All-terrain tyres are in the spotlight this week. Continental has officially launched its CrossContact A/T2 in Australia — a tyre built around a 50:50 balance between sealed-road driving and off-road work, available in more than 30 sizes across 15, 16, 17, 18 and 20-inch wheels, with prices starting from around $349.
For workshops and tyre retailers, a launch like this is a signal: customer interest in all-terrain rubber is climbing, and the questions are about to walk through your door.
What “50:50” actually means
The CrossContact A/T2 sits deliberately between a conventional highway tyre and a hardcore off-road option. Continental’s brief was the classic Australian use case — a 4WD or ute that commutes during the week and heads for gravel roads, trails or camping tracks on the weekend. The tyre is engineered to keep the wet and dry road manners of a highway tyre while adding genuine traction once the bitumen ends.
That positioning matters for your sales counter. Most 4WD owners don’t want — or need — a mud-terrain’s noise and wear penalty. A true 50:50 tyre is the answer you give the customer who asks for “something tougher, but still quiet on the highway.”
LT construction as standard
One detail worth noting: most CrossContact A/T2 sizes use heavy-duty LT (Light Truck) construction, with only two sizes offered without it. That means stronger belt and ply materials, tougher bead cores and reinforced sidewalls — built to survive sharp rocks, corrugations and the kind of punishment Australian tracks dish out.
When a customer tows a caravan or loads up for a desert trip, LT construction is the difference between a tyre that copes and a tyre that fails. It’s a selling point worth explaining, not just a spec-sheet line. Our guide to passenger vs LT tyres covers how to explain the difference to customers.
Tread and compound: built to clear and grip
The A/T2’s tread uses deeper grooves and wider spacing between tread blocks to bite into loose surfaces, with open shoulders designed to shed mud and water in low-traction conditions. Continental’s new ‘BlackPaw Compound’ is a polymer formulation that stays flexible across a wide temperature range and in the wet — aimed at consistent grip on tarmac, gravel and rock alike. Development and testing were carried out in part at the company’s 2,000-hectare proving ground in Texas.
Against Continental’s own AX6 mild-terrain tyre, the company claims 13 per cent greater off-road traction and 10 per cent more mileage, plus 6 per cent greater tread depth at the centre, 14.9 per cent at the outer edge and 33.3 per cent more off-shoulder thickness.
What to tell your customers — and what to stock
Launches like this lift the whole all-terrain category. When customers start asking for all-terrain options by name, make sure you can answer at more than one price point. Whatever the brand, the fundamentals to check are the same: a tread that clears mud and stones, the right load and speed rating for the vehicle, and LT construction where the customer tows or carries heavy loads.
For a value all-terrain option, the Grenlander STEADTREK A/T is listed in sizes from 15 to 22 inches, and the MAGA A/T TWO from 13 to 20 inches. Compare them with the rest of the SUV & 4×4 range, or look up a fitment in the Grenlander tyre size finder.
Talk to us about wholesale pricing and range availability across Australia.
Source: Cars24 Australia, “Continental CrossContact A/T2 tyre launches in Australia“.