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Top 5 Off-Road Tires for Daily Driving

Falken Wildpeak A/T3W Tire 
You have to admit that those big, knobby, mud tires are pretty impressive. They’d look mighty fine on your truck or Jeep. But unless you work on a ranch or live your entire life in the woods, you spend most of your driving time on cold, hard, concrete. Those knobs are no match for reinforced Portland cement and are soon reduced to the rubber equivalent of a mosquito bite.
FEB 02, 2019

Did we mention those big, knobby mud tires are expensive? And the ride. You expect a rough ride off-road but if you have a decent length commute, those mud tires will beat you up and make you a candidate for premature use of a hearing aid.

If you have a 4x4 truck or SUV and spend some of your time off-road but most of your time on-the-road, you want a tire that can give you the grip and performance for both types of driving, and look good doing it. What you need is an off-road tire that is street friendly and we know five of them that we think might be a good fit for you.

Break the Trail, Not Your Bank Account – Top 5 Street Friendly Off-road Tires

There is rubber out there that will give you that off-road aesthetic without endangering your safety, hearing, and finances when driven on the street. Here they are in no particular order:

Toyo Open Country A/T2 Off-Road Tire

Toyo Open Country A/T2 Off-Road Tire

Toyo has engineered the right balance of rugged appearance and on-road performance. Looking at the treads you might think the A/T2 was an exclusively off-road tire, but that’s where the Toyo genius kicks in. Using a special rubber, technology, and design innovations, Toyo has managed a deep tread look without the control issues that a knobby tire has on the pavement. The tread blocks are large but Toyo has reinforced the space between individual blocks making them more stable. A stable tread is the key to better steering control, a cooler running, and a longer lasting tire.  

Kumho Road Venture AT51 Tire

Kumho Road Venture AT51 Tire

A less expensive alternative to the Toyo class tires, the Kumho has many of the same tread features that make it a good on-road/off-road choice. Given the big tread block on all of these tires, the Kumho is actually one of the quietest of the AT class. It accomplishes this by adding an extra tread with various spacing on the inside shoulder. This makes the tire perform better at speed and serves to dampen down the road noise. As a nod to the off-road look, the Road Venture has chevrons molded on the shoulder of the sidewalls, a look off-roaders appreciate.

Cooper Discoverer AT3 Tire 

Cooper Discoverer AT3 Tire

This Cooper edges its way onto the list on looks alone. It has the aggressive all-terrain look with massive tread blocks, open tread shoulder, and upper sidewall mud-bitters. In reality, it’s a great highway tire particularly for trucks carrying a heavy load. It behaves really well in rain and snow and because of its cool running, low friction design, it does something that most AT tires don’t. It offers impressive fuel efficiency. That’s a feature not usually considered by off-roaders but the smart drivers looking for real value will consider the Cooper when it’s time to re-shoe the ride.

Falken Wildpeak A/T3W Tire

Falken Wildpeak A/T3W Tire

Falken is another manufacturer that has a talent for designing an off-road tire with excellent on-road manners. The Falken Wildpeak with its deep tread and rugged sidewall features is the eyecatcher that pleases the 4x4 enthusiast, but the design also allows excellent performance on the asphalt. In fact, the longer tread edges in the center section of the tire give the tire excellent grip in bad weather. This is the rubber you want on your ride in the rain, and on snow and ice. The design doesn’t do anything to diminish off-road capabilities but turns the tire into a superhero in inclement conditions. Falken knows they have a winner and you can tell because they offer a 55,000-mile warranty on them.

Nitto Ridge Grappler Tire

Nitto Ridge Grappler Tire

The Ridge Grappler is another great bad weather on-road tire and for pretty much the same reasons as the Falken Wildpeak. “Siped” is the term used to describe the cut and length of the tread’s edge. The longer the edge the more grip on the road. Nitto’s center tread blocks have a unique siping design that makes it a super performer on ice and snow and lets you drive with confidence in heavy rain. That’s the on-road side. As for off-road, the Ridge Grappler probably isn’t their best all-terrain tire but you wouldn’t know it by looking at it. It’s big chunky tread and muscular sidewalls say “I wanna climb some rock.” If your idea of off-road is pulling onto a gravel parking lot at a boat launch, then the Ridge Grappler is the rubber for you. 

All five of these tires provide the good looks you are looking for and are the top off-troad tires for daily driving. You be the judge on which features are important to you.

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