Two New Trail Tyres Now Available With Our Wheel & Tyre Packages

When it comes to choosing tyres for your vehicle, there has traditionally been a fairly straightforward choice: a road tyre for everyday driving, an all-season tyre for added versatility, or an all-terrain tyre if you regularly venture off the beaten track.

But there is now another option entering the market — the trail tyre.

We’re pleased to now offer two of these new-generation trail tyres with our wheel and tyre packages: the General Grabber Cross and the Falken Wildpeak Trail.

Having personally driven both tyres, we’re particularly pleased to be able to offer them. They provide a really interesting balance between everyday road manners and the additional capability and styling associated with a more adventurous tyre.

What is a trail tyre?

Trail tyres are designed to sit somewhere between a conventional road tyre and a more aggressive all-terrain tyre.

The idea is relatively simple: give drivers a tyre that remains comfortable, quiet and capable on the road, while offering additional versatility when conditions become less predictable or the vehicle is taken onto gravel tracks, grass, loose surfaces and light off-road terrain.

For many owners, particularly those running vans, pickups and SUVs, a full all-terrain tyre can be more capability than they actually need. Equally, a standard road tyre may not provide the appearance or versatility they are looking for.

This is where a trail tyre can make a lot of sense.

General Grabber Cross – impressive on and off the road

The General Grabber Cross is a tyre I've had the opportunity to use personally on my own Transporter T6.1, and it genuinely impressed me.

One of the things that stood out immediately was how well it behaved on the road.

Despite its more rugged appearance, road noise was minimal, which is particularly important on a vehicle like a Transporter where tyre noise can be noticeable. For everyday driving, motorway journeys and longer trips, the Grabber Cross felt much more like a premium road tyre than I initially expected.

Wet-weather performance was another highlight.

Having driven the tyre personally, I was very impressed with the level of wet grip. It gave me a great deal of confidence in normal wet-road driving and, based on my experience, I would have no hesitation recommending it to customers looking for a more versatile tyre without wanting to compromise too heavily on road performance.

A first-hand experience with General

I was also fortunate enough to attend an experience day with General, which gave me another opportunity to put the Grabber Cross through its paces.

What made this particularly interesting was the variety of driving involved. The day included a track experience in the morning, followed by an off-road experience in the afternoon.

The wet-braking performance of the Grabber Cross was particularly impressive. The stopping distances I experienced in wet conditions were comparable to what I would expect from a premium-brand tyre.

It's not often you get the opportunity to drive the same tyre in such dramatically different environments on the same day — from track driving in the morning to off-road driving in the afternoon.

That experience really highlighted what the Grabber Cross is designed to do: provide a strong compromise between everyday road driving and more adventurous use.

General Grabber Cross sizes

We currently offer the General Grabber Cross in:

• 235/65 R17

• 235/55 R18

These sizes make the tyre particularly interesting for a range of van and SUV applications, especially when combined with an aftermarket alloy wheel package.

Falken Wildpeak Trail – quiet, comfortable and versatile

The Falken Wildpeak Trail is another trail tyre that has impressed us.

I've personally used the Wildpeak Trail too, and once again, one of the first things I noticed was just how quiet it was.

With a more rugged tread design, you might expect a noticeable increase in road noise compared with a conventional road tyre, but that wasn't my experience. The Wildpeak Trail remained quiet and comfortable during normal road driving.

Wet-weather performance was also very good, giving the tyre a reassuring feel in everyday conditions.

For someone who wants the appearance and additional versatility of a trail-style tyre, but spends the majority of their time driving on normal roads, the Wildpeak Trail is a very interesting option.

Falken Wildpeak Trail size

The Falken Wildpeak Trail is currently available from us in:

• 225/65 R17

This makes it another option worth considering when putting together a wheel and tyre package, particularly for vehicles where this size is suitable.

Which trail tyre should you choose?

Rather than saying that one is better than the other, we'd suggest that both tyres offer something slightly different and, importantly, both have impressed us through personal experience.

The General Grabber Cross has particularly impressed us with its combination of road manners, wet grip and versatility. Having driven it extensively on our own Transporter T6.1 and then experienced it again during the General experience day, we've had plenty of opportunity to see how it performs in different conditions.

The Falken Wildpeak Trail has also proved itself to be a very quiet and capable option, with good wet-weather performance and the versatility you'd expect from a modern trail tyre.

Ultimately, the right choice will depend on your vehicle, wheel size, intended use and the look you're trying to achieve.

A new option for wheel and tyre packages

For us, the most exciting thing about these tyres is the choice they give our customers.

Not everyone needs an aggressive all-terrain tyre. Likewise, not everyone wants a standard road tyre when they've invested in a new set of alloy wheels.

Trail tyres offer a middle ground.

They can give your vehicle a more rugged and purposeful appearance while still being perfectly suited to everyday road use. For vans, SUVs and other vehicles that occasionally see gravel tracks, campsites, grass, muddy fields or other less-than-perfect surfaces, they can be a very practical option.

And because we've personally used both the General Grabber Cross and Falken Wildpeak Trail, we're not simply offering them because they look good on a specification sheet. We've experienced how they perform ourselves.

If you're looking at a new alloy wheel and tyre package and want something a little different from the usual road, all-season or all-terrain options, the trail tyre category is definitely worth considering.

Get in touch with our team to discuss your vehicle, wheel choice and the tyre options available. We'll be happy to help you put together a package that suits both the look you're after and the way you actually use your vehicle.