Founded: 1945
Founder: Toyo
Headquarters: Itami, Japan
Website: https://www.toyotires-global.com/
Toyo is one of the big Japanese tread brands. If you consider buying Japanese, the choice would be this, Sumitomo or Bridgestone. And actually, buying Japanese tires wouldn’t be such a bad idea – they are cheap like Chinese and perform like top European tires. Toyo is no exception.
Who makes Toyo tires? The majority of Toyo tires are made by themselves or one of their many subsidiaries for different parts of the world. Nearly all of their tires are made with a Japanese touch (which is very good).
Toyo tires are considered an economical choice. They are generally cheap, which is dictated by the current market. So, don’t look for a trick, they don’t save on materials or technology, it’s just how it is right now.
Now, they are not exactly China-level cheap, the common cost is around $60, and there are tires as costly as $100 and $120. The latter are more effective (like the all-terrain or high-performance treads), hence the price. It’s still barely cheaper (on average) than Continental, so you get the drift.
Where are Toyo tires made? The majority of their plants are located in Japan, but there are also several factories abroad – for instance, in Guangzhou, China.
Quality-wise, they are equal or maybe even better than Continental. The handling is the first great thing you’ll notice. They behave equally well on dry and wet. It’s as if they were made specifically for driving through puddles. There is almost no hydroplaning. You’ll only feel that you are in water if you go through a shallow river.
They don’t feel much worse on ice, and don’t there’s no point even talking about AT tires. They are reasonably soft (like all Toyo tires, anyway) and don’t lose grip on anything safe in the most extreme environments. That’s why you pay extra, after all.
The only real problem all-terrain and, well, most other treads in their assortment have is the noise. The better performance gets, the louder tires become. They aren’t terribly noisy – even when you cruise through tarmac on your AT tires, you feel it could be worse.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of situations when these tires become excessively noisy. At high speeds, on poor asphalt, the list goes on. It’s no reason to ignore them – after all, they are too valuable to just drop them because of the noise pollution. But you’ll generally want to turn the music on while driving.
They are valuable precisely because they last long. The usual $80 Toyo tires are going to last for at least 100,000 km (about 60,000 miles), and that’s just the usual minimum. You can safely reach 120,000 km and even more given you drive casually and cautiously. The all-terrain options last for even longer, which is slightly mind-boggling.
Who sells Toyo tires? There are Toyo sales locations on all habitable continents, and the full list can be seen on this page. That’s also where you can find the nearest dealer.
In short, Toyo treads provide an excellent driving experience at a very small average price. They might be the best tire brand for economical driving, because there are many options that don’t cost much more than your standard Chinese rubbers. To sweeten the pill even further, they last for a surprisingly long time.
It means they are very cost-effective and, consequentially, valuable. Even the more affordable of the bunch will live for several years – they are far from replaceable tires.
The only reason why you might not want them on your car is because you absolutely despise noise. In all other instances – go ahead and try Toyo.