Got a light truck, SUV, or Jeep that’s four-wheel-drive equipped and you like to take it off-road now and then? Do you live in a place that sees hard winter weather, with snow on the ground for weeks at a time? Those are some pretty steep expectations for any tire, especially when you’re also looking for a tire that can offer good road manners, handling, ride quality, and noise levels on the highway.

If that sounds like your situation, you really ought to consider the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S. The Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S is a durable, long-wearing tire that’s designed for outstanding performance off the pavement, dependable traction in tough winter weather, and civilized behavior on long interstate trips or daily-driver errands around town. You can think of the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S as a tough, hardworking blue-collar guy wearing a business suit. It’s truly a do-it-all tire that’s a great option for aggressive off-road adventures in rough terrain, or for world-class ride comfort and drivability on the tarmac.

But don’t just take our word for it here – let’s go in for a closer look with this Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S review.

Features and Benefits

Here are just a few of the innovations and features you can expect with the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S:

• Deep center grooves are designed with Aqua Vac channels to evacuate water from the tire’s contact patch and resist hydroplaning effect in standing water
• Secure-Grip all-terrain tread features five ribs for flexibility and enhanced support in rough off-road terrain
• Stone ejectors built into the tread grooves to eject rocks and debris, protecting the casing from damage and promoting consistent traction
• Micro-Gauge zigzag sipe pattern boosts traction by adding hundreds of fine biting edges to claw through snow or slush
• Available in sizes from 15 to 22 inches, for a wide range of vehicle fitments
• Durable casing with two-ply polyester layer, twin steel belts and a spiral-wound nylon cap that cushions the ride and delivers improved high-speed stability
• Tough silica-enhanced tread compound for long wear, resistance to damage and great traction on wet or dry pavement
• Snow Groove Technology features sawtooth block edges on the shoulder’s outboard grooves, for snow-on-snow traction
• Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rated for severe winter service
• Tread pitch randomized and computer tuned to keep road noise down
• Backed by a 65,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty

Pros and Cons

We feel that the pros really outweigh the cons when it comes to the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S:

PROS:

• Outstanding winter traction, enough to earn the tire industry’s Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification
• Supple, forgiving ride quality on pavement
• Cornering, handling, and road manners on pavement are all superb
• Generous tread life warranty coverage
• Looks great on a variety of trucks and SUVs
• Braking performance and stopping distances are great on wet or dry pavement
• Low noise levels on the highway

CONS:

• Handling can get a little jittery and squirrelly over rough pavement
• Can’t deliver good traction over rocks or in heavy mud offroad
• Can’t be used aired-down for rock crawling

SimpleTire’s view on Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S tires

For 20 years now, light trucks and SUVs have become some of the most common vehicles on the road. Many, many of those trucks are equipped with 4WD for year-round traction, and the all-season tires that have been prevalent for light trucks are getting edged out by all-terrain designs. The best all-terrain tires offer a great balance of off-road traction and durability with road manners, ride quality, and low noise that wouldn’t wear you out and become tiresome on a multi-hour interstate road trip.

That’s what you can expect with the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S. First off, the tire industry doesn’t hand out the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMS) certification unless a tire can really perform in snow and slush, but the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S is a tire that can get the job done, thanks to the Snow Groove Technology at the tire’s shoulders, dense sipe pattern, and tread blocks that all work together to claw through deep snow or slush. This tire’s also equally at home in mud, gravel, loose dirt, and rough terrain, with a reinforced casing and silica-rich tread formulation. What you won’t experience with the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S, however, is a noisy, rough ride on pavement – it’s about as quiet and comfortable as a Grand Touring automotive tire.

The 65,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life coverage is outstanding, especially considering that many all-terrain tires don’t even come with a mileage warranty at all. With sizes from 15” to 22”, chances are you’re going to be able to find a Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S that will be a fit for whatever you’re driving.

As for the cons listed above: no, it’s not surprising that this tire doesn’t do well in deeper mud, since it’s technically a “mild” all-terrain tire and isn’t designed for those kinds of conditions. If that’s what you’re after, you should maybe consider upgrading to a rugged-terrain tire. Also, the reports that this tire can get a little rattled over rough pavement might have just as much to do with a test vehicle that has a stiff off-road suspension, honestly. Overall, we feel that the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S is just a great choice in an all-terrain tire for year-round traction on a light truck or SUV.

Vehicles the Cooper Discoverer A/T3 4S is a good replacement tire for

Consider purchasing a set of Cooper Discoverer A/T 4S tires if you need an all-terrain tire for your:

• Chevrolet Suburban
• Dodge Durango
• Ford F-150
• GMC Yukon
• Honda Ridgeline
• Jeep Wrangler
• Nissan Titan
• RAM 1500
• Toyota Tundra