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Last updated 8/27/2024 - Originally published 8/27/2024
Written by SimpleTire
In the world of passenger tires, all-season tires take up most of the oxygen in the market. All-season tires account for a full 84 percent of tire sales, and for good reason: you can depend on all-season tires for a quiet and supple ride, great wear properties with generous limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty coverage, handling that’s capable and predictable, year-round performance and road manners that are sedate and solid. Since all-season tires are such a versatile Swiss Army Knife kind of solution for passenger tires, it just makes sense that that would carry over into the light truck/SUV tire world as well. Trucks and SUVs are everywhere on the roads these days, and even the ones that are equipped with 4WD are seldom off the pavement, making all-season tires the right choice. The terms “all-season” and “highway-terrain” for light truck tires are pretty much interchangeable; highway-terrain tires have similar designs and performance targets as all-season passenger tires, but with internal construction, tread compounds and other design details that are beefed up for the extra weight, power, torque and towing/hauling capacity of light trucks.
Today we’re going to look at two premium all-season tires for light trucks, the Grabber HTS60 from General and the Crugen HT51 from Kumho. These are both great tires for drivers of light trucks, and in the course of this head-to-head comparison of these tires you’ll see us make frequent reference to SimpleScore. If you’re not familiar with SimpleScore, it’s the ratings system that the SimpleTire team developed to give you a quick at-a-glance overview of a given tire’s strengths and weaknesses. We look at the tire’s specs, manufacturer info, technical details, customer reviews and other data points, then we process that all down to a 1-10 numerical value for the categories of traction, handling and longevity, as well as an overall average SimpleScore. For the General Grabber HTS60 and Kumho Crugen HT51, the SimpleScore numbers shake out like this:
General Grabber HTS60:
- Traction: 8.6
- Handling: 8.5
- Longevity: 8.7
- Overall average SimpleScore: 8.6
Kumho Crugen HT51:
- Traction: 8.7
- Handling: 8.5
- Longevity: 8.7
- Overall average SimpleScore: 8.6
As you can see, these are two premium tires that compare well with each other and are pretty closely matched in all the SimpleScore categories – so close that it’s tough to say which tire comes out on top. But as handy as SimpleScore is, it’s still the 30,000 foot view that doesn’t really tell you the whole story about what you can expect with a tire. So without further delay, let’s get a closer look with this comparison review of the General Grabber HTS60 and Kumho Crugen HT51:
General Grabber HTS60 tires
First up is a tire that’s built to last, the Grabber HTS60 from General Tire. The General Grabber HTS60 starts out with a tough cut-and-chip resistant tread compound that improves tread life and combines a polyester casing with two ultra-strong steel belts and a sound-absorbing rubber layer under the tread. It’s a tire that holds up in some of the roughest service conditions and boasts the kind of durability that’s backed up with a 6-year, 65,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty. General’s DuraGen design package gives the Grabber HTS60 the toughness it needs for the occasional off-road use, as well as enhanced load rating and towing ability. The DuraGen design suite also includes the Grabber HTS60’s tread design, which incorporates a dense pattern of sipes to multiply winter traction and a system of angled, lateral and serrated-shape circumferential grooves to resist hydroplaning. A sound barrier rib helps keep road noise to a minimum, along with a tread pitch that’s randomized and computer-tuned to neutralize certain frequencies and overtones for a quiet ride. The combination of reinforced construction, an advanced tread compound and a footprint that’s optimized for a wide, flat shape gives the Grabber HTS60 excellent roadability, handling and braking performance on wet or dry roads. The Grabber HTS60’s handling is solid and responsive, thanks to a continuous center rib that lends great road manners as well as driver feedback that’s composed and accurate. Select sizes of the General Grabber HTS60 feature an outlined white letter sidewall that looks great on a variety of light trucks and SUVs.
