Tires Review

Touring all-season tires are by far the most popular option in the USA – you’ll find them on most passenger cars, crossovers, and SUVs. As a result, almost every tire brand I could think of has a tire that competes in the category, and some even have several.

For instance, Cooper offers the Evolution Tour, CS5 Grand Touring, and CS5 Ultra Touring, all competing for the same buyers. In this Cooper Evolution Tour review, we’ll have a closer look at the Evolution Tour after our tests and see how it compares to its cousins but also other similarly-priced rivals. Let’s dig in!

Unlike its competition, Cooper opted for a much lower price point with the Evolution M/T. Mud-terrain (or maximum traction off-road) tires can be very expensive, and that’s especially true for flotation sizes. However, this tire costs 20% less than the competition on average, making it by far the cheapest mud-terrain tire coming from a premium tiremaker.

When a company offers a product that’s much cheaper than the competition, it usually means the engineers cut corners somewhere. Nonetheless, Cooper promises that the Evolution M/T is a well-balanced tire that works well across the board but still focuses mostly on delivering excellent traction on the most demanding terrains.

But of course, marketing talk doesn’t always translate into great real-world performance, which is why I’ve put the tire through the paces to find how good it really is. My Cooper Evolution MT review will focus on every aspect of the tire, but of course, off-road traction and durability will be most discussed. If you want a shorter TL;DR version of my review, though, here are the pros and cons of the Evolution M/T.

The Cooper Evolution H/T – a touring all-season tire designed specifically for SUVs and crossovers. Cooper actually markets the tire as a highway one; however, the Evolution H/T doesn’t come in LT-metric sizes, meaning it won’t fit full-size and heavy-duty SUVs and trucks. The American brand doesn’t offer such tires in the USA currently, though expect that to change in the near future.

However, since Cooper deems the touring category as more competitive, the company already launched a successor to the Cooper Evolution H/T – just five years after it first arrived on the market. The successor is named Endeavor Plus and brings several improvements in all areas, yet costs largely the same as its predecessor. So, does that mean you should choose that tire? Well, probably – newer products always improve on their forebearers, and that’s especially true for tires.

Still, many tire dealers started offering the older Evolution H/T at some serious discounts, and the tire re-emerged as a valuable option in its category. The question remains, though – should you buy it? To answer that question, I covered every aspect of the tire in my in-depth Cooper Evolution HT review, and I also compared it to its rivals. So, without further ado, let’s see if this is where you should put your money.

Some tire makers managed to mix the on- and -off-road performance in their models quite successfully, like BFGoodrich with its All-Terrain T/A KO2. That tire is actually the Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT’s fiercest competitor – both are similarly priced, and you’ll find them in similar sizes.

Taking the All-Terrain T/A KO2 off the throne won’t be an easy task for the Discoverer AT3 XLT. But if any tire can do that, it should be the one with almost four decades of heritage – the Discoverer brand has long been a favorite among off-roaders and truckers in the USA.

In this Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT review, I’ll cover every aspect of the tire to see if it’s worth the cost (it’s quite an expensive one). I’ll also compare it to some of its direct competitors, like the aforementioned BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2, General Grabber A/TX, and Toyo Open Country A/TIII, to give you a better picture before purchasing a set. So, without further ado, let’s dig in!

In this review, I’ll be talking about the Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S, a tire that is the mildest among its “cousins.” This means that this tire is more aimed at people that don’t want to sacrifice on-road performance while offering higher off-road traction than comparable highway all-season tires. So, it should be a great companion for campers and overlanders, but certainly not for real off-road enthusiasts.

However, the mild all-terrain category is getting stronger each year, with premium manufacturers like Continental, Bridgestone, and Michelin also launching their own models. So, how does the Discoverer AT3 4S compare to its rivals? You can read my Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S review for an elaborate answer or just peek through the pros and cons as a TL;DR. So, let’s dig in!

The most popular tire in Uniroyal’s range today is the Tiger Paw Touring A/S – an all-season touring offering designed for regular passenger cars.

However, the touring all-season category today is flooded with excellent tires at low price points; models like the General AltiMAX RT43, Cooper CS5 Grand Touring, Kumho Solus TA11, and Yokohama AVID Ascend LX dominate the market of budget tires with premium-like performance and durability.

Now, the Tiger Paw Touring A/S is slightly less expensive than those tires, but does that mean it’s also a lesser tire. I’ll answer all of your questions in my in-depth Uniroyal Tiger Paw Touring A/S review, where I’ll cover every aspect of the tire, including durability, performance, comfort, and price. Let’s dig in!

Going off the beaten track has had a resurgence recently, with sales of off-road capable SUVs such as the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco on a steep rise. This also created a higher demand for off-road capable tires, particularly all-terrain tires.

If you are really into off-roading, though, all-terrain tires won’t cut it. Instead, you’ll need maximum traction off-road tires, or known popularly as mud-terrain tires. These tires will provide you with the best possible off-road traction, though at the expense of on-road performance.

General promises that this won’t be the case with the Grabber X3. The American tiremaker ensured that its mud-terrain tire retains the off-road abilities without sacrificing on-road traction much. Did it succeed, though? Let’s have an in-depth look into how the General Grabber X3 handles on various terrains and surfaces and find out!

The Grabber A/TX is one of the most popular tires among off-roaders, campers, and overlanders, promising excellent off-road traction and durability without sacrificing on-road dynamics.

However, its competition has become pretty good lately – models like the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 LT and Toyo Open Country A/T III stormed the market with new features and hi-tech solutions.

So, does the Grabber A/TX have what it takes to beat its competitors? Let’s find out in my General Grabber ATX review, where we’ll cover every aspect of the tire in detail after our tests in different terrain conditions.

How does the General Grabber APT compare to its rivals? That’s an interesting question because General’s parent company, Continental, also has a mild all-terrain tire in the TerrainContact A/T, and in my testing, it’s the class-leading product in terms of dry, wet, and snow traction and grip. In other words, it’s an almost faultless tire. However, it’s also expensive – it costs 10% more than the Grabber APT on average.

Confused? Not to worry, as in my in-depth General Grabber APT review, I’ll cover every aspect of the tire and tell you how it compares to its cousin, but also other mild all-terrain all-season tires. Enjoy!

The General Altimax RT43 is the brand’s bread-and-butter touring all-season offering, a tire that fits most passenger cars driving on roads today. It’s also hugely popular among buyers, selling in the millions.

The combination of fair price and excellent treadwear warranty seems to resonate well with buyers, and it doesn’t hurt that the tire is also manufactured in the USA.

It provides excellent performance across the board, with good dry, wet, and snow traction; it is also not very noisy and has an excellent tread life.

Crucially, it won’t cost a kidney to equip your vehicle with a set of four tires! So, if you are in the market for new all-season tires, you should definitely put the Altimax RT43 on your shortlist.