2019 test9 productsAuto Parts & Repair
Which Windshield Wiper Blade Brand Wins?
We compared 9 windshield wiper blade options head to head. Michelin Endurance XT came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video. Shoppers cross-shopping bosch icon windshield wipers, bosch icon wiper blades, bosch windshield wiper blades and bosch windshield wipers land here for the head to head that settles it.
Winner
Michelin Endurance XT
Price shown in test: $38.94, the most expensive blade tested
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Runner-up
Rain-X Latitude
Price shown in test: $30.54
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Budget pick
Bosch Clear Advantage
Price shown in test: $10.92 for a pair
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Construction | Simulated rain sweep test | Head-to-head vs Rain-X Latitude | Head-to-head vs Bosch | Head-to-head vs AutoDrive | Head-to-head vs ACDelco | Head-to-head vs Aero | Head-to-head vs Michelin Guardian | Head-to-head vs Michelin Cyclone | Head-to-head vs PIAA | Ice/frozen test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Michelin Endurance XT silicone beam$38.94, the most expensive blade tested | frameless beam construction with a silicone element | no water streaks during the sweep to the left; did fairly well releasing water at the end of the sweep; only a small amount of water slung on the sweep to the right compared to the competition | won: 'the win definitely goes to the Michelin Endurance XT silicone blade' | won: 'the Michelin Endurance XT definitely did a better job than the Bosch' | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2Rain-X Latitude$30.54 | frameless beam construction with a rubber element (not silicone) and a water-repelling coating activated by running the blades dry for 2 minutes, then applying washer fluid | a couple of water streaks during the sweep to the left, better than the steel frame and covered steel frame blades but not as good as the Michelin Endurance XT; did a great job releasing water at the end of the sweep and an equally good job on the sweep to the right | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Bosch Clear Advantage$10.92 for a pair | plastic beam blade construction (not a steel frame), graphite-treated wiping edge | a single streak of water on the sweep to the left, water pushed away well at the end of the sweep, some water brought back on the return sweep to the right | not tested | not tested | won clearly: 'Clearly Bosch won the side-by-side comparison' | won: 'once again, Bosch is a better blade' | too close to call on performance; win awarded to Bosch on price since it is the less expensive of the two | won: 'once again, the Bosch takes the win' | won: 'once again, the Bosch takes the win' | won: 'the much less expensive Bosch still outperformed the PIAA' | very flexible when not frozen; some resistance when frozen but the ice quickly broke away and it remained very flexible |
| 4Aero$16.98 for a pair | beam frame design, described as sharing the same design as Bosch and looking nearly identical | did extremely well managing water on the sweep to the left; a moderate amount of water brought back with the sweep to the right, performing nearly the same as Bosch | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5PIAA Super Silicone$36.86 for a pair | steel frame construction with a silicone element | water passed over the element during the sweep to the left, like the other steel frame blades; did fairly well on the sweep back to the right, but still lost to the much less expensive Bosch | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6AutoDrive$8.94 for two, the least expensive blade tested | traditional steel frame with superstructure and blade claws | struggled significantly with water management; water accumulates as it travels up the blade and finally passes over it, leaving water streaks | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | flexible when not frozen, but performed poorly once frozen, described as going to be a problem in winter weather conditions |
| 7ACDelco$11.46 for a pair | steel frame construction, similar to AutoDrive | performed better than AutoDrive but suffered the same steel-frame water streaking problem; lost to Bosch | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | very good flexibility when not frozen, but the frozen sample did not perform well |
| 8Michelin Guardian$17.98 for a pair | steel frame construction similar to AutoDrive and ACDelco, with an added flexible plastic cover | the plastic cover appears to help briefly on the sweep to the left, but several water streaks still appear; water trapped under the cover gets slung across the window on the return sweep; lost to Bosch | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | grouped with the Michelin Cyclone in the ice test: better than the all-metal-frame blades but still not in proper shape for effective wiping; took very little force to flex, described as much easier to work with than the metal frame construction in winter conditions |
| 9Michelin Cyclone Premium Hybrid$26.36 | steel frame construction with a Duraflex plastic cover, marketed for protection from snow and ice clogging | considerable water streaking on the sweep to the left; water accumulates under the plastic cover and gets slung back onto the window on the return sweep; lost to Bosch, described as extremely similar in performance to the Guardian | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | grouped with the Michelin Guardian in the ice test (see Guardian notes); performed notably better than the all-metal frame blades |
How it was tested
- high-speed camera simulated medium-to-heavy rain sweep test, comparing water streaking and water management
- noise test for squeaking, clunking, and chatter (stated as a test goal in the intro; the transcript does not give explicit per-brand noise results in words)
- ice and frozen-blade flexibility test
- long-term UV exposure test begun at the end of this video, with results to be revisited roughly a year later
“The Michelin Endurance XT silicone blades definitely seem like the best overall blades, but they come at a very expensive price at nearly $20 each.”