Skip to main content

Best and Most Durable Highway SUV Tyres

Buying tyres is a dilemma - how do you get the best tyres without spending much more than is necessary? 

If that's your dillema, well, you have come to the right place. We will look at tyres that are at the sweetspot of durability, performance and affordability especially for SUVs. 

You'll find that most of my top picks are Asian brands. These tend to last longer and are more affordable. European brands are engineered more for comfort and ride quality. So if comfort is your top concern when buying tyres, I would recommend Pirelli and Michelin. 

1. Otani 
Otani is a little known tyre brand made in Dubai. It however rates quite highly for durability and hardiness, with most of its tyres coming in 'Extra Load' specification. Extra Load tyres are designed if you carry a lot of weight or if you do a lot of towing. Even if you don't, it means you end up with more hardy tyres than your manufacturer recommends. Propelling Otani to the top of my ranking is their relative affordability. 

2 . Toyo Open Country 
Toyo's Open Country All Terrain tyres are rated as the best when it comes to durability, dependability, and comfort. All Terrain tyres are especially notorious for sacrificing comfort for hardiness, yet the Open Country manage to be all rounded. The tyre us also available for Highway Terrain, and for Urban Terrain designed for city hazards such as kerbs and potholes. It is prone to be more widely available than Otani, but slightly more costly. Toyo comes from Japan. 

3. Kumho Crugen / Marshal Crugen 
Straight out of Korea, Kumho has been quite innovative in striking a balance between cutting edge tyres and durability. The Crugen brand is especially designed to last longer while offering a comfortable ride with some of the latest technologies. It's especially a recommend fit for low profile tyres that face a lot of hazards and hence which will need to withstand the dreaded sidewall bulge. While these come in Extra Load, in a few countries such as Kenya, they will be available in the lesser, ordinary 'Standard Load' specification. 


4. Pirelli Scorpion Verde AS
The only reason these tyres don't rank higher is that the Asian competitors is the bit that European tryes are more engineered for comfort. The Pirelli Scorpion is however an exception in that it's more of designed for durability. It therefore means the tyre has deeper treads, which means it's noisy for those who value quiteness in a tyre. On the other hand, it's less noisier than almost all the tyres on this list. The deeper treads are what make the tyre long lasting. It is also available in Standard Load and Extra Load variants, with of course the Extra Load tyres recommended for those looking for sturdier tyres and sidewalls. The Scorpion is highly recommended for those seeking a blend of comfort and durability. It's a well suited option for European makes. 
5. Achilles Desert Hawk
The Indonesian brand has proven itself in making very durable tyres that the tread pattern lasts for years, way beyond the 3 to 4 year duration when you should replace your tyres. The tyres are equally hardy, coming in an "Extra Load" configuration for heavy duty usage. 


6. Nexen 
Nexen is a little known Korean brand, and quite unbeatable when it comes to affordability. However, little is unknown about this tyre hence why it ranks low, yet higher than Chinese tyres. Contributing to its positioning higher than Chinese tyres are its Korean origins. 

7. LingLong/Atlas 
LingLong is among the world's top 3 largest manufacturers of tyres. Their tyres are also known to last for ages. Why they don't rank higher in my list is due to their use of hard compound. This makes braking a task, especially in wet conditions. They are however quite affordable. If pressed for money, go for Extra Load rated LingLongs or Atlas. However, these aren't speeding tyres. So drive moderately! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beers in Kenya: A sober opinion

Note: This is a dated post and has since been mostly passed by events. SAB Miller beers including Castle and Peroni are no longer widely available in Kenya after their exist. Sirville Brewery was bought out by Brew Bistro before being permanently shut in a tax dispute. Kenya is a land of milk, honey, beaches and taxes. I have penned, or is typed, a newer post here .  Peroni - One of the best beers in Kenya. Did a taste of canned and bottled Italian, and bottled Tanzanian I like the tangy flavour and body in Tanzanian Peroni. The can is close. Heineken drinkers will like the Italian one.  I have had a short beer swigging stint in my life. It has however been long enough for me to share my opinion of Kenyan beer. Interestingly, over the course of sharing such opinions with other drunkards connoisseurs,  I have found that we all have different views as to what beer is the best, which one makes you too drunk, or which one gives one free, extra hangover for every ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lusaka and Livingstone Zambia to Namibia By Road

Zambia is a pretty large country,  an exciting one and with no shortage of potholes.  For instance, take the direct route from Lusaka - Livingstone to Namibia through the Sesheke - Katima Mulilo border crossing. Typically, roads are either good or tend to have potholes here and there. However, the last 120 kilometres of the Livingstone to Sesheke/Katima Mulilo route are best described as potholes dotted by some road here and there for the just thirty kilometres past Kazungula town, which is also the Zambia - Botswana border crossing.  Trying to drive to Sesheke is so bad it will take you anywhere between 4 hours to 6 hours to navigate those 100 kilometres. You may or may not have your dignity at the end and your vehicle may be in more than one piece.  If you really must use the Sesheke - Katima Mulilo crossing as of December 2022, then take the 900 kilometre longer detour from Lusaka to Mongu then back to Katima Mulilo. It doesn't guarantee you absence of potholes, b...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Nairobi City By-Laws that Never Were

Well, you have all heard about the proposed Nairobi city by Laws, currently awaiting approval by the Local Government minister. The proposed laws seemed to be quite comprehensive, and ranged from simple laws governing traffic-lights-conduct to the outrageous ones which seek to limit the behavior of city dogs. We here at gramware have been having a feeling that some of the laws on dogs were referring to a word used to co-notate the gender of a female dog; and commonly used to refer to human beings with outrageous behaviours. Still, we think that there are some laws that city hall missed, and we decided to list some of them here. Most of them might be outrageous, and probably a reason why they didn't make the cut. Here they are: It shall be illegal for a city Resident to stop on a street to stare at a video screen for a period of time longer than 15 seconds. any resident contravening this shall be charged with obstruction. Pedestrians within the city shall attempt to walk in almost ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kenyan Beers and Craft Beer Reviews for 2025

It's 2025, and you asked for yet another Kenyan beer review. Let's cut straight to the chase - we keep the many stories for once we are drunk. Right? This year we categorize the beers according to breweries.  Bila Shaka / Bateleur  Flagship is Bila Shaka which is a rich flavoured but bitter IPA with 6% volume.  They focus more on quality and experimenting.  Home to many pleasantly (sweet per 2 people. I agree) favoured beers like Dire Straits, and for the ladies who love it a lot on the sweeter side, there's Honey Badger. These come in at about 5% or so. Jua Kali isn't as sweet as the above and is a mixed rice and barley beer, for some reason popular in the hot coast. Capitan is their bar beer and is a light-ish, pleasant beer at 4% volume and a good time passer when you're there for a long and good night and have things to do the next day. My favourite local brewer and highly recommended, especially Dire Straits. It's a medium beer, don...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kenyan products: The art of punishing your consumer

This post was written in 2011. Facts may have and indeed have changed - but the conclusion has not.  Dormans instant coffee tastes better than Sasini instant coffee. Ramtons electronics are manufactured for Kenya's Hypermart Limited, yet maintain a high product quality Peanut butter used to taste so good, but you could not afford it on the pocket money that you got back in school. A few years later, you have your first real job and your first "disposable" income. You buy your first real tub of peanut butter, probably the first in your life. You feel proud that Dominion peanut butter is manufactured in Ruiru, a town that you visited in your campus days to withdraw your pocket money, it was the nearest bank ATM to your campus.  This was before Equity bank became a mainstream bank and decided to open an ATM in your campus, and before M-Pesa meant that you ...
Post a Comment
Read more