Yokohama Tornante Review: A Detailed Look at the All-Season Tire

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The Yokohama Tornante is an all-season grand touring tire designed for crossover and SUV vehicles. Its main goals are to provide a quiet, comfortable ride along with strong performance in dry, wet, and wintry conditions.

This tire is best suited for drivers who want an all-season tire that can handle a variety of weather conditions without having to swap out their tires. It’s designed for people who put a high priority on ride comfort and low noise levels, while still needing respectable traction and handling.

The Tornante isn’t an off-road or performance tire. It’s made for daily driving and road trips, including in rain and light snow. Key target vehicles include crossovers like the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue, along with SUVs such as the Ford Escape and Chevrolet Equinox. Overall, it aims to deliver a refined grand touring driving experience.

List of Other Yokohama Tires

• Yokohama ADVAN Sport A/S+ Review
• Yokohama YK740 GTX Review
• Yokohama YK-CTX Review
• Yokohama Tornante Review
• Yokohama Geolandar X-CV Review

Tread Design

The Yokohama Tornante features an asymmetric tread pattern designed to provide excellent wet weather performance. The outside shoulder of the tire contains larger tread blocks with multiple sipes to enhance traction and water evacuation on wet roads. The inner shoulder has a continuous rib to minimize irregular wear.

The asymmetric design is intended to provide the performance benefits of a directional tire, while still allowing tire rotation. By placing more aggressive treads on the outside shoulder, wet weather handling and traction are improved without compromising tread life from rotating the tires.

The siping and independent tread blocks also help to reduce noise compared to some other performance tires. Overall, the tread design of the Tornante allows it to deliver strong wet and dry performance, a comfortable ride, and long tread life.

Performance of Yokohama Tornante

The Yokohama Tornante performs admirably on dry pavement, providing ample grip and traction to inspire confidence during daily driving or when pushed hard through sweeping corners. The premium all-season tire compound delivers linear handling responses with reassuring feedback through corners.

In wet conditions, the tread pattern’s continuous center ribs efficiently channel water away from the contact patch to limit hydroplaning. Multi-wave sipes enhance wet grip, allowing the Tornante to achieve strong braking performance even on slick surfaces. At highway speeds through standing water, the tire remains composed and avoids falling into uncontrolled slides.

At moderate speeds around town, the Yokohama Tornante runs quietly and smoothly. There’s minimal road noise or vibrations transmitted into the cabin. Wind and ambient noise tend to dominate the interior environment. When driven more aggressively, some muted roar from the tread blocks becomes audible, but it’s never intrusive or excessive. The refined on-road manners complement the tire’s various strengths.

Ride Comfort of Yokohama Tornante

The Yokohama Tornante is designed with comfort in mind. The symmetrical tread pattern and continuous center rib help provide a smooth and quiet ride.

Yokohama uses a tire construction called Interconnected Hex Tread to optimize comfort. This involves using hexagonal blocks that are interlocked throughout the tread. The company states this design helps absorb vibrations and impact forces better than traditional tread designs.

Testers have praised the Tornante as having a soft, compliant feel over various road surfaces. The rounded tread blocks don’t transmit road shocks as harshly as some performance tires. The tread compound is formulated to stay flexible even in colder temperatures when some tires can become too rigid.

Overall, drivers report a very smooth and comfortable driving experience with the Yokohama Tornante across a wide range of conditions. The focus on comfort and vibration dampening is noticeable compared to cheaper all-season tires. While not as plush as a dedicated grand touring tire, the Tornante strikes a good balance between comfort, control, and performance.

Treadwear of Yokohama Tornante

The Yokohama Tornante is designed for long treadlife and even wear. Independent tests show it averages around 50,000 to 60,000 miles before needing replacement, though treadlife can vary significantly depending on driving style and conditions.

Owners report the tires wearing very evenly and predictably. The tread depth remains consistent across the width of the tire, with no premature shoulder wear like some tires exhibit. Rotating the tires regularly helps promote even treadwear across all four tires.

The long treadlife means fewer tire replacements over the life of the vehicle. This makes the Tornante a cost-effective choice for drivers looking to maximize their tire investment. The tread design and rubber compound are optimized for longevity rather than extreme grip or performance. Drivers prioritizing treadlife over other attributes will be satisfied with the durability and value of the Tornante.

Off-Road Capability of Yokohama Tornante

While the Yokohama Tornante isn’t specifically designed for rugged off-roading, its tread design and traction capabilities make it a capable choice for light to moderate off-road driving.

