The TyreReviews portal has determined the best All-Terrain tires based on the results of tests on tarmac, as well as gravel and dirt tracks.
List of models tested:
- BFGoodrich Trail-Terrain T/A
- Continental TerrainContact A/T
- Firestone Destination A/T2
- Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure
- Nitto Terra Grappler G2
- Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus
- Toyo Open Country A/T III
- Travelstar Ecopath A/T
- Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015
Tests of All-Terrain tires are conducted rarely enough, including due to the complexity of recreating real-world conditions, but Jonathan Benson, the founder of the Tyre Reviews portal, was not daunted by the challenges and conducted his own test of nine All-Terrain tire models. The expert selected tires which are designed to spend more time on-road; as for more aggressive tires, including those that refer to the Mud-Terrain class, Benson promised to test them in the future.
Since the selected tire models were designed to be chiefly used on tarmac, the weight of the scores was distributed accordingly: wet and dry 35 and 30% respectively, off-road 15%, and ride comfort and environment 10% each. The participant list included the BFGoodrich Trail-Terrain T/A (a tire with a less aggressive tread pattern than the All-Terrain T/A KO2), the Continental TerrainContact A/T, Firestone Destination A/T2, Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure, Nitto Terra Grappler G2, Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain plus, Toyo Open Country A/T III, Travelstar Ecopath A/T (Travelstar is a private brand of the American company Unicorn Tire), and the Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015.
Wet
Considering the score weight that was selected, the wet tests became the key ones — because in rainy weather it is the grip that defines what this or that situation may lead to — and on the wet track the best tires were the Firestone and Continental that were almost tied on time. At the same time, the two tires delivered it in different ways: while the Firestone was fast and had loads of grip, it was a little numb and had more understeer than the Continental, and the Continental was just a great tire to drive. The tire behaved in a predictable way, providing great grip, good communication at the limit, and progressive past the limit, so there were no complaints about TerrainContact.
Wet Braking
- Continental
- Firestone
- Goodyear
- Yokohama
- Toyo
- Pirelli
- Travelstar
- BFGoodrich
- Nitto
Info! Braking in the range of 100–0 km/h, m.
Wet Handling
- Continental
- Firestone
- Yokohama
- Goodyear
- Travelstar
- Pirelli
- Toyo
- BFGoodrich
- Nitto
Info! Lap time, sec.
Next-placed were the Goodyear and Yokohama, which also behaved differently — while the former was good in all key performance areas — excellent traction, predictable handling response, etc — and the test car Ford F-150 Raptor steered exactly where the driver wanted it to, the Yokohama model also demonstrated excellent grip, especially during the braking, but it missed the communication, and its understeer was more prominent than that of the competitors.
Lateral Stability
- Firestone
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Yokohama
- Travelstar
- Pirelli
- Toyo
- BFGoodrich
- Nitto
Info! Wet circle, sec.
Straight Hydroplaning
- Travelstar
- Firestone
- Yokohama
- Continental
- Pirelli
- BFGoodrich
- Nitto
- Toyo
- Goodyear
Info! Float speed, km/h.
The fifth place was scored by the Travelstar model, which was also prone to understeer and gave not very much information through the steering wheel, but at the same time ensured very high grip. One line down the order was occupied by the Toyo and Pirelli, and, while the Japanese tire was difficult to drive quickly due to limited feedback (and once you were sliding it took a while to recover), the Pirelli tire conversely was a joy to drive, it felt almost sporty, certainly the most direct of the pack and an enjoyable experience.
Lateral Hydroplaning
- Travelstar
- Firestone
- Pirelli
- Yokohama
- Nitto
- Continental
- Toyo
- Goodyear
- BFGoodrich
Info! Remaining lateral acceleration.
The last-but-one place was scored by the BFGoodrich model, which was only slightly prone to understeer and demonstrated a reliable traction on the rear axle. At the same time, the driver needed to wait for the tires to «find» the grip in order to start accelerating, which led to a bigger lap time. Even though the BFGoodrich did not score a lot of points, in reality there was only one tire that really compromised the Raptor’s handling performance, and this was the Nitto model from Toyo. According to Benson, the tire really didn’t want to grip longitudinally or laterally, and was the only tire, on which he out-braked himself so badly that he ended up leaving the course. Fortunately, this was no problem for a Raptor, but on the road that would have been less than ideal.
