them instantly took care of those problems. For those vehicles I’m talking about, parking inside is not an option
There usually is a button to cancel the traction/stability control. If so, the owner’s manual will tell you which button to push, and for how long. . . . but I don’t recommend disabling or turning off a vehicle’s safety features
Note to anybody reading this . . . I am NOT recommending turning it off. I am merely pointing out to OP that it could be done
Having nurtured a tire fetish for quite some time, even I think you are overthinking the selection. Any quality winter tire will do the job well. I have had great luck with both Michelin and also Bridgestone (Blizzak) winter rubber on a number of vehicles.