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Last updated 8/26/2024 - Originally published 8/26/2024
Written by SimpleTire
Here’s an interesting factoid we ran across the other day: in recent years, SUVs have accounted for 52 percent of new vehicles sold in the United States, and pickup trucks take up nearly 20 percent of those vehicle sales. That is an enormous chunk of all the vehicles on the road today, with trucks, and SUVs now happily filling the family-car role that used to be served by sedans and minivans (and station wagons, back a few decades before that). Many of those trucks and SUVs come from the factory with four-wheel-drive, and even if you don’t take your 4WD vehicle off the pavement very often, a good set of all-terrain tires is still going to be the best way to get the most out of your truck’s performance potential even if your vehicle hardly ever leaves paved roads. The good news is that the latest generation of all-terrain has evolved quite a bit since the noisy, rough, clumsy all-terrain made earlier. Modern all-terrain tires (like the Yokohama and the Nitto we’re going to talk about) are designed hand-in-hand with automakers, and their designs are centered around the weight, power, torque, center of gravity, braking, ride quality, and overall driving dynamics of today’s vehicles. That means all-terrain tires that are tough and tenacious off-pavement in challenging terrain but offer capable, composed performance on the highway with a refined ride, low noise, precise handling, and solid road manners.
Today we’re going to look at two premium all-terrain tires from premium brands, the Terra Grappler G2 from Nitto and the Geolandar AT4 G018 from Yokohama. In the course of this head-to-head comparison, you’ll see us make frequent reference to the SimpleScore ratings for these tires. If you aren’t familiar with SimpleScore, that’s the ranking system that the SimpleTire team developed to give you a quick, at-a-glance idea of a tire’s strengths and weaknesses. We take into account the tire’s technical details, spec sheet, manufacturer info, customer reviews, and other data points, then we process that all to a 1-10 numerical value for the categories of traction, handling, longevity, and an overall average SimpleScore. For the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 and Yokohama Geolandar AT4 G018, the SimpleScore numbers look like this:
Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018:
- Traction: 9.9
- Handling: 9.8
- Longevity: 8.8
- Overall average SimpleScore: 9.4
Nitto Terra Grappler G2
- Traction: 8.7
- Handling: 8.6
- Longevity: 8.7
- Overall average SimpleScore: 8.4
When you look at the SimpleScore numbers for both tires, you can see there are some disparities when it comes to SimpleScore for the various categories and overall average SimpleScores. SimpleScore is handy for a quick overview, but it’s the 30,000 foot view that doesn’t get you into the details of what a tire can do. Let’s get in there and take a closer look with this head-to-head comparison of the Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018 and Nitto Terra Grappler G2:
Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018 tires
The Geolandar tire line from Yokohama has been around for some time now, and with the Geolandar A/T4 G018, Yokohama brings a lot of technical expertise to the table, with next-generation design and premium manufacturing. It adds up to a first-rate value in an all-terrain tire. The Geolandar A/T4 G018 is a tire that’s packed with all kinds of innovations for strong, consistent performance on or off the highway, with uncompromising durability and performance off the pavement along with solid, driver-friendly manners on the street or interstate.
The Geolandar A/T4 G018 is designed for consistent performance and durability, with Yokohama’s Geo-Shield design package. This full-depth set of features employs multiple sidewall plies, a built-in sidewall protector flange, a high-tensile steel belt layer, a high-turnup nylon cap ply, and Bridgestone’s proprietary Enduro triple-polymer enhanced rubber compound. For dependable grip n in some of the most challenging conditions, there are aggressive center blocks and mud and stone ejectors that can quickly fling mud and debris from the tread grooves so there’s always a clear section of tread to dig in as the wheel turns.
In rainy or snowy conditions, the Geolandar A/T4 G018 is ready to get the job done with triple 3D sipes, zigzag grooves, single-pitch shoulder blocks, and Yokohama’s EdgeTec groove design. The Geolandar A/T4 G018 has the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rating for severe winter service. Yokohama offers a comprehensive mileage warranty for the Geolandar A/T4 G018, too – a 65,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty for Euro-metric sizes, and 55,000 miles worth of coverage for LT-Metric sizes. Overall, the Geolandar A/T4 G018 is a tire that’s just as capable and suitable for both day-to-day errands and long Interstate on the pavement as well as off-road adventures. SimpleTire’s price on the Geolandar A/T4 G018 starts at $168.99 per tire.
Nitto Terra Grappler G2 tires
The Nitto Terra Grappler G2 is an all-terrain tire that delivers a nice balance: a performance that’s confident and composed on the pavement, with durability, grip, and control off the road. The Terra Grappler G2 is designed from the ground up with a durable next-generation tread compound, around the rough use that all-terrain tires can expect; it’s a damage-resistant rubber formulation engineered for long wear, and Nitto covers the Terra Grappler G2 with an up to 65,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty.