Dry
On the dry track, all the tires performed fairly well; none of the tires failed the lane change stability exercise, and none made any surprises on any of the 33 laps completed. The best tire was recognized to be the Goodyear, which reacted quickly and directly to the driver inputs, followed by Firestone, Pirelli, Nitto and Travelstar. Benson added that the Continental and Yokohama demonstrated slightly less responsive steering than the other tires, while the Toyo model felt the least precise, but on the whole all the tires felt very similar. In a repeat of wet handling, Nitto and BFGoodrich were at the back of the dry handling times, because they were slightly sluggish to react to inputs and did not offer the best possible feedback. At the same time, it would be wrong to call their performance downright poor.
Dry Braking
- Continental
- Travelstar
- Goodyear
- Pirelli
- Toyo
- Nitto
- Yokohama
- Firestone
- BFGoodrich
Info! Braking in the range of 100–0 km/h, m.
Dry Handling
- Goodyear
- Pirelli
- Continental
- Toyo
- Travelstar
- Yokohama
- Firestone
- BFGoodrich
- Nitto
Info! Lap time, sec.
Gravel
Testing tires on gravel is an interesting thing to do, but very hard to do right — because of the damage that the car does to the track during a 3-lap run, the track needs 20 minutes of combing and fixing the surface between tires to make sure that the course is the same for every tire. The weight of the scores was also changed, and, since when using your car off-road you are less likely to need max out handling or emergency avoidance, more score weight was given to how the tire felt subjectively, which is how the tire reacts to the driver’s inputs, especially at the grip limit. At the same time, the max handling laps were also taken into consideration, so one would know which tire gives you the most grip as well.
The BFGoodrich brand is known first of all for its off-road tires, and on gravel the tires of this brand, currently owned by Michelin, again proved that it remained one of the acclaimed leaders in the off-road tire segment. The BFGoodrich tires allowed the car to show the best lap time, and demonstrated impressive grip, particularly during the braking and cornering; the only tire that came close to them in the subjective ranking was Toyo.
Gravel Handling
- BFGoodrich
- Firestone
- Toyo
- Travelstar
- Yokohama
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Pirelli
- Nitto
Info! Lap time, sec.
The Firestone and Travelstar also showed good results thanks to the lightning-fast steering response and a high level of traction; next-placed were the Goodyear and Pirelli. Even though, looking at the tread pattern of the last two tires (just as in the case of Nitto) one might think that they would be great on gravel, they still had less grip than the leaders.
Subj. Gravel Handling
- BFGoodrich
- Toyo
- Firestone
- Travelstar
- Goodyear
- Pirelli
- Continental
- Nitto
- Yokohama
Info! Subjective, points.
The most difficult tires to get around the lap were the Continental, Nitto and Yokohama. All the three tires felt like they had low grip sublimit, and the Continental was particularly bad as the rear would come around more quickly than any other tire. Things improved as the driver got faster, and while the grip was there you really had to work for it. Nitto was a bit better past the limit, but it did like to slide too.
Dirt
Like gravel, dirt is a very difficult surface to test on — perhaps even more difficult because some of it is hard-packed, some of it is very dusty, some of it gets rutted — the list goes on. At the same time, due to the fact that all the tires demonstrated similar results, the test team must have provided adequate conditions. The BFGoodrich and Toyo were again the standouts on dirt, with the Nitto and Yoko again struggling. The rest of the group were all very close on time, with the Continental and Pirelli, according to Benson, being the best as they were just a little more predictable and responsive.
Dirt Handling
- BFGoodrich
- Goodyear
- Firestone
- Nitto
- Continental
- Pirelli
- Toyo
- Yokohama
- Travelstar
Info! Lap time, sec.
Subj. Dirt Handling
- BFGoodrich
- Continental
- Firestone
- Goodyear
- Pirelli
- Toyo
- Travelstar
- Nitto
- Yokohama
Info! Subjective, points.
Noise / Comfort
The comfort factor is very important for All-Terrain tires because many motorists use them for daily driving, and, although none of the tires turned out to be excessively loud or rough-riding, the differences were still there. High scores were earned by the Continental and Firestone, and the TR experts noted that the latter still was a little bit noisy in corners, but when driving in a straight line, it was surprisingly quiet. At the same time, even the Firestone could not come close to the Yokohama, which was very quiet and very comfortable, and Benson even noted that, although this was a «blind» test, you could always tell when the car was fitted with the Geolandars.
