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Here’s an interesting bit of trivia for you: in recent years, SUVs have accounted for 52 percent of new vehicles sold in the United States, and pickup trucks account for nearly 20 percent of sales. That is a huge portion of all the vehicles on the road today, with trucks and SUVs taking up the family-car role that used to be played by sedans and minivans (and station wagons, back a generation or so ago). Many of those trucks and SUVs are equipped 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.
The good news is that the latest generation of all-terrain tires has come a long way since the noisy, rough, clumsy all-terrains of decades ago. Modern all-terrain tires (like the two we’re about to talk about) are designed in collaboration with automakers and are centered around the weight, power, torque, center of gravity, suspension, and overall driving dynamics of today’s vehicles. That means all-terrain tires are not only capable and durable off-pavement in challenging terrain but are also civilized and composed on the highway with a refined ride, low noise, precise handling, and easy road manners.
Today we’re going to look at two premium all-terrain tires from premium brands, the Dueler A/T Ascent from Bridgestone 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, it’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 Bridgestone Dueler A/T Ascent and Yokohama Geolandar AT4 G018, the SimpleScore numbers look like this:
Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018:
- Traction: 9.9
- Handling: 9.6
- Longevity: 8.8
- Overall average SimpleScore: 9.3
Bridgestone Dueler A/T Ascent:
- Traction: 9.1
- Handling: 8.9
- Longevity: 8.4
- Overall average SimpleScore: 8.7
As the SimpleScore numbers reflect, the Yokohama tire has an edge over the Bridgestone in the key categories, but that doesn’t really tell the whole story. As handy as SimpleScore is, it’s still the 30,000-foot view that doesn’t really give you the details of a tire’s performance and value. Let’s go in and get a closer look with this comparison review of the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Ascent vs the Yokohama Geolandar ATG018:
Bridgestone Dueler A/T Ascent tires
First off we've got the Dueler A/T Ascent from Bridgestone. Bridgestone’s Dueler family of all-terrain light truck tires has been around for a couple of decades now, and they’ve built on the success of the Dueler line with the Dueler A/T Ascent. The A/T Ascent is designed with Bridgestone’s Enliten package, a series of design features that encourage year-round traction, low noise, and great wear properties. The Dueler A/T Ascent delivers tenacious grip in difficult off-road conditions, with an aggressive all-terrain tread that features precision sawtooth block edges, staggered shoulder blocks, deep grooves and a wide void ratio to easily shed mud and debris from the tread grooves to ensure there’s always a clear section of tread to dig in as the wheel turns. The 3D sipes are molded deep into the tread to continue boosting traction in mud, rain, and snow even as the tire’s tread depth wears down. The Dueler A/T Ascent has the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service.
The tread pitch of the Dueler A/T Ascent is randomized and computer-tuned to disrupt select frequencies and harmonics to keep road noise low, and the continuous center rib is designed for solid straight-line roadability and steering response that’s light and direct. Select sizes of the Dueler A/T Ascent are available with an outlined white letter (OWL) sidewall that looks great on a variety of trucks and SUVs. Bridgestone covers the Dueler A/T Ascent with a 60,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty. SimpleTire's price on the Dueler A/T Ascent from Bridgestone starts at $238.99 per tire.
Get Bridgestone Dueler Ascent A/T tires at the best deals for your vehicle here
Yokohama Geolandar AT4 G018 tires
With their Geolandar line, Yokohama brings a lot of technical expertise to the table, with next-generation design and premium manufacturing for a first-rate value in an all-terrain tire. The Geolandar A/T4 G018 is loaded with all kinds of innovations for strong, consistent performance on- or off-the-highway, with a great balance of durability and secure, driver-friendly manners on the street or interstate.
The Geolandar A/T4 G018 is designed for dependable performance and durability, with Yokohama’s Geo-Shield design package. This comprehensive suite of features includes 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 consistent traction in some of the roughest conditions, there are aggressive center blocks and mud and stone ejectors designed to efficiently get rid of mud and debris from the grooves so that there’s always a clear section of the tread to dig in as the wheel turns.
In rainy or snowy weather, the Geolandar A/T4 G018 is more than up to the job 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 covers the Geolandar A/T4 G018 with a comprehensive mileage warranty, 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 reliable, versatile tire 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 $189.99 per tire.
