Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S vs AT3 LT - Test Data

Fuel Efficiency

The US Department of Energy estimates that around 25% of the fuel consumption of a vehicle is attributable to the tyres. That's a lot, and it means that choosing fuel efficient tyres can save you quite a bit of money.

The Discoverer AT3 4S tyres rank a D on a scale of A to E in the official fuel efficiency tests carried out by the EU (they call these rolling resistance tests).

The Discoverer AT3 LT tyres get a grade of E.

Expect the lower grade tyre to consume an extra 0.1L/100km. This works out to $24 extra spent on petrol per year, based on a typical 12,000 km driven per year.

Here's a graph comparing the Discoverer AT3 4S and Discoverer AT3 LT tyres for fuel efficiency (1 = Grade E, 5 = Grade A).

Grip & Handling

We'll now take a look at how these tyres compare in terms of grip and handling.

A good measure of this is 'wet grip', which is an indication of how well the tyres will allow the vehicle to come to a stop in wet conditions.

The Discoverer AT3 4S tyres rank a C on a scale of A to E in the official fuel tests carried out by the EU.

The Discoverer AT3 LT tyres, on the other hand, get a grade of C.

As their wet grip grade is the same, expect negligible differences in terms of braking distance.

Here's a graph comparing the Discoverer AT3 4S and Discoverer AT3 LT tyres for wet grip (1 = Grade E, 5 = Grade A).

Noise

Another key factor to consider when choosing a tyre is road noise. Once you're over about 40 km/h, the dominant source of noise you hear is from the contact of your tyres on the road.

There is a surprisingly wide variation in the amount of noise each tyre makes.

The Discoverer AT3 4S tyres produce 72.8 dB of road noise, which corresponds to a rank of B on a scale of A to C in the standardised testing done by the EU.

On the other hand, the Discoverer AT3 LT tyres produce 73.0 dB of road noise, which means a grade of B.

As their noise grade is the same, don't expect many differences in terms of cabin noise.

Here's a visual representation of how the Discoverer AT3 4S and Discoverer AT3 LT tyres stack up for noise (1 = Grade C, 3 = Grade A).

Based on the results of a number of tyre benchmarks, the Discoverer AT3 4S scores 5 out of 5 for comfort and the Discoverer AT3 LT scores 4 out of 5.

The Discoverer AT3 4S tyres have a treadwear rating of 620, which means that they would last 6.2 times longer than a tyre with a rating of 100. There's no treadwear data available for the Discoverer AT3 LT tyres.

The Discoverer AT3 4S tyres have a traction grade of A (on a scale of AA, A, B, C). There's no UTQG traction grading data available for the Discoverer AT3 LT tyres.

The Discoverer AT3 4S tyres have a temperature resistance grade of B (on a scale of A, B, C). There's no UTQG temperature resistance grading data available for the Discoverer AT3 LT tyres.

For fuel efficiency, Discoverer AT3 4S score a grade of D, which is below average. Discoverer AT3 LT end up with a grade of E, which is very poor.

More important is the wet grip, which gives you an indication of their traction and handling. In this regard, both the Discoverer AT3 4S and the Discoverer AT3 LT get a score of C, which is more or less average.

More important is the wet grip, which gives you an indication of their traction and handling. In this regard, Discoverer AT3 4S get a score of B, which is about typical. Discoverer AT3 LT end up with a grade of B, which is about typical.