With the continuing growth of the CUV and SUV market, Hercules Tire & Rubber Co. has created the Avalanche XUV, a winter tire wholly dedicated to the most popular style of vehicles on American streets. Hercules says the Avalanche XUV is made in the U.S. and builds on the legacy of the previous generation Avalanche X-Treme. The tire features Snow Grip Technology, a collection of advanced integrated features that work together and equip the tire with improved cold weather capabilities in harsh driving conditions.
In internal tests against the previous generation tire, the Avalanche XUV in size 255/55R18 stopped up to 4 feet shorter in snow and up to 8 feet shorter on ice.
The tire's features include:
- a proprietary winterized tread pattern with Snow Grabber Grooves designed to help trap and hold snow, delivering snow-on-snow traction;
- tailored thin-gauge full depth sipes to prolong tread life and provide a more responsive ride, giving drivers greater peace of mind in winter conditions.
- improved contact patch surface area which increases rubber contact for a greater grip on icy roads; and
- stud pins that provide the option for additional ice traction.
“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 American Tire Distributors Inc. “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.”
The Avalanche XUV has earned the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol and is available in eight sizes:
| 18-inch sizes | 245/60R18 | 255/55R18XL | |
| 19-inch sizes | 235/55R19XL | 245/55R19 | 255/50R19XL |
| 20-inch sizes | 245/50R20 | 255/50R20XL | 265/50R20 |
The tire is backed by the Hercules Performance Promise with road hazard coverage, a 45-day “Trust our Ride” satisfaction trial and workmanship and materials coverage.
For more information, visit www.herculestire.com.
