2017 Drive Out Off Road 4x4 Tyre Test

Test Summary
Wet Braking	Goodyear Wrangler All Terrain Adventure
Dry Handling	Goodyear Wrangler All Terrain Adventure Yokohama Geolandar AT S
Wear	Goodyear Wrangler All Terrain Adventure
Ice Handling	BFGoodrich All Terrain TA KO2

Most modern SUVs and 4x4 vehicles are fitted with "H/T" (highway terrain) tyres from the factory. These tyres, such as the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 SUV are a modified version of regular car tyres, and are designed to spend the majority of their life on-road. While these tyres are quiet, comfortable and excellent in the wet, the major disadvantage is they aren't designed for any sort of serious offroading, so have both grip issue and puncture issues when being used offroad.

All Terrain tyres, otherwise known as "A/T", are designed to be used both onroad and offroad. While they can't match the comfort and wet grip of H/T tyres, they offer huge advantages offroad, providing far more grip in dirt, mud and on grass, and offering a much higher resistance to punctures from sharp rocks.

The latest issue of Drive Out magazine has tested seven all terrain tyres in 265/65 R17, covering dry and dirt braking, rock traction and just how strong the tyre sidewalls are.

Results

The brand new Goodyear All Terrain Adventure, which we tested last month, won the test with the strongest dry and dirt braking, the second strongest sidewall, and excellent traction (in fact, all seven tyres scored 100% in the rock traction test). A true all terrain tyre, which works really well both on the road and off the road.

The very well regarded BF Goodrich TA K02 scored a strong second place with 93% overall. The BF Goodrich had the strongest sidewalls on test and was third overall off-road, but struggled on road, scoring last in the dry braking. Like the seconded place BF Goodrich, the Yokohama Geolander AT-S was strong off-road but less so onroad, making it a better tyre for a vehicle which spends more time in the dirt.