Cooper Adventurer H/T Review: Accomplished Budget Highway Truck and SUV Tire

In the past, drivers of trucks and SUVs didn’t have a lot of choices when it comes to tires. The premium tire manufacturers had excellent highway tires in their lineups, but the cheap options were usually not up to scratch. Just remember the Firestone fiasco with the highway tires they made for the Ford Explorer.

Fortunately, nowadays, things are different. Modern drivers of SUVs, trucks, and crossovers have many tire options to choose from. Premium tire manufacturers still produce excellent tires, but buyers can also opt for outstanding tires from budget-minded manufacturers, such as Cooper Tire.

Now, sure, the performance of budget-minded tires will almost never be better than premium tires. However, for most drivers, these products will work fine for everyday driving, even with a heavy payload or trailer attached. One such product is the Cooper Adventurer H/T – a highway tire designed for drivers of SUVs and trucks, but also for lighter CUVs.

The Adventurer H/T competes in a crowded sector. It undercuts premium tires by a significant margin, but it’s also not the cheapest highway all-season tire out there. For American and Canadian drivers, though, I think that the price is just right.

More importantly, Cooper utilized several technologies to make the Adventurer H/T perform well. That’s not a surprise – the company is aggressive in making its tires perform well and beat most of the similarly-priced competition.

In order to make the tire available to more drivers, Cooper made it available in many different sizes, ranging from 16-inch wheel diameter to 20-inch wheel diameter. The company offers the tire both in Euro-metric and LT-metric sizes, which improves availability even further.

With that decision, Cooper covers a significant portion of vehicles. Smaller sizes can fit crossover vehicles, even some compact ones. Larger sizes, on the other hand, can fit large SUVs and full-size trucks.

The question is, how does the tire perform in the real world? I will try to answer that question in more detail in this Cooper Adventurer H/T review. I’ll cover the most important things that drivers are interested in, like dry and wet traction, comfort, winter performance, and treadlife.

Before we jump to my conclusions, though, let’s see what Cooper Tire says about the Adventurer H/T and see all the technologies implemented in the tire.

What are the features of the Cooper Adventurer H/T?

“Adventurer H/T CUV™ is for drivers of CUV and SUVs looking for a smooth, comfortable ride, handling and all-season traction with a long-wearing tread,” – states Cooper Tire on its website. The main qualities of the tire are improved wet and dry traction when compared to the predecessor, specifically designed tread pattern that resists hydroplaning, and a tread design that promotes even wear.

To achieve those things, Cooper Tire utilized an advanced silica-infused tread compound. The compound should improve road holding, especially on damp and wet roads. Moreover, Cooper states that the compound has a low-rolling-resistance quality, which means that it will improve the fuel economy on any truck, SUV, or CUV.

The rubber compound is molded into a non-directional tread pattern. The main focus when designing the tread was to give the tire better dry cornering and braking, improved hydroplaning resistance and wet traction, and enhanced treadlife.

The tread pattern also features 3D Micro-Gauge siping which helps the tire maintain its shape during very hard cornering and braking, or when hauling or towing. This should help with stability, especially at higher speeds. Moreover, the sipes also help on wet roads, and when driving over light snow.

For improved hydroplaning resistance, Cooper employed four wide circumferential grooves, which channel the water out of the tread of the tire through the wide water channels. The company also states that the grooves help the tire to clean itself when driving on hardpacked surfaces, such as stones.

Cooper also used its proprietary R-Tech sidewall construction. According to the manufacturer, this technology improves steering response and cornering stability, accompanied by the continuous center rib.

Finally, the internal construction of the tire is designed with a focus on stability and toughness, but also on improving the ride quality. Please note that LT-metric models have a tougher construction and are better-suited for towing and hauling heavy payloads.

What are the maintenance indicators?

Like most tires coming from Cooper, the Adventurer H/T has the usual treadwear indicators built into the tread. These indicators are crucial for safety because they show the driver how much tread depth is left for safe wet and snow driving.

The minimum tread depth on the Adventurer H/T is 2/32-inch or 1.6mm. Anything below that and the tire significantly loses the ability to provide the driver with reliable hydroplaning resistance and wet traction. Naturally, though, I recommend replacing the tires sooner.

The treadwear indicators will tell you how much tread you have left. When the tread wears down to 2/32-inch, the narrow rubber bars will be completely flush with the surface. Inspect your tires at least every 3-4 months to see the state of the tread pattern.

Fortunately, that won’t happen soon. Cooper provides a 65,000-mile treadwear warranty on Euro-metric sizes and a 60,000-mile treadwear warranty on LT-metric sizes. The warranty is very competitive when compared to other budget-oriented tires.

Moreover, owners of other highway and touring tires from Cooper are generally satisfied with the treadlife, even after years of use.

How does it behave on a dry tarmac?

The Cooper Adventurer H/T is able to provide drivers with a completely reliable and safe driving experience on dry roads. The tire is very responsive to the driver’s input, and it provides excellent highway stability.

Furthermore, the tire corners very well, providing the driver with high levels of grip and traction. Ultimately, you might not be satisfied with how the tire performs at the limit, but most drivers will never experience that. And, honestly, for better handling, you need to shell out more cash.

Overall, I was completely satisfied with how the Adventurer H/T drives. The tire is safe and does everything you ask from it. For the price, an excellent result here.

How is it over wet and slippery roads?

The Adventurer H/T continues to impress on wet roads. Hydroplaning resistance is outstanding as far as budget tires go – you won’t need a lot of corrections in puddles of water.

Furthermore, the tire performs very well on damp tarmac, providing the driver with ample traction and braking. Even heavy rain won’t disturb the tire – stability remains to be good.

Now, sure, premium tires have an advantage, but it is very slight.

With that being said, how is it on snowy roads?

Sadly, this is the area where the Adventurer H/T can’t compete with the big boys. Despite the numerous sipes on the tread pattern, Cooper’s budget-friendly highway tire isn’t the best choice for harsh wintry conditions.

Traction on snow is only average and certainly not sufficient to give you a reliable drive. Moreover, the braking distances are measurably longer than what you’d get from the premium competition. Ice traction is also insufficient for people that live in northern areas.

It’s safe to say, though, that most all-season highway tires struggle in wintry conditions, especially cheap tires.

Is it suitable for off-road driving?

The Adventurer H/T isn’t designed for very slippery terrain. However, being a highway tire for SUVs and trucks, it’s natural to expect that drivers will use it on hardpacked terrains from time to time.

For those surfaces, the tire possesses enough traction, provided you don’t push too hard. That said, the casing of the tire doesn’t seem to be cut- and -chip-resistant, so beware of rocky surfaces. Also, traction in mud or over large rocks is almost non-existent.

Is it comfortable and refined?

The Adventurer H/T manages to provide the passengers with very smooth and plush ride quality. That’s a quality that most premium highway tires have, but it’s not very common on cheap tires.

Sadly, I can’t state the same for noise levels. The tire isn’t noisy – far from that. However, the Adventurer H/T exhibits more noise on rough patches on the road than comparable premium tires. Not a deal-breaker, but you should have it in mind.

You can see more Cooper Adventurer H/T Review here: Video created by hoohoohoblin

Should I buy the Cooper Adventurer H/T?

Cooper didn’t move the boundaries in the highway all-season category with this tire, but they didn’t try either. What the company wanted to make is a safe, long-lasting, and comfortable tire that will appeal to buyers with smaller budgets.

And, they largely succeeded. For that reason, if you own a truck, SUV, or CUV, you should put the Adventurer H/T on your shortlist. The tire isn’t without its faults, but that’s understandable considering the price.