If you’ve got a family sedan and want a little more driving thrill out of it, the easiest way to achieve that is by switching up your tires. You might have a set of touring tires installed. They’re designed for optimal comfort, but you could always swap them out for some performance tires. For instance, the Sumitomo HTR A/S P02.
These days, the market is flooded with a variety of performance tires that offer exhilarating cornering grip, steering response, and even durability. The only downside would be a stiffer ride and increased cabin noise. If you’re fine with that trade-off, you’re in the right place.
In this review of the HTR A/S P02, we’re looking at this all-season high-performance tire’s features and performance in different conditions. It’s a low-cost offering, so we’re not expecting anything crazy out of this tire. So, let’s see it offers some good value for money.
Dry Road Performance
If you’re swapping out your touring tires with the Sumitomo HTR A/S P02, you’re gonna feel a significant surge in performance. That’s because it’s a high-performance tire, and it’s designed to offer optimal steering feel, handling, and dry traction.
In just a few miles, we could tell that HTR A/S P02 was designed to deliver an exhilarating driving experience. It almost feels like an ultra-high performance summer tire on dry roads, and that’s a huge compliment for an all-season tire.
The tire responds immediately to any steering input, and it’s keen to turn into any corner at any speed. It offers incredible point-and-shoot driving traction, confidence-inspiring handling, and impressive braking on dry roads. Moreover, it provides high-speed stability and ample longitudinal traction for accelerating safely.
You even get a mind-blowing 65,000-mile treadwear warranty! How awesome is that for a high-performance tire?
Getting all of that at the slashed price point of the Sumitomo HTR A/S P02 is honestly pretty surprising. It offers one of the best driving experiences you can find in its category at one of the lowest prices! It’s a great great deal for value-seeking driving enthusiasts, but let’s see if it falters in wet or snowy conditions.
Wet Performance
Tires in the budget category usually get exposed in wet conditions. Cheap performance tires with great wet performance are mediocre on dry roads, and those that are grippy and sporty in dry conditions are hopeless in the rain.
However, the Sumitomo HTR A/S P02 doesn’t belong to that category. Despite being amazing on dry tarmac, it’s one of the best wet performers in its segment.
It has an exceptional cornering grip and it’s super easy to throw around on wet roads. You get loads of grip even at higher speeds and there’s no noticeable oversteer. Braking distances aren’t the best, but decent.
Even in heavy rain, the tire’s hydroplaning resistance doesn’t fail to impress. Its grippy tread compound instills confidence when you’re behind the wheel, and that’s a great feeling to have in rainy weather.
Snow Performance
Since the tire is a star performer in wet and dry conditions alike, we certainly didn’t expect much from the Sumitomo HTR A/S P02’s winter capabilities. However, it surprised us here, too! The Japanese tiremakers have banged it out of the park with this tire, that’s for sure.
Its snow performance conveniently beats most of the other all-season high-performance tires in its price bracket. It even trades blows with some premium tires. You get ample cornering and longitudinal traction on snowy surfaces. As long as you drive carefully, you won’t have any trouble staying in the lane.
Of course, you’d be better off with a winter tire that has aggressive biting edges, but Sumitomo couldn’t have designed this tire any better for an all-season performance product.
The tire also beats its competitors when it comes to snow braking, though not by a lot. However, almost any winter tire stops way shorter than the HTR A/S P02 — and that’s to be expected.
With that said, the tire really makes you miss winter tires in more challenging winter situations such as thick snow and ice. Since it’s only an all-season tire, you’ll notice slippage, quick loss of cornering grip, and unsafe stopping distances.
After all, you can’t expect miracles out of an all-season performance tire in extreme winter conditions. It does its best, and that’s better than most of its similarly-priced competitors.
Can You Take It Off-Road?
Short answer? Not at all. The tread isn’t sturdy enough to withstand a beating from hardpacked surfaces, and you won’t get any traction on wet rocks, mud, or clay. Our advice — stay as far from off-road terrain as you can with the Sumitomo HTR A/S P02 tires installed.
Ride Quality
You shouldn’t expect much peace, quiet, and smoothness out of the Sumitomo HTR A/S P02. Just like it’s not designed for off-roading, it’s also not made for a plush and silent ride down the highway. It’s tuned for enhanced steering response, which means you’ll probably clearly feel every pothole you hit.
There’s also some tread growl. It’s not too intrusive, but it’s also not subtle enough to easily get used to. However, premium luxury sedans like the Mercedes S Class, the BMW 3 Series, or Audi A4 can keep the cabin pretty silent.
Conclusion
The Sumitomo HTR A/S P02 doesn’t have any significant disadvantages, especially if you keep its category and price point in mind. Despite being a sporty treat to drive on dry roads, it’s one of the best all-season tires out there in wet and snowy conditions. On top of that, Sumitomo offers a huge treadwear warranty of 65,000 miles with this tire. If you ask us, this tire is one of the easiest ones to recommend!
