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.
Snow Braking
Snow braking in meters (40 - 0 km/h) (Lower is better)
General Grabber Arctic
18.20 M
General Grabber HTS60
19.80 M
General Grabber ATx
20.00 M
General Grabber APT
20.10 M
General Grabber X3
23.00 M
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 Traction
Snow acceleration time (0 - 20 km/h) (Lower is better)
General Grabber Arctic
6.50 s
General Grabber APT
7.60 s
General Grabber ATx
7.60 s
General Grabber HTS60
8.00 s
General Grabber X3
10.70 s
Snow handling kept the large advantage in favour of the winter tyre, with the mud terrain tyre again struggling to perform.
Snow Handling
Snow handling time in seconds (Lower is better)
General Grabber Arctic
84.96 s
General Grabber HTS60
89.48 s
General Grabber APT
89.52 s
General Grabber ATx
90.84 s
General Grabber X3
95.43 s
The subjective scoring matched the grip levels of the tyres, with the grippier tyres offering a better balance, and more control of the vehicle.
Subj. Snow Handling
Subjective Snow Handling Score (Higher is better)
General Grabber Arctic
10.00 Points
General Grabber HTS60
8.50 Points
General Grabber APT
8.00 Points
General Grabber ATx
7.00 Points
General Grabber X3
6.00 Points
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.
Ice Braking
Ice braking in meters (20 - 0 km/h) (Lower is better)
General Grabber Arctic
14.40 M
General Grabber APT
15.30 M
General Grabber HTS60
17.00 M
General Grabber X3
17.70 M
General Grabber ATx
18.10 M
Environment
Subjectively the winter tyre was also the most comfortable on test, with the all season matching the mild all terrain.
Subj. Comfort
Subjective Comfort Score (Higher is better)
General Grabber Arctic
10.00 Points
General Grabber HTS60
9.00 Points
General Grabber APT
9.00 Points
General Grabber ATx
8.00 Points
General Grabber X3
7.00 Points
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
