September 13, 2021
A popular trend in the industry lately has been owners of Crossovers and Small Unibody SUVs fitting more aggressive, and sometimes larger, On-/Off-Road All-Terrain tires to their vehicles in hopes of gaining some more off-road looks and performance. Many times these drivers are more adverse to the tradeoff of on-road civility for aggressive off-roading capability that many traditional all-terrain tires have. In response, some On-/Off-Road All-Terrain products are designed to minimize that tradeoff, or at least tip the scales of compromise towards on-road comfort rather than extreme off-road traction. Many of these tires also put more emphasis on achieving the tire industry’s severe snow service requirements so they can be branded with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol. What was once a test and marking reserved for dedicated winter tires, the three-peak mountain snowflake started making its way onto On-/Off-Road All-Terrain tires, which helped satisfy some local restrictions for traction devices in the winter months, or severe snow conditions. While 3PMSF-branded On-/Off-Road All-Terrain tires can’t match the traction of dedicated winter tires and are never a guarantee of excellent winter performance, they usually offer good, if not superior, traction in light snow compared to their non-branded counterparts. This, no doubt, has contributed to manufacturers’ eagerness to brand tires that meet the necessary performance threshold, and for some customers to make it a priority.
We set out to test a selection of these popular road-focused On/Off-Road All-Terrain tires, which on top of the aggressive on-road theme, all three of our competitors have the three-peak mountain snowflake branding that could further the chances of drivers cross-shopping them. The BFGoodrich Trail-Terrain T/A is one of the latest additions to the category, built to satisfy drivers on-road where they will most likely spend most of their time, but also be able to tackle light off-road duty. This test is also our first chance to formally evaluate the Falken WildPeak A/T Trail, designed to offer the rugged looks and all-terrain competence drivers want, but retain on-road comfort levels of less aggressive tires. We previously tested the Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015 in a larger size on Ford F150s and were impressed with the tire’s well rounded performance, so along with it being well-rated by consumers, we chose it as a solid benchmark for our two new products. Instead of full-size trucks, we used our 2019 Audi Q5 2.0Ts, which itself is a popular fit for these types of tires and translates well to the large segment of buyers in the market with similar vehicle types. Our evaluation used the Q5s with new, full tread depth 235/60R18 tires mounted on 18x8.0 wheels.
Our 6.0-mile loop of expressway, state highway and county roads provides a great variety of road conditions that include city and highway speeds, smooth and coarse concrete, as well as new and patched asphalt. This route allows our team to experience noise comfort, ride quality and everyday handling, just as you would during your drive to school or work.
In our on-road testing, the WildPeak A/T Trail led the test with an impressive performance around the route. The ride from the Falken was described as firm by our drivers but had a concise feel for a one-and-done hit that helped downplay any increased stiffness. Noise levels from the more aggressive pattern were impressive, with only a mild growl and slight ring over smooth pavement. There was some cavity noise over impacts that amplified the roughest sections of our route, but nothing that couldn’t be forgiven considering the magnitude of imperfections in the road. Topping out the WildPeak A/T Trail’s sweep of our subjective ratings was its test-leading handling that our team found precise and well-weighted. Some drivers thought it could have used some more response immediately off-center, but overall it was an impressive performance considering the category of tire. The Geolandar A/T G015 delivered a familiar, well-executed on-road performance with noise comfort in line with the Falken. Over smooth pavement, there was some seemingly unavoidable growl that did a good job of blending into broad, unobtrusive tones. Our team did note there was some resonance over impacts along with some secondary motion and loss of composure which tended to call more attention to rougher sections of road. Steering was appropriate but found stiff competition from the other, slightly more refined handling tires in the test. The Trail-Terrain T/A had a consistent steering feel around town and at higher speeds that ramped up in response quickly after input. Tread noise from the BFGoodrich was a distant, but constant whine over almost all pavement types and speeds. While the pattern tones weren’t overly intrusive, once recognized it was hard to ignore. Smaller impacts were well-damped, and our team found medium and larger events were in line with the Falken and Yokohama.
Our 1/3-mile per lap test track course includes 90-degree street corners, a three-cone slalom and simulated expressway ramps. Run in both dry and wet conditions, the test track allows our team to experience the traction, responsiveness, handling and drivability normally only encountered during abrupt emergency avoidance maneuvers.