Kumho Crugen HT51 tires
Kumho designed the Crugen HT51 for excellent traction and wear properties, thanks to an innovative tread pattern and a long-wearing tread formulation. The Crugen HT51 is designed with a zigzag pattern of 3D sipes for winter grip, an optimized geometric block layout, lateral grooves, and wide circumferential grooves, giving it traction and braking performance that are strong enough in winter conditions to merit the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rating for severe winter service. The tread grooves of the Kumho actually create a vortex to resist hydroplaning as they siphon water away from the tire’s contact patch on wet pavement. Straight-line stability and road manners are excellent, thanks to that continuous center rib, and steering response is quick and light. The enhanced traction and performance of the Crugen HT51 technically makes it an all-weather tire; all-weather tires are close to all-season tires in terms of design and construction, but with more of an emphasis on improved winter traction. The optimal block shape and redesigned contact patch of the Crugen HT51 give it great wear properties, and Kumho covers this tire with up to a 70,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty.
General Grabber HTS60 vs Kumho Crugen HT51 tires on traction
With SimpleScore numbers of 8.6 for the General and 8.7 for the Kumho, this one is obviously a squeaker. In the case of the General, we’re impressed with its wet-weather performance and the unique serrated-shaped grooves with independent tread blocks. Braking and handling traction are just as capable on dry roads with the General, but the Kumho is designed as an all-weather tire, giving it a distinct edge in winter performance. The tire industry sets the bar pretty high for a 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake rating for severe winter service, but the Kumho Crugen HT51 clears that bar with ease. Its 3D sipes are laid out in a strategically placed zigzag pattern, and the innovative vortex design of the circumferential grooves give the Kumho a definite edge in snow and slush. It’s close, but our decision:
ADVANTAGE: Kumho Crugen HT51
General Grabber HTS60 vs Kumho Crugen HT51 tires on handling
When it comes to handling, steering response, cornering ability and overall road manners, the General and the Kumho are both pretty solid, to be honest. Both tires are designed around the weight, center of gravity, braking performance, suspension design and overall driving dynamics of today’s SUVs and light trucks. Both tires are designed with the continuous center rib that helps to enhance straight-line stability as well as ensuring steering response that’s light and quick, and both tires feature reinforced shoulder blocks that help to prevent “tread squirm” and deformation during hard cornering. Both tires also employ an advanced rubber compound that delivers consistent traction and wear properties, and with all that taken into account…it’s a dead heat, with both tires registering 8.5 on the SimpleScore ratings for handling. Our decision:
ADVANTAGE: Tied between Kumho Crugen HT51 and General Grabber HTS60
General Grabber HTS60 vs Kumho Crugen HT51 tires on longevity
When it comes to longevity, this one is a bit of a conundrum. The Kumho comes in with a 70,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty, vs 65,000 miles for the General, but both tires register the same SimpleScore. In cases like this, we’re generally going to defer to customer reviews, and in this case the reviews point to the two tires being equally matched when it comes to durability and longevity. It’s a dead heat again, and our decision:
ADVANTAGE: Tied between General Grabber HTS60 and Kumho Crugen HT51
When to use each
When it comes down to a 1-to-1 comparison of the General Grabber HTS60 and Kumho Crugen HT51, they’re both very competent tires. Both come with a generous limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty, both score very well in SimpleScore rankings (actually tied with each other in a couple of the categories) and both come from respected names in the tire business. It’s our take that the Kumho and the General would both make excellent choices if you’re in need of a dependable all-season tire that’s right at home on the highway, although our pick would probably go to the Kumho if we were living in an area that sees tough road conditions every year. The Kumho definitely lives up to the all-weather designation and 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake rating, and even if you don’t expect to have to deal with several inches of snow on the roads…it’s better to have that capability and not need it, rather than to need it and not have it.
Which one should you choose?
Let’s compare the General Grabber HTS60 and Kumho Crugen HT51, just to recap. Both tires deliver excellent traction and handling (with the Kumho having a leg up when it comes to winter grip). Both have great wear properties and manufacturer’s warranty coverage, both tires deliver predictable handling and composed road manners, with a refined and quiet ride that’s more like what you’d expect from an automotive Grand Touring tire. They’re so closely matched when it comes to specs, technical details and performance that it’s genuinely tough to recommend one over the other, so let’s compare prices, with a starting price of $154 per tire for the General and the Kumho starting at $130 per tire. That’s a pretty significant price difference for tires that offer similar features, performance and value so we’d put it this way: if you can afford the General, go with the General. If you want to save a little money on each tire, go with the Kumho – it’s our opinion that you can’t go wrong either way.
Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help as our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.