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

Twitter? What the hell?

Twitter has been in the news on several occasions in the recent past. It all began with a few celebrities using twitter, then it caught on to CNN and Ashton Kutcher going head to head for who gets a million followers first. Ashton Kutcher beat CNN in what was the first demise of CNN on Twitter. This event was closely by Oprah's grand entry into twitter. It was at this point that many people actually joined twitter. Oprah happened to be a major occasion on twitter, with many geeks anticipating that twitter would be overwhelmed by the interest brought on it by Oprah and her millions (if they haven't hit a billion) of fans worldwide. In fact, we gave a Before Oprah and After Oprah Twitter ages. Twitter has continued growing, with it been claimed to be the fastest growing social network in the world, with a growth rate of about 1300% per month. Ironically , a Harvard research says that only 10% of twitter users contribute to 90 % of the content on twitter; the content is known as t
Post a Comment
Read more

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 hangover you get
Post a Comment
Read more

Nairobi's Top 4 Texas Brisket Places Reviewed and Ranked

Brisket on a bed of roast vegetables with barbecue sauce at Texas Brisket, Kikuyu  This review has been updated after a number of you suggested I try the brisket at County2County.  What's the best place to have Brisket in Nairobi? What's even brisket?  Brisket is one of the toughest cuts in a cow, from around the belly. It is so tough that it has to be smoked for about 16 hours to tenderise. But that there, is the catch.  12 to 16 hours later, it is the most flavourful and softest cut you will ever have. So full of flavour and so soft you can pick it apart with your fingers.  However, due to the long cooking time involved, only a few places offer brisket in Nairobi.  The best so far is Texas Brisket which is located within Kikuyu Railway station.  They do the meat for a proper 16 hours, and will usually have a fatty or non-fatty portion. The fatty portions are more tasty. A 500 gram serving goes for KSh. 900 and a 1 KG order comes with a serving of free fries. Their brisket has
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