External Noise
- Continental
- Firestone
- Goodyear
- Yokohama
- BFGoodrich
- Toyo
- Travelstar
- Nitto
- Pirelli
Info! External noise, dB.
Internal Noise
- BFGoodrich
- Continental
- Goodyear
- Firestone
- Nitto
- Yokohama
- Pirelli
- Toyo
- Travelstar
Info! Subjective, points.
Next-placed were the BFGoodrich and Goodyear; the same group included the Pirelli model, despite the relatively rough ride. The Nitto and Toyo were making a distinct noise, and the ride was also on the rough side. Curiously, the Nitto tire was noisy when driving in a straight line and very noisy during cornering, but only when turning left, which is rather strange. In this part of the test, the budget Travelstar model was rated as «not very good» because it was the only tire on test to make a really annoying noise when driving at speed, and to make the driver feel the shake when hitting road bumps.
Comfort
- Yokohama
- Continental
- Firestone
- BFGoodrich
- Goodyear
- Pirelli
- Nitto
- Toyo
- Travelstar
Info! Subjective, points.
Efficiency
In the test for hydroplaning resistance, the difference between the best and the worst results (Firestone and Nitto respectively) was 13%, which in real-life conditions will mean reduction in fuel consumption by 3%.
Fuel Consumption
- Firestone
- BFGoodrich
- Pirelli
- Toyo
- Goodyear
- Travelstar
- Yokohama
- Continental
- Nitto
Info! Rolling resistance, kg/t.
Verdict
The first place in the final standings was scored by the Firestone Destination A/T2 from Japan’s Bridgestone, which had just a 0.03 percent lead over the Continental, but behaved in a slightly different way. Both tires demonstrated excellent wet performance, yet, unlike Continental, the Firestone model also had some of the best off-road results, and, in addition, it ensured maximum ride comfort, was really quiet, and had the lowest rolling resistance on test, and such a well-balanced performance is truly impressive. Speaking about the tire’s shortcomings, one can mention the fact that the Firestone model was inferior to Continental on dry pavement, and its response to inputs was not as fast as that of some other tires. One way or another, however, thanks to its excellently balanced performance, the Destination A/T2 won the test, scoring a «Highly recommended» verdict.
The Continental TerrainContact AT showed itself to the best advantage in the wet tests, where it demonstrated the most effective wet braking and the best handling response, as well as rather good hydroplaning resistance. On dry pavement, the tire was also quicker to stop the car than the competition, and was among the leaders in terms of handling performance. In addition, it was the quietest tire on test. A certain disappointment was caused by its increased rolling resistance, and the Continental model also was not the most effective on gravel due to its delayed response to the driver inputs and being prone to skidding on the rear axle. On the whole, according to Benson, this is a very good tire ensuring maximum safety during the tarmac braking, and it was also rated as «Highly recommended».
Third-placed was the Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure, which, despite its aggressive tread pattern with large blocks, performed exceptionally well in the dry and wet tests. The Goodyear model also had high scores for gravel and dirt tests, low noise, and good riding comfort, its only drawbacks being limited hydroplaning resistance and increased rolling resistance.
Although it was one of the oldest models on test, the Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain plus demonstrated a good dry and an acceptable wet performance, as well as had a very low rolling resistance. The Pirelli’s grip was inferior to that of the leaders, but not dramatically; it also scored high subjective points for handling performance. And, to cap it all, the Pirelli tire has very «meaty» sidewalls which are sure to be liked by aggressive tire design enthusiasts.
The Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015, which came fifth, had a tread pattern that was more reminiscent of highway tires, and the results were appropriate because the Yokohama model was one of the best on dry pavement, and it also scored maximum points for ride comfort. At the same time, however, the tire had certain difficulties on dry pavement, and it also had a very high rolling resistance. One way or another, the Yokohama did ultimately get away with a «Recommended» verdict, and it would be a great tire for those who only drive in mild off-road conditions.
The sixth line of the tournament bracket was occupied by the Travelstar Ecopath A/T, which, although belonging in the economy segment, could deliver some quite decent results at least in some of the disciplines. The Travelstar tire was the best in the hydroplaning resistance tests, both straight and lateral, it had a short dry braking distance, and it was really effective on gravel. At the same time, this tire had a long wet braking distance, weak dirt traction, and it was also pretty noisy, so, possibly, there are other more attractive options out there — even in this specific price bracket.
