Tyres: Davanti Terratoura AT
First of all, who is Davanti?
Davanti Tyres is an independent, UK owned, tyre brand that was launched globally back in 2015.
Designed, developed and tested in Europe, Davanti is aimed specifically at the independent retail sector, and have already become one of the UK’s leading mid-range brands.
Let’s take a look at the Terratoura…
Davanti tells us that the Terratoura A/T tyre is designed to perform on gravel, grass, sand and rocks as the ultimate all-terrain tyre, providing the perfect 50/50 balance of highway and off-road performance. The Terratoura has also been awarded the three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) certification, a certificate that is recognised internationally and indicates that a tyre is suitable for use in severe snow conditions.
Now, before I get into the review, I guess it’s important to tell you a bit about the test vehicle in case you’re new to the website. Deux Smurf is a 1996, 3rd Generation Toyota Surf. She has a 3.0ltr turbo diesel and part-time 4WD system, meaning that she spends most of the time in rear-wheel drive. The tyres are 265-75r16 and fitted onto a set of Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado wheels and set to 30psi.
Having the tyres fitted at the end of March was a good thing, as I had decided to limit the amount of press cars I was getting and instead focus on other things, which in turn meant driving Deux Smurf on a daily basis.
At the beginning of March 2024, Ramsbottom Tyres were tasked with the job of fitting the Terratouras onto the newly refurbished and painted Colorado wheels, and what a statement they made.
Having the tyres fitted in March meant that I could get to grips with the Terratouras (see what I did there?) whilst the weather was still grim. Truth be told, it’s the middle of June as I’m typing this and the weather is still grim!
Four months and just over 3,000 miles later, how are they coping?
Amusingly, the blue protective film covering the white lettering has only recently started come off, but that’s fine as I quite like them blue.
If you are reading this in the UK you will be aware that the life of a modern 4x4 tyre is spent mostly on roads, both getting to and from green lanes, and so far they’ve been faultless.
On road they are well mannered, quiet and very predictable in the wet. In fact, during a three hour monotonous drive to Milton Keynes, via the M6 and M1 in torrential rain, they felt sure-footed, and the rain dispersal was superb. Even deep puddles and standing water on dual carriageways and country lanes are all handled without fuss. Heavy braking in wet conditions has also proved predictable and precise.
Off the road
Having used mud terrains constantly on Deux Smurf over the last 7 years, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Terratouras when venturing off the beaten track, but so far they’ve been better than I expected.
On hard rocks and stones they don’t feel as forgiving as the mud terrains they replaced, but their sidewalls appear to be doing a great job, with no gouges or missing chunks being visible.
Like all all-terrains they can clog in very thick mud, but with a steady throttle they do self-clear fairly quickly, and traction on wet rocks is also very good.
I’ve also been impressed by their grip on wet, loose stone and mud, especially considering Deux Smurf doesn’t have any traction aids or lockers.
Conclusion…….so far
I wanted to give the Terratouras a full warts ’n’ all report, but in all honesty, so far at least, there haven’t been any warts, they’ve been faultless.
That said, my only disappointment has been fuel consumption as I was hoping for an improvement, but surprisingly I’m getting roughly the same 24mpg as I was with the BFG KM3s, even on long 200+ mile motorway journeys. But then Deux Smurf is shaped like a brick, and I don’t tend to hang around, if you know what I mean!
In terms of quality, I’ve been made aware by followers on our Facebook page that Davanti had a few niggles early in production, but they seem to be over that now. Again, from feedback I’ve had when speaking to other users, Davanti, unusually for a tyre brand, appear to be very pro-active in terms of resolving the few issues they’ve had.
After a full range of town, country and motorway miles, and some green-laning thrown in, I’ve found Deux Smurf to be a very different vehicle; quieter, more stable and a bit more comfortable. The Terratouras have been completely reliable, predictable and confidence inspiring in all UK conditions so far.
Roll on the next five months and countless thousands of miles for my next update.
price: check with your local dealer - https://davanti-tyres.com/dealers/