Tests – · none yet Owners 77 · 224 reviews
Head-to-head
Updated
Kumho Road Venture AT52 vs Sumitomo Encounter AT2 — Compared
Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 0 + 1 road tests and 224 + 0 owner reviews. How we score
Road Venture AT52 leads, 75–71 Narrow edge
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Tests 72 · 1 test Owners – · none yet
Best test result: #2 of 9 in 2025 Tire Rack All Terrain Tyre Test (dry braking)
Category by category
Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.
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75
Dry
Road Venture AT52 +471Why this score
Source Road Venture AT52 Encounter AT2 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests ≈ 73 (est.) 72 Reviews found online 79 ≈ 70 (est.) Road Venture AT52: 60% × 72.7 (est.) + 40% × 79.2 = 75
Encounter AT2: 60% × 72.4 + 40% × 69.9 (est.) = 71
No road tests of dry for Road Venture AT52. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).
No owner ratings of dry for Encounter AT2. The owner half is estimated from its road-test score, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).
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78
Wet
Road Venture AT52 +573Why this score
Source Road Venture AT52 Encounter AT2 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests ≈ 76 (est.) 74 Reviews found online 81 ≈ 73 (est.) Road Venture AT52: 60% × 76.4 (est.) + 40% × 81.1 = 78
Encounter AT2: 60% × 74.1 + 40% × 72.6 (est.) = 73
No road tests of wet for Road Venture AT52. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.54).
No owner ratings of wet for Encounter AT2. The owner half is estimated from its road-test score, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.54).
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69
Snow
No comparison–Why this score
Source Road Venture AT52 Encounter AT2 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 70 (est.) – Reviews found online 68 – Road Venture AT52: 60% × 69.7 (est.) + 40% × 68.4 = 69
No road tests of snow for Road Venture AT52. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).
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71
Comfort
Road Venture AT52 +269Why this score
Source Road Venture AT52 Encounter AT2 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests ≈ 70 (est.) 69 Reviews found online 71 ≈ 69 (est.) Road Venture AT52: 40% × 69.5 (est.) + 60% × 71.4 = 71
Encounter AT2: 40% × 69 + 60% × 69.1 (est.) = 69
No road tests of comfort for Road Venture AT52. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.
No owner ratings of comfort for Encounter AT2. The owner half is the owners’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.
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70
Noise
Road Venture AT52 +367Why this score
Source Road Venture AT52 Encounter AT2 Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests ≈ 67 (est.) 67 Reviews found online 75 ≈ 67 (est.) Road Venture AT52: 60% × 66.5 (est.) + 40% × 75.4 = 70
Encounter AT2: 60% × 67.3 + 40% × 66.5 (est.) = 67
No road tests of noise for Road Venture AT52. The test half is the tested tires’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.
No owner ratings of noise for Encounter AT2. The owner half is the owners’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.
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73
Treadwear
No comparison–Why this score
Source Road Venture AT52 Encounter AT2 Professional tests (TWG score) ≈ 70 (est.) – Reviews found online 78 – Road Venture AT52: 60% × 70.4 (est.) + 40% × 77.6 = 73
No road tests of treadwear for Road Venture AT52. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.35).
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72
Handling (owners)
No comparison–Why this score
Source Road Venture AT52 Encounter AT2 Reviews found online 72 –
Scores at a glance
| Category | Kumho Road Venture AT52 | Sumitomo Encounter AT2 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 75 | 71 |
| Dry | 75 | 71 |
| Wet | 78 | 73 |
| Snow | 69 | – |
| Comfort | 71 | 69 |
| Noise | 70 | 67 |
| Treadwear | 73 | – |
| Handling (owners) | 72 | – |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
Weight the categories that matter to you
Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.
Recomputed
Headline score
75
/ 100
Road Venture AT52
71
/ 100
Encounter AT2
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
Pros, cons & observations
Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
Tire A Road Venture AT52
Pros
- Excellent value and competitive pricing compared to premium brands
- Surprisingly low road noise for an all-terrain tread pattern
- Strong traction in wet, snowy, and wintry conditions (3-peak mountain snowflake rated)
Cons
- Stiffer ride quality or firmer sidewalls reported by some drivers
- Reduced confidence or grip when cornering hard in wet weather
- Increased road noise reported by some users as the tires wear into mid-life
Tire B Encounter AT2
Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Kumho Road Venture AT52 | B · Sumitomo Encounter AT2 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | All-Terrain tire | All-Terrain tire |
| Vehicle type | SUV and 4x4 | SUV and 4x4 |
| Sizes available | 59 | 30 |
| Rim diameters | 14″ – 22″ | 16″ – 22″ |
| Tread depth | 13.5/32″ | 12/32″ |
| UTQG | 680 A A | 660 B B |
| Treadwear warranty | 55,000 mi | 65,000 mi |
| Sidewall | Blackwall | Blackwall |
| Max pressure | 50 psi | 50 psi |
| Sizes in common | 26 | 26 |
Which one should you actually buy?
75
/ 100
Kumho Road Venture AT52
71
/ 100
Sumitomo Encounter AT2
Narrow edge: Kumho Road Venture AT52 — better wet, dry and noise. It leads or ties in every category we score. Sumitomo Encounter AT2 rests on little evidence so far (1 test, 0 reviews), so read this result as provisional.
Pick tire A
Your priority is wet-weather safety
Kumho Road Venture AT52 scores 78 vs 73 on wet.
Pick tire A
You want the most grip on dry roads
Kumho Road Venture AT52 scores 75 vs 71 on dry.
Pick tire A
You want a quieter cabin
Kumho Road Venture AT52 scores 70 vs 67 on noise.
Tire A · Kumho Road Venture AT52
Tire B · Sumitomo Encounter AT2
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Road Venture AT52 or Encounter AT2?
Which is better in the wet, Road Venture AT52 or Encounter AT2?
Kumho Road Venture AT52, 78 vs 73 on our wet score.
Which grips better on dry roads, Road Venture AT52 or Encounter AT2?
Kumho Road Venture AT52, 75 vs 71 on our dry score.
Which is quieter, Road Venture AT52 or Encounter AT2?
Kumho Road Venture AT52, 70 vs 67 on our noise score.
Which is more comfortable, Road Venture AT52 or Encounter AT2?
Neither, by our numbers: 71 vs 69 on the comfort score, within 3 points.
How do we compare tires?
Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.
Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.
Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology