In the world of passenger tires, all-season tires are the most popular choice for most drivers. They do so much of the heavy lifting in the tire market for a pretty good set of reasons: all-season tires are designed for a comfortable ride with low highway noise, great wear properties (usually with a limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty), handling that’s predictable and consistent, and reliable grip in just about every kind of weather conditions other than heavy snow. Highway-terrain tires can be thought of as the light truck equivalent of all-season tires; they have a lot in common with the design of their all-season passenger tire counterparts, but with construction and design that is beefed up a bit for the extra weight, power, and torque of SUVs and crossovers.

Today we’re going to take a look at the Grand Tourer H/T from Centara, a highway-terrain tire for light trucks, SUVs, and crossovers that offers premium tire performance and value at a surprisingly affordable price. Let’s get into it and take a closer look at this Centara Grand Tourer H/T tire review:

Features and Benefits

Here are some of the great design features and innovations to look for with the Centara Grand Tourer H/T:

• Advanced tread compound is designed for long wear, damage resistance, and improved traction on wet or snowy roads
• Radial construction with polyester casing, high-tensile steel belt package, and nylon cap ply for stability
• Tread and rubber compounds are designed to save fuel by lowering rolling resistance
• All-season tread design features wide circumferential and angled grooves that boost wet-weather grip by routing water away from the tire’s contact patch to resist hydroplaning
• Tread pitch is randomized and computer tuned to keep road noise low by neutralizing certain frequencies and harmonics
• Continuous center rib is designed for solid straight-line stability as well as crisp, quick steering response
• Shoulder blocks are reinforced for improved cornering and handling ability
• Angled grooves in tread blocks are an excellent addition for improved grip, handling, and control
• Network of sipes helps to multiply traction in wet or snowy weather with hundreds of hair-thin slits that slice through slush or standing water

Pros and Cons

In the case of the Centara Grand Tourer H/T, this is a tire where the Pros definitely carry more weight than the Cons:

PROS:

• Very affordable price point
• Dependable grip and control in every kind of road conditions other than heavier snow
• Ride quality is refined with low highway noise
• Handling and control are capable and predictable

CONS:

• Not good in heavier winter conditions
• Can be noisier on some pavement surfaces
• No limited manufacturer’s tread life coverage
• Not 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake certified for severe winter service

SimpleTire’s view on Centara Grand Tourer H/T tires

Like all-terrain passenger tires, highway-terrain tires for light trucks, SUVs, and crossovers are available at every price point, from expensive premium brand tires to lesser-known budget brands that might be a little dodgy in terms of performance and quality. In the case of the Centara Grand Tourer H/T, this is a tire that offers premium-brand design and performance at a surprisingly affordable price.

Are you familiar with SimpleScore? SimpleScore is the ratings system that the SimpleTire team developed to give you a quick at-a-glance idea of any tire’s strengths and weaknesses. We look at the tire’s technical details, manufacturer info, specs, customer reviews, and other data points, then arrive at a 1-10 numerical value for the categories of traction, handling, and longevity, along with an overall average SimpleScore. In the case of the Centara Grand Tourer H/T, the SimpleScore numbers look like this:

Centara Grand Tourer H/T:

• Traction: 7.1
• Handling: 8.2
• Longevity: 6.9
• Overall average SimpleScore: 7.4

On the highway, the Centara Grand Tourer H/T is composed and stable as far as its road manners, thanks to that continuous center rib that boosts straight-line stability. That doesn’t mean a numb and sluggish tire, though, as that same center rib design also helps to enhance steering response; the response to driver inputs is quick and light without being overly sensitive or twitchy.

Ride quality is controlled and even, with the Grand Tourer H/T staying stable and predictable even on rough and broken pavement surfaces. There’s little in the way of vibration and roughness making its way to the passengers, and road noise is muted (if not quite as quiet as you’d expect from a luxury Grand Touring tire). Handling and cornering are accurate and predictable, if not quite up to the standards of a performance tire. Going hard into a corner or curve, the Grand Tourer H/T exhibits few vices with little tendency toward understeer or loss of control.

Traction is versatile and dependable on wet or dry pavement, although it’s true that the Centara doesn’t perform well in heavier snow (that’s not really what a tire like this is designed for anyway, though). It’s true that the Centara doesn’t come with a limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty; many tires at this price point don’t, but its tread compound is designed for great wear properties and long, even wear. It’s our opinion here at the SimpleTire team that the Centara Grand Tourer H/T would make a great prospect for an all-season/highway-terrain tire for light trucks, minivans, crossovers and SUVs, and would make a great replacement tire for an older vehicle when you don’t want to empty out a bank account on a set of spendy premium-brand tires.

Vehicles the Centara Grand Tourer H/T is a good replacement tire for

The Centara Grand Tourer H/T isn’t offered as OEM for any vehicles, but would make a great aftermarket tire for light trucks, crossovers and SUVs such as these:

• Ford Explorer
• Ford Escape
• Ford Freestyle
• Nissan Murano
• Nissan Pathfinder
• Toyota RAV4
• Toyota 4Runner
• Honda CR-V
• Honda Ridgeline
• Honda Pilot
• Chevrolet Trailblazer
• Chevrolet Equinox
• GMC Acadian
• Dodge Durango
• RAM 1500
• Chevrolet Tahoe
• GMC Yukon
• Kia Sorento
• Kia Telluride
• Kia Sportage
• Hyundai Santa Fe
• Hyundai Tucson
• Hyundai Palisade
• Hyundai Santa Cruz
• Volkswagen Tiguan
• Volkswagen Atlas
• Volkswagen Taos
• Mazda CX-5
• Mazda CX-3
• Mazda CX-9
• Mazda CX-50