Pros:
Very good snow performance
Excellent ice performance
Adequately comfortable
Cons:
Not meant for spirited driving
Susceptibility to slushplaning
Treadwear could be a tad bit better
Just took these tires off for the season and thought I'd give a review for those of you looking for a good winter tire next winter. These tires are the second generation of Yokohama's Ice Guard series and were designed to drastically improve ice performance specifically between 0C and -6C (32F and 21F) where a film of water on the surface of the ice can cause problems for any tires.
Comfort
Noise wise they were about the same as my OE Bridgestone SE200s with a noticable higher pitched drone on wet surfaces. To me, the drone was an assuring sound that the nanoparticle pumps and micro bubbles were hard at work. Ride comfort was also comparable to OE tires.
Dry performance
Being a R rated tire, they were a bit squishy but really no worse than the OE tires in most conditions with the exception of freeways where the soft tread blocks easily caught any grooves in the pavement. I pushed the tires once during a cruise with Toyota Syndicate NW along the Washougal River Road in warm and dry 11C (~52F) weather and although I couldn't quite take corners as fast as the others who had more suitable performance tires like the Falken Ziex 912, they really didn't do too shabby. Dry braking was good which saved me from nearly rear ending someone the other night in heavy freeway traffic with five lanes merging into two. As the days got warmer, both my wife and I were accidently burning out the tires and this was far from WOT, clutch dumping acting. We were both eager to go back to our rims and all season tires.
Wet performance
These tires did better in the wet than the dry. Hydroplaning resistance was exceptional, and handling, accelerating, and braking were also all good. Nothing exceptional, that crown belongs to the Nokian WR G2s, but nothing to complain about either.
Snow performance
Very good, never got stuck anywhere where the G2s had problems. Braking is very good, but there was a susceptibility for the car to pull the one side when the wheels are locked. If you have ABS, this is not an issue, otherwise if you know how to threshold brake (brake as hard as you can until the wheels lock then release the brakes a bit, repeat, sort of like pumping your brakes but in a slower, more gradual motion), you'll be fine. Note this could be a result of wheel misalignment and not the tires' fault. In comparison, the G2s maintained control even with the wheels locked but the iG20s overall have much better braking in all types of snow. The tires were also more susceptible to slushplaning whereas the G2s did a bit better. These tires are optimized for safe driving at the posted speed limits and will never let you down. Those looking to spirited winter driving should look to the performance rated winter tires like the Nokians or Yokohama W.drive to name a couple.
Ice performance
Excellent, for a studless tire. Ice is the bigger culprit in Vancouver than snow and these tires certainly proves its worth. My wife was in an emergency braking situation on an ice covered downhill grade and she just couldn't praise enough how the tires stopped no questions asked. The second generation Ice Guards truly does the job! Acceleration and handling on ice was equal to if not better than acceleration on snow. Like most studless tires, black ice poses a bit of a challenge but I hit my first patch ever on these tires so I can't compare these to other tires. All I can say is that I got through.
Tread Life
The tires had 8.75mm (11/32") tread brand new. The tires that went through 5,000km (3,000 miles) on the front through colder, snowier weather and 5,000km on the back through warmer, drier weather had 7mm (9/32") left. The tires that went the other way had 6.5mm (8/32") tread left. I'm hoping that I'll get two more seasons out of these tires before I wear them down at their end of life through the final spring. As these are my first set of winter tires ever, I don't know if this is good or bad, I was expecting that maybe winter tires could last about 50,000km but at this point if I get at least three seasons out of these I'll be content. You can't put a price tag on safety.
I would recommend these tires to anyone looking for a good winter tire that is capable in all sorts of conditions, they're great for the price I paid for them ($650 CAD installed including taxes and environmental levy for P185/65R15 in Canada, they're around $75USD a pop at Discount Tire + installation etc. in the U.S.) but I would probably move on to the slightly more expensive Michelin Xi2s for my next set of winters in my search for that perfect winter tire. These tires would almost be perfect if it had better resistance to slushplaning and better braking control as well as better dry performance through the West Coast's relatively mild but unpredictible winters but if you need an above average winter tire that won't break the bank, these tires will certainly do the job! They're good on snow, and great on ice! 4 out of 5.
Video of braking performance using threshold braking - 80km/h (50mph) to 0 in under 40 meters (131 feet) - the distance between two lamp standards.
Video of driving performance - 4 lane mountain pass.
