Last updated on June 17th, 2024 at 03:58 am
Table of Contents
Quick highlights
| Tire type | All-Terrain Tire |
| Price range | $164-$599 |
| Run-flat | No |
| Vehicles type | SUVs, Jeep, Pickup, and Light trucks |
| Driving conditions | Dry, Wet, Mud, and Snow |
Before 2024, if you asked for the best all-terrain off-road tire, you will find Toyo Open Country AT3 at the top of the results. Due to its all-terrain versatile drive, this Toyo tire has made its mark as the best all-terrain tire for a year-round drive.
The tire is made for SUVs, light trucks, and pickup trucks. Because of its high-weight handling, it is also great for carrying heavy loads on highways.
The high competition and acknowledgment of Toyo Open Country forced its competitors to develop new tires, and they did. Falken and BFGoodrich launched new tires in 2024, which feature advanced technology and better features, and this Open Country AT3 tire launched in 2020.
Up until 2023, Toyo Open Country AT3 was the best tire in this category. However, after the arrival of new tires in 2024, nothing can be said about this tire’s excellence.
First, let’s discuss how this tire performs and what type of drivers can trust it. Then, we will compare and determine whether this tire is still a worthy option in 2024.
Pros
- Reliable and durable tire for off and on-road drive
- Proper traction and grip in muddy and snowy terrains
- Smooth and comfortable experience on highway’s wet and dry conditions
- Rugged built and aggressive looks for off-terrain harsh drives
- 3PMSF certified for extreme winter terrain drives
Cons
- Not a responsive drive on fast corners
- Soft tread and shoulders make it hard to grip sometimes in wet conditions
Tread, Compound, and Internal Structure
Just like every other all-terrain tire, this Toyo Open Country AT3 features a symmetrical pattern with individual tread blocks. The edgy blocks with deep treads allow the tire to grip and achieve proper traction in deep water, mud, and snowy conditions. With this, 3D multiwave sipes offer extensive grip in snowy and muddy conditions, making it a perfect tire for off-road and on-road conditions.
The cut—and chip-resistant compound and internal solid construction allow it to stay consistent in harsh, damaging off-road conditions. The reliable shoulder and sidewall construction takes no damage from rocks and sharp material, making it a durable tire that can be driven for many years in multiple conditions.
Wet Road Performance
Hydroplaning resistance: When it comes to driving in deep water, tires with poor design usually hydroplane and lose control while in contact with water. However, this is not the case with this tire. Due to its deep and open symmetry, water passes through quickly while the tire resists hydroplaning and delivers proper control in deep water conditions.
Grip and traction: The tire features multiple grooves, sipes, and open channels on the tread, so it performs perfectly in wet conditions. In a rainy situation, the traction and grip with this tire are phenomenal, even at higher paces and heavy loads.
Highways rainy conditions: just like in average conditions, even at heavy rainfall, this tire performs excellently on highways. The tire never loses control and allows you to achieve a safe and smoother ride on fast roads.
Response and brakes: The steering response and brakes are also great in wet road conditions. Due to the above-mentioned features, this tire is perfect for achieving smoother, reliable, and safer rides in damp and rainy conditions.
Dry Road Performance
Fast track drive: As it is an all-terrain tire and not a performance tire, you will not achieve outstanding performance at higher pace drives. Also, the tire does not have higher speed ratings, so driving on faster tracks with this tire won’t be enjoyable.
Highways everyday drive: Drivers who travel on highways with heavy loads, this tire will be a blessing to their journey. As this Toyo Open Country AT3 carries heavy weights and delivers smooth and reliable rides, the Experience on highways will be outstanding even with heavy-weight commutes.
Response with weights: Fortunately, the impact of weights does not affect tire responsiveness. Whether you drive with or without weights, the tire will be responsive and deliver safer rides on every dry road condition.
Heat control: Due to advanced technology and quality manufacturing, this tire can maintain a good temperature in warm weather conditions. The tire does not heat up even after a day-long ride on highways and other hot road drives.
Winter Terrain Performance
Light snow drive: The tire features a 3PMSF certificate, which means it will be great in winter terrains as well. And this is true; it achieves great results in light snow conditions, so if this year there is no chance of heavy snowfall, you can easily keep driving with this tire no matter the weather or conditions.
Ice and slash drive: Even on slippery ice, the tire delivers great and safe rides, properly grips, and achieves stable rides. It is one of the few all-terrain tires that performs that well in winter terrains without compromising on tire tread.
Deep snow drive: Like every other all-terrain tire, this tire struggles in heavy rainfall and deep-standing snow. Although the brakes and response were all fine, you need to keep your eyes on speed; if it goes above 40MPh, you might lose control. So, having a specific winter terrain tire for these extreme conditions is better.
Response and brakes: Overall, the tire is safe to drive in winter terrain. The steering response is always in control, the brakes are quicker, and the tire is smoother to drive. However, if you are looking for perfect winter terrain rides, then separate winter terrain tires will deliver a more joyful and peaceful ride than this Toyo Open Country AT3 Tire.
