Toyo Open Country A/T III Review: an Excellent All-Terrain Tire

With the rise of the popularity of off-road vehicles, there is an increased demand for tires with more aggressive tread patterns. And, by far, the most popular tire type for off-roaders is an all-terrain tire. Why? Well, these tires offer the best of both worlds – they work on the street very well, but also offer excellent traction on slippery surfaces.

And, one of the most sought-after names in the all-terrain category is Toyo. The Japanese tire manufacturer prides itself on producing high-quality premium tires at a slightly lower price point than other premium brands. Moreover, Toyo was named as the number one brand by North-American tire dealers for seven times in the last two decades. In other words, you’re definitely getting a good tire product if you purchase Toyo tires.

One of the most popular tires from the company is the Open Country A/T, which is not in the third generation. The Open Country A/T III brings many improvements to the table, which might launch it in the upper echelon of the class. Besides, Toyo that tests its off-road tires in racing competitions across the globe. For that reason, the company is very popular among off-road enthusiasts.

More importantly, though, this means that you’re getting a tire with the latest technologies. To compete, tire manufacturers employ the best materials and designs, and it’s a great thing that Toyo brings that to its street tires.

But why would you want an all-terrain tire? Well, that’s an age-old question that’s not so easy to answer. All-terrain tires do offer better off-road traction, but they won’t behave like a highway tire on the street. I’ve seen many people put all-terrain tires on their vehicles, only to use them primarily on the street.

If you want to extract the most from your all-terrain tires, you need to drive in off-road conditions. For example, if you spend 20% of your time on dirt or gravel, you might want to invest in all-terrain tires. Not only will these products provide you with better performance, but they also last much longer in those conditions.

With that said, is the Toyo Open Country A/T III any good? Well, that’s a question that I’ll try to answer in my detailed review of the tire. Below, I’ll cover every aspect of the tire, including on-road dynamics and traction, off-road abilities, comfort, and durability. In the end, you can read my verdict of the tire.

Before we do that, though, let’s see what features Toyo employed in its new product.

What are the features of the Toyo Open Country A/T III?

“The Open Country A/T III is a new all-terrain tire that delivers gripping off-road traction with responsive and predictable on-road handling. With a strong focus on wet performance, durability, and treadwear life, Toyo introduces advances in tread design, construction, and all-new tread compounding,” states the company on its website. Moreover, the Open Country A/T III provides a “quiet ride with exceptional stability.”

To achieve all those things, Toyo utilized a completely new tread compound in the tire. The all-season rubber is cut- and -chip-resistant, important for a tire that will spend a lot of time on hardpacked surfaces. Furthermore, the tread compound provides confident braking and handling in wet conditions, and a quiet and comfortable ride.

The compound is molded into a symmetric tread pattern, which utilizes an evenly distributed void area design. Toyo specifically engineered the pattern to increase off-road traction, while also increasing block rigidity. The latter is important for on-road stability, but also comfort performance.

Meanwhile, the tread blocks also feature 3D Multi-Wave Sipes, which increase traction in wet and snowy conditions. Toyo also utilized generous lateral grooves, which take care of wet grip and hydroplaning resistance, while also increasing snow traction. The Open Country A/T III has the 3PMSF (Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake) symbol, which signifies the winter abilities of the tire.

Interestingly, the tire also has two distinct sidewall designs on each side. One features wraparound shoulder elements with a solid design, while the opposite has outlined white letters and is visually broken up by accent lines.

The internal construction is stronger than your usual highway tire. It includes twin high-strength steel belts with two-ply polyester casing for tough foundation, aided by a nylon reinforcement ply for added strength and high-speed stability.

Toyo offers the Open Country A/T III in numerous sizes, ranging from 15-inch wheel diameter to 20-inch wheel diameter. Moreover, the company offers P-metric and LT-metric sizes, and also 35-inch off-road specials. With these dimensions, Toyo covers the most popular pickup trucks and SUVs on the market.

What are the maintenance indicators?

The Open Country A/T III has the usual treadwear indicators built into the grooves of the tire. These indicators are narrow rubber bars protruding only 2/32-inch from the bottom. As your tread wears down, the rubber bars become more visible, and when they are flush with the surface, you need to replace your tires.

The 2/32-inch tread depth is universally accepted as the lowest for safe wet traction. Nonetheless, on all-terrain tires, you might never reach this tread depth. The grooves of the Open Country A/T III are already very deep, and you really need to use the tire for years to reach that point. Besides, you will lose good off-road and snow traction long before that.

Fortunately, the Open Country A/T III is one of the most durable, if not the longest-lasting all-terrain tire. The treadlife of the previous A/T II was already amazing, and this time it should be better still. Expect a set of these tires to last you for a while.

Moreover, Toyo provides an astonishing 65,000-mile treadwear warranty on P-metric sizes, and a 50,000-mile treadwear warranty on LT-metric sizes. That is as good as it gets in an all-terrain tire in 2020. In addition, the cut- and -chip-resistance compound and tread pattern with stone ejectors will ensure that hardpacked surfaces won’t damage the rubber. This is truly a tire that will endure both highway and off-road driving.

How does it behave on a dry tarmac?

The Toyo Open Country A/T III isn’t as responsive as a highway tire on the street. However, you’d be hard-pressed to notice a difference in traction. For daily driving, the tire performs more than adequately. It has a good cornering grip, strong braking, and exceptional highway stability. Most important, it’s completely safe.

How is it over wet and slippery roads?

I was impressed with how this tire handles rainy conditions. The hydroplaning resistance is simply outstanding, but that’s expected from a tire with such a large void area. What I didn’t expect were the exceptional traction and safe handling. The Open Country A/T III is predictable in the corners when wet, and brakes with authority.

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

The largest improvement Toyo made on this tire is the snow traction. Now, the Open Country A/T III is genuinely usable in wintry conditions and provides the driver with excellent traction. Moreover, the tire handles corners pretty well and provides short braking distances.

That said, performance on ice is still much worse than a proper winter tire or an all-terrain tire with studs. And, the Open Country A/T III can’t be studded for better ice traction.

Is it suitable for off-road driving?

The answer to that question is an undeniable yes. The Open Country A/T III excels on hardpacked surfaces, such as dirt and gravel. There, it provides the driver with simply outstanding traction for quick acceleration, excellent cornering stability, and good braking. The tire also feels very good behind the wheel – it’s easily controllable at the limit.

Thanks to the aggressive tread pattern, the Open Country A/T III works surprisingly well in shallow mud. You can abuse it for rock crawling as well. Nonetheless, the tire still isn’t capable of driving in deep mud, especially when compared to off-road maximum traction tires. Still, for an all-terrain tire, this is one of the best out there.

Is it comfortable and refined?

Drivers expect all-terrain tires to be uncomfortable and noisy, but that’s not the case with the Open Country A/T III. The tire suppresses road noise surprisingly well, even at highway speeds, and rides well over bumps.

You can see more Toyo Open Country A/T III Review here: Video created by Wild Willies Custom Accessories

Should I buy the Toyo Open Country A/T III?

If you don’t mind the slightly higher price compared to the predecessor, the Open Country A/T III is an amazing deal. Toyo did many things right with this tire, which was enough to launch it directly among the best all-terrain tires on the market.

The Open Country A/T III works amazingly well for off-roading while also providing the driver with a safe ride on the street. Moreover, the tire now works in snowy conditions. For those reasons, it receives a well-deserved highly-recommended rating.