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Last updated 7/02/2024 - Originally published 7/02/2024
Written by SimpleTire
When choosing an all-terrain tire, a suitable product from the Japanese Toyo tires has to be in the fray. And it becomes far more challenging when you have another Japanese samurai in the competition – Yokohama. With more than 70 years of history of producing some of the best tires, these tire makers are credited for pushing boundaries when it comes to on and off-road performances. The Open Country A/T III and Geolandar X-AT go head-to-head in today’s comparison to help you pick the right option for your daily needs.
Designed for Jeeps, SUVs, and pickup trucks, the Toyo Open Country A/T III and Yokohama Geolandar X-AT are two great options to go for as they offer superior traction, durability, and performance on paved roads as well as unpaved roads. Their special tread compound resists cuts and chips, while the reinforced construction allows it to last longer. Both tires are available with symmetric tread patterns and limited manufacturer tread life warranties here. To help you ease your buying decision and pick the perfect tire for your vehicle, let’s compare Toyo Open Country A/T III vs Yokohama Geolandar X-AT based on our proprietary SimpleScore.
Toyo Open Country A/T III tires
Launched in 2020, the Open Country A/T III features an aggressive tread design and innovative rubber compound that provides enhanced off-road grip with improved wet braking and handling. While the optimized tread pattern reduces noise and vibrations for comfortable ride quality, the rubber compound limits cuts and chips for enhanced durability. The void area of the Toyo tire is skillfully designed to allow quick clearance of water, slush, sand, and mud for enhanced traction on and off the road. Increased lateral grooves, 3D multi-wave sipes, and stone ejectors all boost the overall performance of the Open Country A/T III, even in snowy conditions. The Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certified tire is backed by an up to 65,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty.
With an excellent overall SimpleScore of 9.3 out of 10, the Toyo Open Country A/T III assures exceptional traction, grip, stability, handling, and durability in different weather conditions.
Yokohama Geolandar X-AT tires
Introduced in 2019, the Geolandar X-AT is an all-terrain tire that’s designed for CUVs, SUVs, 4X4s, pickup trucks, and Jeeps. Featuring an optimized contact area, the tire delivers a flatter footprint for enhanced traction, grip, and control on and off the road. While the HD-2 Off-Road rubber compound boosts longevity by providing improved cut, chip, and snag resistance, the multiple sidewall plies of the Geolandar X-AT allow increased puncture resistance for enhanced durability. Ensuring a quiet ride on highways are the distinctive tread grooves and five-pitch tread block variation of the Yokohama tire that resist soundwaves from entering the cabin. Dynamic shoulder grooves create extra biting edges and limit stone retention for enhanced all-around performance. It is backed by an up to 50,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty.
Boasting a fantastic overall score of 8.5, the Yokohama Geolandar X-AT promises great durability, traction, longevity, and handling on and off the road.
Toyo Open Country A/T III vs Yokohama Geolandar X-AT tires on traction
Traction allows the tire to hold the ground even at high speeds without losing its grip. Both tires assure great traction on paved roads as well as challenging roads.
With an exceptional traction score of 9.8, the Toyo tire’s optimized tread pattern provides confident wet braking and excellent off-road grip. The evenly distributed tread-to-void area provides quick clearing of water, slush, and mud and boosts on and off-road traction by resisting hydroplaning. Similarly, the staggered shoulder lugs are of great help in improving off-road grip and traction.
On the other hand, the Yokohama scores 8.3 in traction thanks to the specially designed tread pattern with angular offset center blocks for enhanced grip and traction. The engineering of sipes and narrow grooves on each tread block returns improved traction on snow, wet, and slippery surfaces.
The Toyo Open Country A/T III is way better than the Yokohama in traction, as it beats its peer comprehensively by 1.4 points! Another reason that tilts the balance in favor of the Toyo is that it is available with Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification that is regarded as the industry standard for driving in heavy snow, unlike the Geolandar X-A/T.
