Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci, QC – The winter/all-season tire debate is typically a long one that usually ends with a cost versus commute and safety discussion. Additionally, decisions can differ depending on where you live. If you take Canada for example, you will most likely need winter tires in the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and parts of Alberta; however, on the far west and east coasts – winter tires are not too common.

And then there's Quebec, who's not just the only province whose sole official language is French, but the only province where winter tires are mandatory between December 15 and March 15. Apparently that's not so much the case, as they just have to be winter certified. That's noted by the Severe Winter Rated snowflake logo on each tire. The Severe Winter Rated tire information is not well known around Quebec, but Cooper Tires is hoping to get that message across with its all-new Discoverer X/T4 All-Terrain, Severe Winter tire specifically designed for SUVs and light trucks during all seasons.   

To show Cooper Tires determination to provide a tire for all of the seasons, they brought a handful of journalists to the depths of hell at Circuit Mecaglisse in the Laurentian area north of Montreal. Okay, it's not that bad, but this area of Quebec in late January can be brutally cold and icy – a true test for winter tires.

Cooper Tires showed off a host of tires that included this Discoverer X/T4 along with its specific winter tires – the Weather-Master SA2 (performance touring and studless) and WSC (for SUVs/CUVs that are stud capable). But for this review, we will go in-depth on the one tire that adds a grey area to the winter tire/all-season tire debate – the Discoverer X/T4.

The Discoverer X/T4 was pitted against a true winter tire – the Firestone Winterforce UV on Chevrolet Tahoes through the race track with handling and braking obstacles along the way. We compared the two tires back-to-back starting with your typical slalom test to check out the handling of both vehicles followed by an emergency braking test in-between four pylons. The course then takes you towards an emergency lane change ahead of a plethora of pylons and a stop sign. Once you clear that, you can pick up speed to about 45 km/h before another emergency stop that tests the braking grip of the tire. Lastly, the course slopes upwards and down through a few icy sweeping rights and lefts to finish off a full test on snowy and icy conditions.

Now that you know the race course, let's take you through the areas where each tire excelled. Keep in mind we are pitting a Cooper Tires Discoverer X/T4 all-terrain/all-season tire against a true winter tire in the Firestone Winterforce UV that's built for winter performance.

At the start, the Firestone tire seemed to have a touch more balance and control when weaving through the man-made pylon slalom. The Discoverer X/T4 was not too far off from the crisp lines with the Firestone, but more steering guidance was used to navigate to avoid those pylons. In that type of test, I would feel more comfortable pushing the Firestone with more throttle, while I would lower my speed slightly in the Coopers to have a less stressful drive.

That first part goes to the Firestones, but for the rest of the way – it was the Coopers that shined. Immediately following the slalom, the Coopers came to a close to perfect emergency stop in between the box, while the Firestones came to a stop just a smidge past the box. They both struggled for traction immediately after when attempting to accelerate going up an icy incline. Eventually, both found grip and continued on. 

After a slippery start, the Discoverer X/T4 picked up speed and shot its way through a right and left slope before comfortably manoeuvring passed an emergency lane change to the left away from those pylons and into a clear stop well ahead of the stop sign. This is the part where the X/T4's Micro-Gauge Corrugated Siping and SnowGroove 2.0 Technology came to good use. The Siping tightened up and dug into the snow and ice to gain additional traction and control; while the SnowGroove packed in some snow to create snow-on-snow traction. Additionally, the sipe density in the Discoverer X/T4 kept the Tahoe stable throughout without any worry along the way.

On the other hand, the Firestone's wouldn't have made that emergency left without laying off the throttle on approach and braking hard before that yank left.

As speed picked up, the emergency brake comparison ended up being no comparison at all. The Discoverer X/T4 broke immediately within two feet from the braking point. On the other hand, the Winterforce UV tires finally came to a complete stop at the four foot mark. To me that's a significant difference that can avoid a potential accident and/or injury.

I'm staying on the emergency lane change and brake test at 45 km/h, because that opened my eyes to the largest discrepancies between the two tires. Even though, the Firestone Winterforce UV is a true winter tire, they're only labelled that from an outdated winter tire test that only has to accelerate 10 per cent quicker than a UniRoyal Tiger Paw All-season tire. There are no tests for braking and handling under ice or snow conditions, which can be crucial under dangerous Canadian winter months.

Cooper Tires were out to prove that an all-terrain tire could match-up with a dedicated winter tire in the province of Quebec and that they succeeded in accomplishing that goal. The Firestone Winterforce UV does excel under initial acceleration and in some handling and cornering conditions, but the X/T4 held its own. However, under regular and emergency braking tests, it was the Cooper Tires brand that I found to be far superior and placed the driver under more control.

When you factor in that the Discoverer X/T4 can perform under hot temperatures, wet conditions and off-road handling – it's truly an all-in-one stop for any adventurous driver. Clearly an all-year round tire will deal with more wear and tear, but Cooper Tires claims that even at three-quarters worn, these X/T4s will still bite down for exceptional braking and handling performance. It's possible that the coupled silica compound tread used in the X/T4 plays a significant role in increasing its tread life.

The Cooper Tires Discoverer X/T4 went on sale throughout North America in September 2014. For all those that have been hoping to save some money on one tire all-year round, especially those in Quebec – this all-new, all-terrain, severe winter rated tire might be the best one out there. If it can handle some of the icier conditions at Circuit Mecaglisse, it can handle those crazy snow days around the country.