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as far as contact patch goes, wider is better in the sense that more traction becomes available be each square each has to work LESS to hold the car in place. no matter what type tire you are using, a wider version of that same compound/tread design will loose traction later. and proper tread design negates most worries about hydroplaning anymore. Snow and mud have 2 completely different needs. snow needs more weight on each square inch to pentrate the surface layer to find traction, mud needs large blocks with wide open grooves "clean" out packed in mud which causes one big, slick, spinning mudball.
the real issue becomes balancing ALL of these needs into a vehicle that can take daily driving abuse in climates from the equator to the poles, all at reasonable pricing.
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