Cooper now makes an AT3 Winter tire, it came on my last 98 Limited. They seem like good tires but they are no snow tire compared to high end choices.
I've used Blizzak's for about 15 years now, the last set I put on last February and let them wear out, they were over 10 years old. They were amazing in all conditions(not great for handling of course), and were vastly better than any all season or low level Winter tire. On pavement I wore those out in about three months, they were like new when I put them on because I've removed them after each snow every year. They were great in the rain and stopped very well, much safer in the rain.
But I needed to wear them out, the age told me it was time to change. I replaced those with a Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9 tire, a special studded SUV tire. I liked these last week when we had snow for Christmas, but the roads weren't hard packed or icy cold in many places. It wasn't a good test to say if these are any better than the Blizzak tires. I drove the Blizzak tires on full ice(hard packed for days roads(100+ yard sections that don't see any sun)), steep hills going up and down before and after being packed down. We don't get snow plows here on anything but the major highways, nor salt on any side roads.
Normal tires including all seasons don't work on the hills I've been driving on, 4WD or front wheel drive doesn't matter, the tires are critical. Flat roads or plowed roads you can manage with various kinds of tires. The biggest problem is the other drivers, 95% not having Winter tires, and the poor driving habits of most everyone. The true Snow tires give you a chance to stop on slick roads, nothing is perfect but they help a ton.
Here's a video from 2018 of driving with the Blizzak tires on some high roads in Pigeon Forge TN, above Wears Valley. This was not joy riding or to have fun, up there on bad snow days there's no good chance for a tow truck to come get you. So I'm driving carefully so I don't slide or get beyond getting out myself, which is not a sure thing. Every day is different, that day there was enough heat in the road to have some grip, and begin melting over the next day or two.
The two thumbnails are the same intersection going each way. A large cement truck on a normal day there flipped sideways coming down and blocked most of the intersection. It's interesting on regular days, happily with snow not many people had gone out that morning by about 10:15 AM.
This is the next part coming back up to the high point, and down part way. Those few roads up there are about 20 minutes of driving on normal days, the route is at least four hours normally(plus an hour of commuting to and from it from the PO).
