Crugen HP71 vs Terrain Contact H/T - Toyota Highlander

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Dec 18, 2007
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Location
Madison, Wisconsin
Hello - I think I've narrowed tire choices for my wife's AWD Highlander down to two options. The HP71 or Terrain Contact H/T. Discount Tire has a promotion right now that puts the Continentals very close to the Kumho's in price. $564 vs $608

CR has them close. Most ratings are identical with the exception of two. Hydroplaning is Very Good on the Kumho, Good on the Continental. Snow is Good on the Kumho, Excellent on the Continental. Continental also has a higher UTQG treadwear at 800 vs 600. The Kumho is a SUV/Crossover All Season while the Continental is Highway All Season.

And as another piece of context - my wife chews through tires on every vehicle she's had. 40K is really as far as she has ever made it on a set, regardless of how well rated the tires were for treadwear. So I don't see putting any high dollar tires on her car.

At this point, I'm leaning to the Continental since the promotion takes them close to the Kumhos. Mainly based on the CR data where it's better at snow. The person I talked with at Tire Rack said they were pretty close, but he'd recommend the Kumho.

What do you guys think? I'm not desperate for tires, but need them before winter.
 
HP71 would be my bet for a vehicle that does a lot of commuting and mall crawling. The Terrain Contact is meant more for a light duty pickup.
 
Good point on use case - this vehicle is primarily highway miles and commuting. We live in the country, in WI, so there is some drift busting. My wife is in healthcare, and my kid plays hockey, so neither of those get canceled for adverse weather.

I'm not brand loyal, so if there are other obvious choices out there I should be looking at I'm all ears.
 
DT has $100 off the Terrain Contacts, but $80 off the Cross Contact LX25's. Have you considered the Cross Contacts? They are more suited for a Highlander application and may deliver what you are looking for.

245/60-18?

edit: CR has the Cross Contact LX25 lifespan estimated at 85,000 miles based on their testing. The Krugen's are estimated at 55,000.
 
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We have the Continentals on our Colorado, and have enjoyed them very much. The wife drives the Colorado.
 
Correct. 245/60-18.

I hadn't considered the Cross Contacts, just because I'd clicked the "recommended" button on CR and apparently they are not. But there is a review on CR where the guy is griping that they went from a 74 and recommended rating, to 64. So apparently something happened there.... But looking at the test and review data on Tire Rack makes it seem like the Cross Contact's are probably the one to beat.

Cooper Evolution's are up there too in the TR rankings, and I can get those locally from Farm and Fleet. They have a rotating buy 3 get 1 free sale on Coopers, but as luck would have it that just ended Friday. I'm sure it will be back by Black Friday. They are currently $155 a tire, so the sale would have me in for $465.

I do need tires for my truck, so maybe the Terrain Contacts will be the way I go there. But I'm not quite to the point where I'm buying those.
 
IMO every kumho tire I've owned the oem tires are abysmal, and the aftermarket starts out good degrades to not satisfactory when less than half worn out.

I've actively avoided them since the KU22 fiasco on my forester where the tread was starting to separate where its joined.. supposedly cosmetic but not reassuring
 
Cross Contact LX25's are ordered and should be here today. I'll be interested to see how they compare to the OEM tires on her Highlander.
 
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