Turning quick laps in a track setting is hardly a design priority for On-/Off-Road All-Terrain tires, nor for our Audi Q5s. However, during our wet handling they allowed our team to find significant differences in handling traits between the tires in our test set. While just taking the runner-up spot in objective results, the Geolandar A/T G015 was the subjective favorite of our test drivers. The tire’s strong front end traction and consistent grip from corner entry though corner exit were able to blend laps together whereas a point-and-shoot approach previously seemed like the only option with other tires. The WildPeak A/T Trail managed to sweep the objective tests, stopping a few feet shorter from 50 mph than the previously well-regarded Yokohama. The Falken just bested its rival by a hundredth of a g around the skidpad. It did a good job combining these slight advantages into a solid lead in overall lap time, thanks to its athletic and precise composure when pushed to the limits of traction. The Trail-Terrain T/A struggled to find traction compared to the other tires. Measured lateral traction was a significant step behind, along with braking distances that were twenty feet longer than the others on average. Laps, as expected, were well off the pace of the Falken and Yokohama, with our drivers not only coping with a large drop in traction but also a tendency to go from crippling understeer into dramatic oversteer.
In our dry testing, the Falken achieved competitive braking distances from 50 mph, along with lateral traction levels two hundredth of a g above its next closest rival. It combines predictable and crisp handling for satisfying laps around our course. The Yokohama took the top spot in the 50-0 mph braking distance by about two feet, and two-hundredth of a g behind the leader in ultimate cornering traction. Our drivers noted that if driven within reason, the Yokohama was easy to handle at the limit with predictable reactions to quick inputs. The Trail-Terrain T/A ended up bridging some of its performance gap, but still ended up trailing the group in both objective and subjective scores with a tossable, but slightly less composed, feeling at the limit.
In our test, all three tires were branded with the three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol. We always find it interesting to compare tires with the brand because testing reveals a wide range of performance capabilities among 3PMSF-branded tires. Just because all three tires have the 3PMSF doesn’t guarantee a similar winter performance. The test required to earn the 3PMSF is a pass/fail test, so one tire may exceed the requirement significantly, while another just barely passes, but they both will have the same symbol on the sidewall. The 3PMSF test measures longitudinal acceleration traction only, which means there is no braking or cornering component, and it doesn’t evaluate ice traction in any way.
In our light snow evaluation, the Trail-Terrain T/A narrowly outperformed the Geolandar A/T G015 for the top spot. In our 0-12 mph acceleration, the Trail-Terrain T/A held a 1.25-foot advantage, with an even-narrower, .5-foot shorter braking distance from 25 mph. Similarly, the two tires’ lap times were identical at 65.90 seconds, and they earned the same subjective score from our drivers. Despite the close results, there were some noticeable differences in the driving experience. The BFGoodrich had steering that was a little slow to respond, combined with some movement at the rear end that allowed a small amount of useful rotation. The Yokohama’s traction didn’t feel quite as strong, but it had more-responsive steering and felt like a more willing partner, which helped overcome the traction disparity. The WildPeak A/T Trail was a small step down from the other two. Acceleration required about a foot longer than the test-leading BFGoodrich, with nearly 10 additional feet needed to come to a stop from 25 mph. Around the track, understeer was the default handling trait, and it took noticeably longer to recover than either of the other two tires. For average, day-to-day driving on the street, though, the grip provided was likely enough to satisfy most consumers.
Testing on the ice consisted of measuring the distance required for each tire to bring the vehicle to a stop from 12 mph. Here, the BFGoodrich once again led the test, requiring 38.9 feet from 12-0 mph. The Yokohama took 9.5 feet longer at 48.4, and the Falken required a total of 48.9 feet.
The Falken WildPeak A/T Trail impressed our team from the beginning with an on-road performance that seemed to defy initial expectations based on the tread design. The Falken’s abilities check all the right visual boxes for a customer wanting an all-terrain tire, and it maintains good on-road manners, which is no small feat. By combining test-leading objective wet results and dry handling subjective evaluations, the Falken establishes itself as an undeniably complete package in warm conditions. In the snow it’s a capable performer, but not quite up to the standard set by the competition in our test. The Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015 never let the Falken out of its sight throughout the test. With very good on-road attributes and wet and snow objective metrics essentially tied with the leader, the Geolandar A/T G015 continues to be a known value and powerful force in this sect of well-mannered, 3PMSF-branded On-/Off-Road All-Terrain tires. With admittedly tough competition, the BFGoodrich Trail-Terrain T/A trailed its peers in this test, though it did make up some ground in our light snow testing. It felt a little unrefined on the road when driven back-to-back with the others, and its wet traction disparity was put fully into perspective on the track.
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