Mud Terrains drive
Wet mud terrains: Compared to winter terrains, this tire performs better in mud terrain conditions. Due to multiple sipes and a wide tread area, the tire never allows mud to stick to the tread area, resulting in smoother and grippy performance in extreme mud terrain conditions.
Dry sandy conditions: Like wet mud, the tire is excellent in dry and sandy mud conditions. On deep sand and rally roads, tires require deeper tread blocks to bite on mud, and this tire has deeper tread with an open design, which channels the mud properly, resulting in a smooth and reliable drive in sandy and muddy conditions.
Construction sites and gravel: The tire features cut- and chip-resistant tread blocks with solid sidewalls and shoulders, so taking damage from rock and other materials is problematic. The response might be distorted in these conditions, but the tire delivers a smoother driving experience in these conditions as well.
Response and Grip: The tire’s response on mud and off-road terrain is not perfect. It is sometimes inaccurate, and cars move freely, but this rarely happens in extreme mud terrain conditions. Otherwise, the grip and brakes are ideal in these conditions as well.
Comfort and Noise
Compared to other all-terrain tires, it is one of the top tires when it comes to comfortable and quiet rides, even at a faster pace. Due to the optimized void ratio and tread contact, the tire makes minimal noise and provides a comfy ride on highways, mud, snow, and on-road.
The smother driving experience makes it a luxury tire you can drive in any condition or weather you want. So with the versatility of driving in multiple conditions, this tire is also perfect for achieving smoother and comfortable rides year-round.
The durability of the tire
The new tires that recently launched come with a 65000 miles treadwear warranty, and this tire that launched four years before also comes with a 65000K miles treadwear warranty. So when it comes to durability, this tire is one of the most reliable options available in the all-terrain tires category.
The treadwear of this tire also does not wear off earlier in any recommended driving conditions. Just like every tire will wear off when putting extensive force, similarly, if you drive this tire in extreme mud terrain and snow terrain, it will wear off earlier than the warranty period. Otherwise, if you maintain and drive in its specific conditions, you will easily achieve more than 100K miles with this tire.
Comparison with competitive tires
Toyo Open Country AT3 V.S. BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO3
BFGoodrich all-terrain T/A KO3 is a new tire that recently launched. Following the KO2 success, this tire is already making a name and become one of the top tires available in the all-terrain category.
Compared to the Toyo Open Country AT3, The KO3 is a better performer when it comes to comfortable and responsive rides in all terrain conditions. Being a four-year-old tire, Toyo Open Country is still more expensive than this advanced new BFGoodrich tire.
So when it comes to more responsive and comfortable rides at cheaper rates, BFGOddrich is a better option. However, when it comes to more durable and off-road extreme rides, Toyo Open Country is a better option, as it comes with a 65K treadwear warranty compared to 50K of KO3 and performs better in muddy conditions. So it’s up to you which of the features you require more of.
Toyo Open Country AT3 V.S. Nitto Ridge Grappler
Nitto Ridge Grappler is another known tire in the all-terrain tires category, and being a smaller brand, this tire has been one of their greatest innovations. Compared to the Toyo Open Country AT3, this Nitto Tire is a cheaper option and a far better drive in off-road conditions.
When it comes to muddy, gravel, and extreme road situations, the Ridge Grappler performs far better than any other all-terrain tires we mentioned here due to its aggressive design; any driver who wants an aggressive off-road performer prefers Nitto tires.
With that being said, this Nitto Ridge Grappler does perform better off roads, but when it comes to other conditions, it is far behind Toyo Open Country. With its comfort, response, reliability, durability, winter terrain, highways, and almost every other metric, Toyo Tire is a leading tire, making it better overall. So, if you want an extreme road drive, go with Nitto Tire; if you can’t compromise with durability, comfort, and overall all-terrain performance, then go with Toyo Open Country AT3.
Toyo Open Country AT3 V.S. Falken Wildpeak AT4W
Like the BFGoodrich tire, this Falken Wildpeak AT4W is a new tire recently launched. Still, unlike the BFGoodrich tire, it has better durability, similar to the Toyo Open Country AT3.
When it comes to price, being a newer tire, Falken Wildpeak is still cheaper than Toyo Open Country AT3. With that, Falken Tire is a more durable and better performer when it comes to dry, wet, and snow terrains. The comfort and response of this Wildpeak AT4W is far better than the Toyo Open Country AT3 as well.
However, when it comes to off-road drives, Toyo Open Country is a better option. So, overall, Falken Wldpeak AT4W will be a better option, however, the performance difference is not huge, so you can go with either of these two tires, depending on your driving preferences.
Final Feedback
So, as you can see, while it is an older tire, the Toyo Open Country AT3 is still competing with new tires and is better than some new tires. So it won’t be a wrong choice to buy in 2024, as hardly any new tires can totally outperform this Toyo tire. Although the price is higher than every all-terrain tire, with this quality and aggressive ride, the tire deserves to be paid more than ordinary low-performing tires.
