HT vs AT vs MT vs Winter Tyres on Snow

Snow BrakingGeneral Grabber Arctic: 18.2 MGeneral Grabber X3: 23 M
Snow TractionGeneral Grabber Arctic: 6.5 sGeneral Grabber X3: 10.7 s
Snow HandlingGeneral Grabber Arctic: 84.96 sGeneral Grabber X3: 95.43 s
Subj. Snow HandlingGeneral Grabber Arctic: 10 PointsGeneral Grabber X3: 6 Points
Ice BrakingGeneral Grabber Arctic: 14.4 MGeneral Grabber ATx: 18.1 M
Subj. ComfortGeneral Grabber Arctic: 10 PointsGeneral Grabber X3: 7 Points
Subj. NoiseGeneral Grabber HTS60: 10 PointsGeneral Grabber X3: 6 Points
Can off-road tyres really out perform a full winter tyre, or even an all season tyre on snow?
 
To find out I've once again got the generous support of General Tire, and we're testing five different types of SUV tyres in the snow.
 
On test is a traditional H/T all terrain tyre, the General Grabber HTS80, a mild A/T tyre, the General Grabber APT, an aggressive A/T tyre, the General Grabber AT/x, a M/T tyre, the General Grabber X3, and a full winter tyre, the excellent General Grabber Arctic.
 
Can a blocky off-road all terrain tyre out perform a dedicated winter tyre on snow? Watch the video, or scroll down for the full data to find out.
 

Snow

The winter tyre had a clear advantage during snow braking testing, with the all season, mild all terrain and aggressive all terrain tyre all finishing in a tight group, ahead of the mud terrain off-road tyre.

This pattern of grip was broadly replicated during the snow traction testing, with the A/T tyres performing slightly better than the all season.

Snow handling kept the large advantage in favour of the winter tyre, with the mud terrain tyre again struggling to perform.

The subjective scoring matched the grip levels of the tyres, with the grippier tyres offering a better balance, and more control of the vehicle.

Ice

Sipes were king on ice, with the winter tyre holding its advantage. This time, the Grabber APT outperformed the rest of the tyres on test.

Environment

Subjectively the winter tyre was also the most comfortable on test, with the all season matching the mild all terrain.

The all season tyre had the lowest levels of noise on test, and while the MT off-road tyre was impressively quiet for its category, it was still noticeably the loudest tyre on test.

Results

1st: General Grabber Arctic

General Grabber Arctic
  • 265/70 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Snow Braking1st18.2 M100%
Snow Traction1st6.5 s100%
Snow Handling1st84.96 s100%
Subj. Snow Handling1st10 Points100%
Ice Braking1st14.4 M100%
Subj. Comfort1st10 Points100%
Subj. Noise2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Unsurprisingly, the winter tyre ruled the snow testing. It won every objective test conducted, and gave you lots of confidence during the snow handling lap with balanced traction, braking and cornering forces.

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2nd: General Grabber HTS60

General Grabber HTS60
  • 265/70 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Snow Braking2nd19.8 M18.2 M+1.6 M91.92%
Snow Traction4th8 s6.5 s+1.5 s81.25%
Snow Handling2nd89.48 s84.96 s+4.52 s94.95%
Subj. Snow Handling2nd8.5 Points10 Points-1.5 Points85%
Ice Braking3rd17 M14.4 M+2.6 M84.71%
Subj. Comfort2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Subj. Noise1st10 Points100%
The Grabber HTS60 has once again proven itself as a well rounded all season tyre, with impressive snow performance. You had less confidence than the full winter tyre, and a little less grip everywhere, but the tyre was still balanced and useable.

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2nd: General Grabber APT

General Grabber APT
  • 265/70 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Snow Braking4th20.1 M18.2 M+1.9 M90.55%
Snow Traction2nd7.6 s6.5 s+1.1 s85.53%
Snow Handling3rd89.52 s84.96 s+4.56 s94.91%
Subj. Snow Handling3rd8 Points10 Points-2 Points80%
Ice Braking2nd15.3 M14.4 M+0.9 M94.12%
Subj. Comfort2nd9 Points10 Points-1 Points90%
Subj. Noise3rd8 Points10 Points-2 Points80%
The Grabber APT had good traction levels, but during the snow handling test the braking and turning was limited when compared to the HTS60 and the full winter tyre.

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3rd: General Grabber ATx

General Grabber ATx
  • 265/70 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Snow Braking3rd20 M18.2 M+1.8 M91%
Snow Traction2nd7.6 s6.5 s+1.1 s85.53%
Snow Handling4th90.84 s84.96 s+5.88 s93.53%
Subj. Snow Handling4th7 Points10 Points-3 Points70%
Ice Braking5th18.1 M14.4 M+3.7 M79.56%
Subj. Comfort4th8 Points10 Points-2 Points80%
Subj. Noise4th7 Points10 Points-3 Points70%
The Grabber AT/x had a slightly lower level of performance than the APT.

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4th: General Grabber X3

General Grabber X3
  • 265/70 R17
  • 3PMSF: no
Test#ResultBestDifference%
Snow Braking5th23 M18.2 M+4.8 M79.13%
Snow Traction5th10.7 s6.5 s+4.2 s60.75%
Snow Handling5th95.43 s84.96 s+10.47 s89.03%
Subj. Snow Handling5th6 Points10 Points-4 Points60%
Ice Braking4th17.7 M14.4 M+3.3 M81.36%
Subj. Comfort5th7 Points10 Points-3 Points70%
Subj. Noise5th6 Points10 Points-4 Points60%
This test has proven that mud terrain M/T tyres are specialist off-road tyres, which have limited ability in the snow. Driving the X3 on snow was a totally different experience to any of the other tyres on test.

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