The Toyo Open Country A/T III tire, just as the BFGoodrich, was the leader in the off-road tests, but it also had short dry and wet braking distances, which earned it a higher chart position. At the same time, the ride comfort delivered by the Toyo tire was tangibly lower; the tire was also pretty loud and had an increased rolling resistance.
Even though the BFGoodrich Trail Terrain T/A came last-but-one, it has to do with the score weight, and it was the BFGoodrich model that showed the best off-road performance, and the TR experts said that if you did do a lot of off-road driving, this would probably be the best choice. At the same time, however, the Trail Terrain T/A demonstrated poor wet and dry performance, and, if you do need off-road tires, why not consider the popular All-Terrain T/A KO2? But then again, the Trail Terrain has a very low rolling resistance, and if you need a good off-road tire that will save fuel and will not annoy you with noise, this will be a good choice — just remember about its reduced tarmac traction.
Last-placed was the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 tire, and the TR experts noted that, although this model was one of the most expensive ones on test, you could expect more from the tires of this brand. Unfortunately, the Nitto tire delivered a poor performance virtually on all types of surfaces, and it had a very long wet braking distance — almost 16 meters longer than that of the leader’s, i.e. when braking from 80 km/h, the remaining speed will be 43 km/h. This means that this tire is incapable of ensuring adequate driving safety in rainy weather.
1st place: Firestone / Destination A/T2
Quick Take
Firestone Destination A/T2
- Very short braking distance and good handling response on wet pavement
- Excellent hydroplaning resistance
- Very good off-road performance
- Low noise emission
- Great riding comfort
- The lowest rolling resistance on test
- Long braking distance and less-than-perfect dry handling response (the tires are slow to respond to the turns of the steering wheel)
- Highly recommended
2nd place: Continental / TerrainContact A/T
Quick Take
Continental TerrainContact A/T
- Good handling response and a short stopping distance on wet and dry pavement
- Good hydroplaning resistance
- Good handling response on dirt
- Extremely low noise emission
- Very good riding comfort
- Prone to oversteer on gravel
- High rolling resistance
- Highly recommended
3rd place: Goodyear / Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure With Kevlar
Quick Take
Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure With Kevlar
- Very good results on wet pavement and dirt
- Very good handling response and a short stopping distance on dry pavement
- Low noise emission
- Low hydroplaning resistance
- Average performance on gravel
- Highly recommended
4th place: Pirelli / Scorpion All Terrain Plus
Quick Take
Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus
- Good hydroplaning resistance
- Acceptable handling response in the wet
- Excellent handling response in the dry
- Good performance on dirt
- Low rolling resistance
- High noise emission
- Low riding comfort
- Recommended
5th place: Yokohama / Geolandar A/T G015
Quick Take
Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015
- Good handling response and a short stopping distance on wet pavement
- Excellent hydroplaning resistance
- Very good riding comfort
- Low noise emission
- Limited traction on dry pavement and gravel
- High rolling resistance
- Recommended
6th place: Travelstar / EcoPath A/T
Quick Take
Travelstar EcoPath A/T
- Good handling response in the wet
- Excellent hydroplaning resistance
- Short braking distance on dry pavement
- Good performance on gravel
- Low price
- Relatively long braking distance on wet pavement
- Very noisy; rough ride
7th place: Toyo / Open Country A/T III
Quick Take
Toyo Open Country A/T III
- Excellent off-road performance
- Good handling response in the dry
- Low rolling resistance
- Relatively poor wet performance (specifically, low hydroplaning resistance)
- Noisy; rough ride
8th place: BFGoodrich / Trail-Terrain T/A
Quick Take
BFGoodrich Trail-Terrain T/A
- Excellent handling performance off-road (the best on test)
- Low noise emission
- Good riding comfort
- Very low rolling resistance
- Long braking distance and less-than-perfect handling response on dry and wet pavement
9th place: Nitto / Terra Grappler G2
Quick Take
Nitto Terra Grappler G2
- Low price
- Dangerously long braking distance and poor handling response on wet pavement
- Worse lap time on dry pavement
- Average off-road performance
- High noise emission
- High rolling resistance
![The BEST 9 All Terrain [A/T] Tires Tested! Conti vs BFGoodrich vs Firestone vs Toyo vs Nitto + More](/thumbnail/400/https://img.youtube.com/vi/2hwYCc6YvYM/maxresdefault.jpg)
