Bridgestone launches new road focused all-terrain rubber

Bridgestone’s new A/T002 rubber could just be the perfect option for the average family’s varying lifestyle needs. Quieter than anything that's come before it in this space, while still providing legendary performance and capablity, this new offering presents a whole new driving experience.

The tread has been tweaked, the profile improved and the tyre’s contact footprint maximised. The addition of staggered hex blocks means the driver gains greater control on loose surfaces and the void design provides effective water evacuation in wetter conditions.

An all round more superior tyre to its A/T697 predecessor, the A/T002 combines its features to offer a best of both worlds solution. Designed to be driven on and off the beaten track, we tested it in real world conditions on Queensland's Noosa peninsula.

The first thing you notice is the noise, or lack thereof, on the road. For a tyre that looks as aggressive as the A/T002 does, it is surprisingly soft spoken. There is no hint of off-road feel about them yet as we snake our way through the seaside town and out towards the north shore.

As the housing density starts to drop, the tyres feel like they can easily blend into on-road life, with all the safety and comfort you would find in a dedicated street tyre. The next question is, what's it like when you lower the tyre pressures, and take it off the black top.

To find out, we hit the beach, sans surf boards. Tackling the very soft, tricky stuff first, we disengaged traction and stability control for improved manoeuvrability. Once on the sand, the A/T002’s ate it up with ease. The vehicle felt like it was gliding over clouds, while maintaining constant control.

The responsiveness in the steering inputs exceeded our expectations. Usually, with a lot of soft sand driving, there is so much give, where previous tyre tracks often put you in a train track-like groove that you have no choice but follow. This was different, and we could easily opt out and go our own way.

We reached the hard sand and from there, ventured up the coastline, at speeds up to 80km/h (yes, on sand), with the the ocean to our right and national park to our left. It was a real life’s good kind of moment. Again, the A/T002’s impressed.

For rubber that’s designed to be 80 per cent on-road, these new tyres are remarkable. Without realising where we were headed, we found ourselves at the picturesque Rainbow Beach, with quite possibly one of the most spectacular views in Australia.

It’s impressive how well suited to off-road conditions the A/T002 is, and how it’s able to blend straight back into on-road driving. The new Bridgestone offering is available in 19 sizes here in Australia, with a further 11 on the way in 2025.

You can find out more by talking to your local stockist.

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