Get Yokohama Geolandar A/T4 G018 tires at the best deals for your vehicle here
Bridgestone Dueler A/T Ascent vs Yokohama Geolandar AT4 G018 tires on traction
How do the Dueler A/T Ascent and Geolandar AT4 G018 look against each other when it comes to traction? The Yokohama’s SimpleScore in this category is 9.9 vs 9.1 for the Bridgestone. Both tires do have the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification, so dependable traction in severe winter conditions is pretty much assured. Yokohama’s EdgeTech groove design and triple 3D sipes do make a difference when it comes to mud and snow grip, and the zigzag grooves and single-pitch shoulder blocks mean great control, acceleration, and braking in some of the roughest terrain and most challenging conditions. Along with its traction-oriented Enduro tread compound, the Yokohama tire is ready for some of the roughest and sloppiest terrain you can put in its way, so our decision is:
ADVANTAGE: Yokohama Geolandar AT4 G018
Bridgestone Dueler A/T Ascent vs Yokohama Geolandar AT4 G018 tires on handling
When it comes to the handling category, this one’s not really close either, with the Yokohama tire showing a SimpleScore of 9.6 vs 8.9 for the Bridgestone tire. A 9.0 out of 10 is a pretty strong score, don’t get us wrong, but many of the same tread and construction features that give the Yokohama tire a confident grip also mean handling, steering response, and cornering ability are consistent and predictable. Rigidity is important for good handling with any tire and any vehicle, and the high-turnup cap ply, reinforced sidewall, and beefy internal design of the Yokohama help to resist the deformation and “tread squirm” that happens to a tire when it’s pushed hard into a corner. Granted, you shouldn’t expect all-terrain tires to have the same kind of nimble handling properties as a performance-oriented all-season or UHP passenger tire, but our decision is:
ADVANTAGE: Yokohama Geolandar AT4 G018
Bridgestone Dueler A/T Ascent vs Yokohama Geolandar AT4 G018 tires on longevity
How do the Geolandar AT4 G018 and the Dueler A/T Ascent tires compare when it comes to longevity? The Yokohama’s SimpleScore of 8.8 beats the 8.4 from the Bridgestone in this category, but the margin is a lot tighter. The limited manufacturer’s tread life coverage is usually the deciding factor when it comes to longevity score, and the 65,000 mile warranty of the Yokohama beats the 60,000 mile coverage of the Bridgestone…but not by much. Considering the tread formulation and tough, damage-resistant construction of both tires, the Bridgestone and the Yokohama are both designed for durability and performance in rough usage, so no real worries there. Our decision:
ADVANTAGE: Yokohama Geolandar AT4 G018
When to use each
The question here is, what are your needs and expectations when it comes to a set of light truck tires? If you do a lot of off-roading in mud, sand, loose dirt, or rough country with lots of obstacles, then you can’t really go wrong with either the Bridgestone or the Yokohama. If you have to contend with tough winter weather and snow that piles up 3 or 4 inches deep and stays on the road for days at a time, then the Bridgestone and the Yokohama are both ready for it with the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rating for severe winter service. They’re also both tough enough for enhanced load ratings, making them a great choice for hauling heavy loads or towing heavy trailers. If, on the other hand, you like to go rock-crawling with aired-down tires or like to negotiate deep, sloppy mud, these might not be the best choice and perhaps you ought to consider mud-terrain tires. These are tires that would be an ideal fit as replacement tires for vehicles like the Chevy Silverado 1500/2500, RAM 1500/2500, Ford F150/F250, Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Tundra, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Acadia, Nissan Titan, Jeep Wagoneer, and Honda Ridgeline.
Which one should you choose?
When it comes to the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Ascent and Yokohama Geolandar AT4 G018, they’re both very capable performers in difficult off-road conditions and both deliver dependable traction in winter weather, while still being well-suited to daily driver duty on highways and streets. Looking at the big picture, the Geolandar AT4 G018 does come out on top in all of the SimpleScore categories. In traction, handling, and longevity areas, the Geolandar tire outperforms the Bridgestone all the way around. The Yokohama starts looking even better when you compare its starting price of $167.99 per tire to the $249.99 per tire for the Bridgestone. While the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Ascent is a solid performer with plenty to recommend, we’d probably have to go with the Yokohama Geolandar AT4 G018 in this comparison.
Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help, and our helpful agents will be more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.
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