Cooper Discoverer HTP Review: An excellent highway tire with all-season traction

Dry 95%
Wet 90%
Snow 85%
Comfort 90%
Noise 90%
Treadwear 85%
Overall 90%

Hello and welcome to my Cooper Discoverer HTP review.

Owners of SUVs, crossovers and pickups often have real problems finding the best tires for their vehicles with all the options available. Seriously, apart from the weather and season classification, they need to think about all the types of off-road drives, and on top of that, about the load ratings. This can get dizzying quickly, especially if you don’t have deep knowledge of the matter.

This article is about the Cooper Discoverer HTP, which is a highway tire designed for SUVs, bigger crossovers and pickups. This means that it is at its best when driven on the highway, something that most SUV owners do with their vehicles. But, what are the benefits of a highway tire? First of all, it must offer excellent straight-line stability and short braking distances at higher speeds. Then, it must be quiet and comfortable for the benefit of your whole family, and in the end, it should offer very good traction in most conditions, including dry, wet and snowy.

So, does the Cooper Discoverer HTP manage to do all these things? We will find out after we put this popular tire through its paces and in almost every condition imaginable.

Cooper Discoverer HTP Overview

Cooper Tire Discoverer HTP is a highway tire specifically designed for modern SUVs and pickup trucks. The manufacturer says that the primary direction when developing this tire was to make it responsive in the corners have dependable, all-weather performance, and quiet and comfortable ride. That said, this is something that most highway tires promise on paper, but few fully deliver on those promises.

As with most of their tires, Cooper used a silica-infused compound for the Discoverer HTP, which should give it excellent traction and grip in most conditions, including dry, wet, icy and snowy roads. The tire was designed with “3-D Siping” technology that provides enhanced handling in wet conditions, due to the better ability of the tire to evacuate water.

The circumferential grooves give additional water drainage capabilities, further enhancing the wet-driving traction. The company says that these grooves help in slush as well, something that most highway tires can’t do. Add to that the increased biting edges, and you have a tire that can tackle even some light snow. Sure, Cooper Tire doesn’t go as far as to say that the Discoverer HTP can tackle serious winter conditions, but for most conditions it should be fine.

For better comfort on the highway, the Discoverer HTP has a computer-optimized profile and tread block design that reduces noise, delivering a superbly quiet ride. On top of that, according to Cooper, this tire model should give you excellent mileage and fuel economy.

Cooper gives a 65,000-mile warranty through its official retailers, which is an excellent result, especially for a tire that is designed for SUVs and pickup trucks. Many popular SUV sizes are available, starting from 215/70R16 and all the way up to 285/45R22. The Discoverer HTP can also be had in Light Truck configuration, starting from LT235/75R15 and all the way up to LT275/70R18. For those looking for heavy-duty models, the LT variations are load range C or E classified, while the SUV tires are STD, XL or RE classified.

Please refer to the official website of Cooper Tire for detailed information on the sizes and load ranges on this link.

Cooper Discoverer HTP: Detailed Review

Treadwear and Durability

Cooper is already known for its excellent durability and quality that almost every tire in their portfolio possesses. The same can be said for the Discoverer HTP, which is one of the most durable SUV and pickup highway tires out there. Of course, all of this depends on the type of tire you choose – LT models have stiffer sidewalls that let them carry much more weight on their shoulders, while the more civilized models can lose their shape quickly if driven like that. On the other hand, normal models should have better treadlife.

Overall, I think that most owners will be very happy with how much this tire lasts. The company gives a 65,000-mile warranty, which is absolutely fine in this class. They also say that materials and workmanship are covered in the first five years of owning, but also that the owner will be provided with the new tire during the first 2/32 inch of treadwear. This is something that most companies don’t offer, especially at this price point.

People that already have this tire on their vehicles also report excellent durability and especially good treadlife. With the Cooper Discoverer HTP, you may expect around 5-6 years of excellent service. The tire also doesn’t lose much of its performance during that time period, which may be very important to some family buyers.

Dry Traction and Grip

Good handling performance in dry conditions is one of the first things that one thinks of when buying new tires. The Cooper Discoverer HTP is a highway tire, which means that it owners should expect very good performance in the corners, but things are not that simple here, to be honest. In other words, it all depends on what is the type of vehicle you have, or the type of driver you are.

For example, the Discoverer HTP is not the best choice for sporty SUVs or crossovers, such as the BMW X6, or even sportier iterations of SUVs such as the Ford Expedition or Toyota Sequoia. The reason why I would recommend a different type of tire for these vehicles are the softer sidewalls, which are primarily made for a more comfortable driving experience. Sure, the Discoverer HTP will be perfectly fine for most drivers, but it won’t let you explore the added sporty capability in the corners.

For other owners, who don’t drive their SUVs like racing drivers through the corners, the Discoverer HTP will be perfectly fine. Traction is very good, especially on models with 4WD, while the grip is also better than the class average. Braking distances will be very short, especially in warmer conditions. While we are at it, you can expect reliable performance from the Discoverer HTP in colder climates as well, due to the high-quality compound the tire is made of.

