Hercules Tires, an American Tire Distributors (ATD) subsidiary has announced the launch of a dedicated winter tire for SUVs and CUVs—the Hercules Avalanche XUV.

The company states that the new tire leverages the legacy of the Avalanche X-treme line of previous generation tires. The XUV tire is designed to deliver optimum vehicle performance so that SUVs and CUVs can face-off against adverse winter conditions. The company is offering the tire in the popular sizes in the CUV/SUV category.

Hercules Tires has equipped the Avalanche XUV with Snow Grip Technology to tackle the toughest winter driving conditions. The technology is a combination of advanced integrated features functioning together to provide the tire with increased cold weather capabilities.

Hercules Tires has pitted the Avalanche XUV against the previous generation tires and finds that it outperforms them by stopping up to 4 feet shorter in snow and up to 8 feet shorter on ice.

The company has listed the following features of the new tire:

• To provide the required snow-on-snow traction, the tire sports a proprietary winterized tread pattern. The pattern contains Snow Grabber Grooves that are designed to aid the tire in trapping and holding snow.
• For a longer tread life, the tire features tailored thin-gauge full depth sipes. They also designed for providing a more responsive ride.
• Hercules Tires has created the tire with better contact patch surface to enhance rubber contact with the road, resulting in a better grip on icy roads.
• Extra ice traction can be provided by the stud pins added to the tire.

“CUV sales surpassed passenger cars as the most popular light-duty vehicle type for the first time in 2018. Even several years ago, in 2014, Hercules saw the trend emerging in the CUV and SUV market and introduced our premium all-season SUV/CUV/LT product, the Hercules Terra Trac Cross-V,” says Steven Liu, senior director of proprietary brands at ATD. “As the CUV continues to reshape the automotive landscape, the challenge for the replacement tire market is to keep up. We’ve taken that challenge head on and created the Avalanche XUV winter tire that specifically optimizes the performance of SUVs and CUVs when the weather turns cold.”

As a mark of its good severe weather performance, this new U.S.-manufactured tire is distinguished with the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol. Hercules Tires is offering coverage on the new tire with its Hercules Performance Promise, Road Hazard Coverage, a 45-day “Trust our Ride” satisfaction trial, as well as, Workmanship and Materials coverage.