The asymmetric tread pattern with independent shoulder blocks and stable center rib allow the Tornante to maintain grip and traction on loose gravel roads. The stable center rib helps prevent wandering, while the shoulder blocks dig into the gravel surface for added bite.

Performance is aided by the tire’s intermediate tread compound which remains flexible even on rough terrain. The sipes and grooves along the tread help eject small stones and gravel to avoid getting clogged.

Overall, drivers report that the Yokohama Tornante performs respectably well on graded gravel or dirt roads, providing a composed, stable ride. While more aggressive off-road tires would be better suited for rugged terrain, the Tornante offers a good blend of on-road comfort and light off-road capabilities. For drivers who encounter gravel, loose dirt or muddy roads occasionally, the Tornante provides reliable traction without sacrificing too much on-road performance.

Snow Performance of Yokohama Tornante

The Yokohama Tornante tires have decent snow performance with the right size and tread as snow tires. The blocky tread pattern gives good traction for acceleration and the circumferential grooves help move snow out from under the tread for braking and stability in corners. But they’re not a dedicated winter tire with super deep sipes so they sacrifice some ultimate grip in heavy snow compared to the best snow tires. If you drive mostly in light snow they should perform well, but in areas with regular heavy storms snow tires would be ideal.

The 2022 Tornantes have made small refinements to improve snow traction, though don’t compete with the best dedicated snow tires. The tires are offered in popular winter sizes such as 215/55R17 and 235/55R19, preferred widths for snow performance. They provide responsive and predictable handling in snow. The expansion of their coupe sipes helps bite into packed snow. The tires won’t remain as flexible in extreme cold as a snow tire but the tread compound maintains good grip down to around zero Fahrenheit.

Ultimately the Tornante all-season tires will work in light to moderate snow with proper winter precautions but heavy snow will test their limits. Drivers who frequently deal with heavy winter weather should opt for a more specialized snow tire. But for most winter conditions the Tornantes provide good snow capability for an all-season tire. With mindful driving they can get most drivers through a mild snowy winter reliably.

Wet Performance of Yokohama Tornante

The Yokohama Tornante performs very well in wet conditions thanks to its tread design and rubber compound. The asymmetric tread pattern with independent center blocks and lateral grooves helps channel water away efficiently to maintain traction.

Braking distances are kept short thanks to the angled lateral grooves that wipe water from the tread. The sipes across the blocks also help bite through standing water to maintain grip. Even under heavy braking, the tires maintain composure and avoid hydroplaning.

Handling remains responsive and secure in the rain as well. The stiff outside shoulder blocks give the tire steady cornering grip, while the independent center blocks allow flexibility to conform to the road. The tires resist losing traction when making turns in slick conditions.

Overall, drivers can feel confident in the Yokohama Tornante’s abilities on wet roads. The tread design and rubber compound used give the tires dependable traction, grip, and control in rainy conditions. Drivers report safe handling and braking whether facing mild drizzles or heavy downpours.

Available Sizes of Yokohama Tornante

The Yokohama Tornante is available in a wide range of sizes to fit most passenger vehicles. Here is an overview of the key dimensions:

• 13″ wheel sizes
• 14″ wheel sizes
• 15″ wheel sizes
• 16″ wheel sizes
• 17″ wheel sizes
• 18″ wheel sizes

The most common sizes used on sedans and coupes include 205/55R16, 215/55R17, and 225/50R17. For sports cars and performance vehicles, popular sizes are 245/45R18 and 255/40R19.

Larger SUVs and trucks frequently use 235/65R17, 265/70R17, and 275/55R20 sizes. There are also plus sizes available for larger wheel diameters.

Overall, with diameters ranging from 13″ up to 20″ and widths from 165 to 275, most drivers should find a suitable size combination for their vehicle. Yokohama has ensured a diverse range of dimensions are offered.

Pros and Cons of Yokohama Tornante

The Yokohama Tornante tire has many strengths as an all-season performance tire, along with some trade-offs.

Pros

• Excellent dry handling and traction, with precise steering response
• Confident wet weather performance, with effective water evacuation
• Low road noise for a performance tire
• Attractive tread design
• Good treadlife warranty (60,000 miles)

Cons

• Ride quality is firmer than some grand touring tires
• Light snow traction lags winter tires
• Higher cost than standard all-season tires
• Not optimized for off-road or rugged terrain

Overall, the Yokohama Tornante provides a sporty, responsive ride for drivers looking for year-round performance without sacrificing too much comfort. While maximum snow and off-road traction requires more specialized tires, the Tornante balances impressive dry and wet grip with reasonable treadlife. For drivers wanting a versatile high-performance tire, the Tornante is an excellent option.

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