The aggressive all-terrain pattern of the Terra Grappler G2 features a 12.5/32” initial tread depth, full-depth sipes that are designed to keep their shape and continue to boost traction as the tire wears, and staggered shoulder lugs that dig in for lateral traction for cornering or for clawing out of ruts and tracks. The Terra Grappler G2 also is designed with coupling joints that link tread blocks together for rigidity and durability. Zigzag grooves give the Nitto great traction in wet or wintry conditions, and select sizes of the Terra Grappler G2 have the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service.
Internal construction details of the Terra Grappler G2 include a polyester casing with two steel belts, and a nylon cap ply holding it all together for great stability, ride quality, and durability. The tread pitch of the Terra Grappler G2 has been computer-analyzed and tuned for random pitch variations that help cancel certain frequencies and harmonics, suppressing road noise and keeping it to a minimum. It’s also worth mentioning that like with other Nitto tires, the Terra Grappler G2 makes it easy for you to customize your truck’s looks and aesthetics with two distinctly different sidewall, and shoulder options. SimpleTire’s price on the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 starts at $190 per tire.
Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018 vs Nitto Terra Grappler G2 tires on traction
How do the Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018 and Nitto Terra Grappler G2 compare with each other when it comes to traction? With the Geolandar A/T4 G018’s SimpleScore of 9.9 vs 8.6 for the Nitto, this one’s not close. We should note that both tires are pretty capable in terms of winter performance, as both have the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rating for severe winter service. The tread features of the Nitto give it a confident grip in mud, loose dirt, gravel, and other soft surfaces, but drivers are consistently impressed with the system of zigzag grooves, sipes, angled grooves, and EdgeTec shoulder blocks with the Yokohama. Reviews point to a grip that’s consistent and confident on or off the pavement, with great control and braking performance for the Yokohama. Our decision:
ADVANTAGE: Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018
Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018 vs Nitto Terra Grappler G2 tires on handling
Going by the Simplescore, you see a 9.8 for the Yokohama and 8.6 for the Nitto in the handling category. The same tread features and internal construction that give the Yokohama a great SimpleScore for traction also translate to good handling. Granted, all-terrain tires on light trucks and SUVs aren’t designed to offer the kind of cornering, steering response, and overall handling you’d expect from a performance passenger tire. On the other hand, the Nitto Terra Grappler G2 handling performance is largely driven by the tire’s innovative core rib that runs continuously, allowing it to be more durable and improving its durability. The reinforced sidewall and high-turnup cap ply of the Yokohama give it the rigidity it needs to resist tread flex for crisp and confident handling and cornering. Our decision:
ADVANTAGE: Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018
Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018 vs Nitto Terra Grappler G2 tires on longevity
When we come to longevity, the margin between SimpleScore numbers is a lot tighter: 8.8 for the Yokohama and 8.7 for the Nitto. That’s not too surprising, since both tires have identical limited manufacturer’s tread wear warranty phases of 65,000 miles. In all honesty, they probably should have identical SimpleScores if that’s the case, but there’s only a discrepancy of a tenth of a point between the two. It’s a squeaker, but our decision:
ADVANTAGE: Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018
When to use each
The question to probably ask yourself here is, what are your needs and expectations from a set of tires? If you spend most of your time on the pavement for long trips or commutes and don’t get off the road that often, you’d probably do okay with a set of all-season or highway-terrain tires. If, on the other hand, you have a truck that’s used for hauling heavy loads or towing heavy trailers, all-terrain tires like the Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018 and Nitto Terra Grappler G2 could both be a great choice. If you need winter traction for the kind of nasty weather that leaves snow on the roads for days at a time, then the 3PMSF rating of both these tires means you’d be making a good call. If you like to go camping or fishing, or if you find yourself having to traverse rural dirt roads, logging roads, oilfield lease roads, ranch roads, and other rough terrain, then all-terrain tires are your best option – they’ll be the kind of tires that have the durability, performance, and versatile grip to get the job done for you.
Which one should you choose?
So here’s where we come to the moment of truth. The Yokohama and the Nitto are both great tires with plenty to recommend them, and thousands of satisfied drivers who’ll back up that account. Both offer identical warranty coverage, but looking over the SimpleScore numbers (along with technical info and tire specs), the Yokohama comes out on top. Even when you compare price points, the Yokohama looks better since their prices are identical: $189.99 per tire for the Yokohama and $190 per tire for the Nitto. While you wouldn’t be disappointed with the Nitto Terra Grappler G2, it’s our take here at the SimpleTire team that we’d probably opt for the Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018.
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.