As you can see, the Discoverer HTP can provide you with great traction in both warm and cold weather, but it simply isn’t made for very fast cornering. If you’re into that, I would suggest a set of ultra-performance SUV tires.

Wet Traction

Primarily designed to offer safe driving experience on wet road, the Cooper Discoverer HTP is a great tire for SUV and pickup owners who live in rainy areas. The “3-D Siping” technology obviously helps here – the tire is excellent in both light and heavy rain. I especially liked how it handled heavy rain – even big puddles of water won’t make it change direction.

Hard cornering in wet conditions is also possible, thanks to the circumferential grooves, which keep the tire glued to the road. This is very important for family buyers, who want their family to be safe in every condition imaginable. While we are talking about safety, the high-quality silica-infused compound, joined by the tread design, helps for short braking distances in both light and heavy rain.

The best thing about the Discoverer HTP is that it works both in warm and cold rainy conditions. Some tires in this category lose their abilities when the climate is colder due to the lower quality compound. With this one, you can be sure that you get excellent wet traction regardless of the temperature of the surface or the water. Oh, and due to the fact that the treadlife is excellent, you can expect the wet traction and grip to be very good for several years.

Snow Traction and Braking Performance

First of all, I must start with saying that even though it is an all-season highway tire, the Discoverer HTP is not specifically designed for winter driving. If you live in areas with heavy snow and freezing winters, I would still suggest a proper winter tire. That way you will be sure that you get the best possible traction and grip, and that your family will be perfectly safe in the process. Trust me; a winter tire does make a difference in demanding winter conditions.

With that said, if you live in areas where it doesn’t snow in the winter, or it snows from time to time, the Discoverer HTP will be an excellent choice for you. I would still recommend caution when driving, but for most scenarios, you may expect very good traction in cold weather, with or without snow. The tire is especially good in slush, where the 3-D Siping again shows its potential, but it can also tackle some light snow, up to a few inches. That said, you should drive very carefully if over deep snow because the Discoverer HTP simply doesn’t have the biting edges a proper winter tire has.

Overall, you can escape with the Discoverer HTP as the only set of tires, but only if you live in areas with mild winters.

Comfort & Noise

We’ve come to the part that is not important for safety, but still very important for the luxurious feeling of the passengers inside. Highway tires are almost universally good in this area, especially when you compare them to winter tires or high-performance tires. With that said, we can still compare the Discoverer HTP to other highway tires to see if it offers better or worse comfort qualities.

Let’s start with the worse part – ride quality. The Discoverer HTP is not an uncomfortable tire by any means, but when compared to the likes from Bridgestone or Michelin, it is a bit edgier over bumps. Still, this is something that you can only feel on very bumpy roads, and not on the highway, where the ride will be perfectly smooth. Comfort also depends on how much you’re hauling with your vehicle – the more goods you carry, the worse the ride quality will be.

Contrarily, noise is very well suppressed. The computer optimized tread of the Discoverer HTP is designed specifically for low-noise driving, especially at higher speeds. This is one of the quietest tires you can put on your SUV or pickup truck, which can be a real game changer to some people.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How many plies in a Cooper Discoverer HTP?

While in the past more plies suggested a tire that’s more capable of hauling or towing, today the only thing you need to care about is the load rating. Cooper Discoverer HTP is available in Light Truck configurations with Load Range C or E. Even though ply ratings are not used anymore, for your information, load range C is 6-ply rating (50 psi maximum load pressure), while load range E is 10-ply rating (80 psi maximum load pressure).

What does HTP mean on a Cooper Discoverer Tire?

While the manufacturer doesn’t specify what HTP really means, in my experience with Cooper Tire, the name implies that the tire is “Highway Tire”, with the last letter being “Plus”, meaning that the tire can do other things as well, such as good performance when hauling or towing.

What is the difference between Cooper Discoverer HTP and Cooper Discoverer AT3?

It is a big difference actually. The Discoverer HTP is a tire that’s specifically made for driving on the street and on the highway, while the Discoverer AT3 is an all-terrain tire that can be driven both on-road and off-road. That said, the HTP model will offer much better performance on the street, despite the fact that AT3 can be used in those conditions. Contrarily, the AT3 tires will offer much, much better off-road traction.

Where are Cooper Discoverer HTP tires made?

Cooper Discoverer HTP tires are made in the USA, in four different plants – Albany (Georgia), Tupelo (Mississippi), Findlay (Ohio), and Texarkana (Arkansas).

Cooper Discoverer HTP Review: Conclusion

If you followed this article closely, you’d know that you really can’t go wrong with the Cooper Discoverer HTP. It offers very good traction and grip in both dry and wet conditions, it is supremely quiet on the highway, and it is even one of the most durable tires in its category. Add to that a fine snow traction and respectable price, and you have a real winner here.

Pros:

  • Very good traction in dry and wet conditions
  • Supremely quiet on the highway
  • Strong and capable of towing (LT models)
  • Long treadlife and 65,000-mile warranty
  • Adequate snow traction

Cons:

  • Not the best for fast cornering
  • Not as comfortable over bumps as other highway tires

Thanks for reading and I hope you found this Cooper Discoverer HTP review helpful. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

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