Nokian Outpost AT long-term wrap-up: Decent tires, snow or no

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Two years ago, Nokian offered us a set of its then-new, severe-snow-rated Outpost AT SUV tires. Lacking an appropriate long-term vehicle on which to test them, however, we were initially going to decline; but after checking the available sizes, I realized they'd fit my 2011 Wrangler. After briefly shopping around, I found a set of reasonably priced take-off Sport wheels to mount them on and let Nokian know we were game to try out its new snow-rated all-terrains.

But after a promising start, Father Winter packed up and left southeastern Michigan. It has snowed enough to warrant the use of snow tires fewer than a half-dozen times since my first winter on the Nokians. And yes, in this case, I'm specifically calling the Outposts out as snow tires rather than winter tires. They're severe snow-rated all-terrains, which inherently makes them all-season tires; they won't suffer from abnormal wear if run year-round, which is fortunate because this set has spent most of its service life tooling around in 50-plus-degree weather.

What now passes for a snowstorm in southeast Michigan (March, 2023).

Fortunately, this otherwise uneventful winter saw fit to produce one genuinely decent snowstorm. The drifting snow varied in depth from just an inch or two in places to as much as 6-8 inches in others — certainly not a noteworthy accumulation for an area that has a long, complicated relationship with the snowy season, but plenty enough for some tire testing.

Put simply, my Wrangler is not a great winter vehicle. 4WD is nice, sure, but my 2-door JK's short wheelbase gives it the stability of a frat pledge on a bender and the rudimentary traction control often does more harm than good. Then there are the open diffs. It's a cheap Jeep; I don't know what else to tell you.

Leaving it in 2WD high invites a one-wheel peel at stop lights, but with judicious use of the throttle, it's perfectly drivable. The brakes don't care how many wheels you can power at once, so with the Outposts on in 2WD, I'm over-braked and under-throttled. It's slow going at times, especially if I'm pointing uphill at a red light, but it beats the heck out of trying to do the same thing without snow tires.