ADVANTAGE: Toyo Open Country A/T III
Toyo Open Country A/T III vs Yokohama Geolandar X-AT tires on handling
While traction is the core trait of a tire, it’s nothing without control. This makes handling or responsive steering the next critical characteristic of a tire.
Scoring 9.3 in handling, the Open Country A/T III continues to impress thanks to the advanced rubber compound that provides confident dry and wet handling. The evenly distributed void area offers excellent traction and increases block rigidity leading to enhanced steering response.
With an 8.5 handling score, the Geolandar X-AT features zigzag grooves and dynamic shoulder blocks for enhanced handling and stability on and off the road. Also, the elliptical contact area of the Yokohama lends optimal traction and steering response for enhanced control in dry, wet, snow, and slippery conditions.
The Toyo Open Country A/T III continues to dominate in the handling department, too.
ADVANTAGE: Toyo Open Country A/T III
Toyo Open Country A/T III vs Yokohama Geolandar X-AT tires on longevity
The use of specific rubber compounds and tread patterns defines the longevity of a tire.
Scoring 8.9 out of 10, the Toyo tire features an enhanced void ratio for optimum wear performance. While the stone ejecting blocks clear rocks, debris, and stones from the tread, the 3D multi-wave sipes resist irregular wear and promote uniform wear throughout the tire's life cycle. It comes with an up to 65,000 miles limited manufacturer tread life warranty (50,000 mile for LT-metric sizes).
With an excellent longevity score of 9, the Yokohama Geolandar X-AT features a special HD-2 off-road rubber compound to resist cuts, chips, and snags for a longer tread life. While multiple sidewall plies, full nylon cap, and high turn-up carcass boost durability and puncture resistance, the dual sidewall protectors safeguard against impacts. It comes with an up to 50,000 miles limited manufacturer tread life warranty (45,000 mile for LT-metric sizes).
It’s the Yokohama Geolandar X-AT that wins the longevity battle with a marginally better SimpleScore.
ADVANTAGE: Yokohama Geolandar X-AT
When to use each
All-terrain tires are ideal if you are looking for a tire with frequent off-road drives as they offer high durability, great on-road manners, and reinforced construction to resist heavy loads and challenging trails. If your travel is more through muddy, swampy, sandy, or rocky terrains, mud-terrain tires will be perfect as they possess large blocks with deep cuts to overcome the tricky surfaces.
Among the different parameters here, the Toyo Open Country A/T III is scoring more than the Yokohama Geolandar A/T in 2 parameters out of 3. However, a higher tread depth on the Geolandar A/T can inspire more confidence, both on and off the road.
Which one should you choose?
In a nutshell, the Toyo Open Country A/T III is ahead of the Yokohama Geolandar X-AT by 2-1, as it wins the traction and handling sections while losing out on longevity. So, if someone values traction, grip, and handling more, the Toyo is the option for them, while if longevity is a priority, the Yokohama is a safe bet. However, the difference in longevity score is negligible (9.0 vs 8.9).
For the LT265/70R17 size, the Toyo costs $241 per tire, while four tires cost $964. Similarly, the Yokohama costs $235 per tire, while four tires come for $940. The difference of $24 isn’t huge on four tires.
You should go for the Toyo Open Country A/T III if you:
- Drive vehicles like the Toyota 4Runner, Ford F-150, Jeep Cherokee, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, and GMC Yukon.
- Want higher confidence in moderate to severe snow (Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification)
- Want enhanced traction (9.8 vs 8.4) and handling (9.3 vs 8.5)
Similarly, you should opt for the Yokohama Geolandar X-AT if you:
- Drive vehicles like the Jeep Gladiator, Toyota Tundra, Ford Bronco, Land Rover Defender, and Lincoln Navigator.
- Want better tread life (9 vs 8.9)
- Want a higher tread depth for greater confidence in performance
Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help as our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.