Land Rover Defender Tyres
On this page you will find the best real world tyre reviews from owners of the Land Rover Defender.
Do you Drive a Land Rover Defender? Why not add your own tyre review and help other owners pick the right tyre! After all, who knows what the best tyre for a Defender better than the owners?
Land Rover Defender Tyre Review Highlights
Writing about the
General GRABBER AT2 given
77% (225-45-17-)
Driving on
a combination of roads for 45000
average miles
Had these tyres on my Land Rover Defender* from new, never had any issues, have driven all over Europe and Morocco in them
My current set have been on 10 (yes 10) years and have loads of life yet to give, some discoloration when driven in the summer and now have a tendency to harden when not used for a few weeks, this deformation softens up within 1-2 miles of road driving,
I have found these tyres to be very acceptable and will be getting another set when possible,
**it should be noted I've had these on all Landrovers with a 16inch rim,
Very disappointing, especially in the wet , not what they used to be.
Great tyres in wet, mud, snow and ice if you ant to go forwards. never had a problem.
If you want to stop in the wet, snow or ice, they are the worst tyres I have every used.
They lock up at the slightest brake pressure and offer no retardation. I tow a trailer and they are even worse then as the trailer ends up pushing the Land Rover before the trailer brakes operate.
Cannot comment on wear as I have only done about 5000miles with them.
I would NEVER buy again.
Grip really well in the dry. Wet braking is a problem. They lock up at the slightest braking pressure.
Good grip in mud and snow but braking problems are there again. In snow they lock up as soon as the brakes are applied.
For braking in wet or snowy conditions they are the worst tyres I have had.
Only done 5000 miles but intend to replace them.
Writing about the
Insa Turbo Sahara given
46% (235-85-16-)
Driving on
mostly country roads for 100
average miles
Fitted to rear wheels of 110 Land Rover. Impressive, chunky, deep tread. But these M+S tyres cause vehicle to wander badly at any speed over 45mph. One is concerned that it could it could over turn! Real loss of feeling.
Dangerously bad lateral grip. After 50 miles no longer feel safe and am returning to dealer to have better known make fitted. Really annoyed.
Best tyre I have had on my deffender
Writing about the
Goodyear Wrangler MT R given
86% (235-85-16-)
Driving on
mostly country roads for 12
average miles
These were factory fitted on my Defender 90. They have lasted well and I’ve never encountered any problems. Most importantly they look great. I will definitely buy again when it comes to replacing.
These tyres were original tyres fitted to my new 2015 Land Rover Defender. They were subjected to varied on road and off road conditions in Southern Africa. They are now being replaced at 130 000km (80778 mi) with legal tread on all tyres. They handled well in both wet and dry conditions with no punctures on any tyre. The performance in sand was better than mud. My one complaint is that the tread traps and throws stones, require checking for stone boring into the tread. I have long been a fan of BFG All Terrain KO but I have never had a tyre last like these tyres, note I maintain a rigorous rotation, balancing and alignment program. I can strongly recommend these tyres as 70/30 multi purpose tyres.
Writing about the
Nokian Rotiiva AT Plus given
78% (265-75-16-S)
Driving on
mostly country roads for 100
average miles
First review of these tyres as only had them for a few days. I have been a 4x4 instructor, Advanced Vehicle Control trainer and BORDA Specialist Trainer for over 20 years (as well as a 4x4 competitor for nearly 30 years). I have access to an off-road site where I have used many tyres on many different vehicles so while no objective (measured) data I have a wide range of subjective testing on the same ground. I have had various BFG AT tyres as my 'road' tyres on the 90 for about 9 years, I've also had Cooper ST, Insa Turbo Mountain (old Yoko AT pattern) as well as the good old BFG Trac Edge. On my previous LR's I've had Pirelli Scorpion, Falken AT.
My first impressions on the road are that these Nokian are better in wet grip than the BFG with much less tendency to aquaplane and they have greater breaking capability before they slide in the wet. Dry there is not as large a difference but braking feels better. The Cooper ST has better aquaplaning resistance than the BFG but less than these Nokians. I am very aware of confirmation bias (i.e. I just spent lots on these tyres and they must therefore be awesome!) and as a trainer I spent a lot of time trying to ensure I don't.
Off-Road at our woodland site we have clay based topsoil, shale/shillet subsoil as well as woodland mulch with steep hillsides. The BFG AT is pretty rubbish to he honest as the tread fills up with soil and turns into a slick. Most modern AT's do the same on our site as they are too small on the voids but this is the way of the world (noise regs etc). These Nokians are more towards the aggressive side surprisingly (and a recent foray into a tyre place suggests this to be the case for most new AT's).
I tested them briefly at the site today, wet, muddy and pretty much a very common set of conditions. The Nokians drove pretty well within expectations pulling along well and actually clearing better than expected (and better than the BFG's ever do). I tried them on one of our nastiest hills "Surf's Up" and they went up better than I thought they would. Note that this hill can be a struggle with diamonds (the remould pattern looks like a diamond but is called so many other names) and BFG KM3 don't like it at all in these conditions.
Overall these tyres performed well for an AT and better than most at our site. Their main weakness (as many AT's) are their lack of bite for getting out of ruts. However, even the BFG ATKO struggles out of our muddy ruts of more than about 1 inch high. The sidewalls of the Nokian are 2 ply with a kevlar like compound, most AT's are 2 ply but the BFG, General Grabber and Cooper have 3 ply meaning they can cope with airing down the tyre better in general.
For an excellent off-road, all-terrain tyre - it is impressive on the road. The levels of grip on tarmac are confidence inspiring and put my previous old school agricultural mud tyres to shame. Very comfortable and negligible tyre whine, hum or rumble noise. Looks gnarly too! Would definitely recommend and buy again.
Writing about the
Michelin Latitude Cross given
95% (235-85-16-)
Driving on
mostly country roads for 50
average miles
After seven years on the factory fitted Grabbers I had all four replaced with these Michelins. The difference in drive, road noise, comfort and handling was staggering! I thought I was in a different car. Amazing the difference a tyre makes! No hesitation in recommending these tyres for a big 4x4 (Defender 110 in my case).
Best Summer Tyres
Best All Season Tyres
Best Winter Tyres
