We test Continental’s new CrossContact A/T2 all-terrain tyre

Look around our roads, and it’s easy to see the widespread popularity of utes and four-wheel drive SUVs in Australia – but it's arguably taken a while for tyre companies to adapt to consumer demand.

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For a long time, the done thing for many people – if they did any kind of off-roading – was to fit the most aggressive mud-terrain rubber to their vehicle, even if it was to the detriment of on-road handling and safety.

Then about a decade ago, a new type of all-terrain tyre hit the market, offering the aggressive look of a mud-terrain, but with greater performance when being driven on the blacktop. These became known as hybrid rough-terrain (R/T) tyres, and they've become hugely popular among off-road enthusiasts.

Now, Continental has entered the chat, with its new CrossContact A/T2 – an all-terrain tyre developed primarily for the Australian market, at the insistence of the company’s Australian arm. And it’s bridging the gap between traditional all-terrains of the past, which had more of an on-road slant, and R/Ts which lean towards off-roading.

The German tyre giant says the CrossContact A/T2 has been developed for a true 50:50 balance between on- and off-road use, rather than the 70:30 split of its CrossContact AX6, which it refers to as a mild-terrain tyre.

As a 50:50 tyre, the CrossContact A/T2s could be an ideal option for those touring Australia, with equal time spent on sealed and unsealed highways, while still offering the capability should the tracks or weather deteriorate.

Even with 13 per cent more off-road traction than the AX6, Continental says the A/T2 has 10 per cent greater longevity than the AX6, and all while reaching 95 per cent of the AX6’s fuel-efficiency.

It also has thicker off-shoulder sidewalls than the AX6, to the tune of 33.3 per cent, as well as 14.9 per cent more tread depth on the outer edges, and a six per cent increase in the centre. While Continental concedes the noise from the A/T2 is slightly higher than the AX6, the company says the A/T2 is still quieter than most other all-terrains on the market.

Then there’s the construction. All but two of the smaller sizes of the CrossContact A/T2 tyres sold in Australia use an ‘LT’ construction, which stands for ‘light truck’.

“This product, the CrossContact A/T2, falls under the large SUV and 4x4 category,” explained Zach Pfeil, technical customer interface manager for Continental.

“The construction of the tyre is designed to our ‘LT’ standard, and ‘LT’ standard doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be for huge, heavy commercial trucks that are towing things,” he told CarExpert.

“This application for heavy-duty [tyre construction] is also applying to consumer, everyday driving – whether that’s on the road, whether that’s on gravel, on your driveway, or even if you’re exploring off-road in your day-to-day car.”

Tyres with the ‘LT’ designation mean they are manufactured to be stronger, more rigid, and more robust.