An all-terrain tire is a type of automotive tire

Tire

A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...

 most commonly found on four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive

Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...

 vehicles.

The all-terrain tire is intended to provide a good compromise between off-road capability and on-road manners. Since manufacturers are aware of the fact that the majority of SUV

Sport utility vehicle

A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...

s and other four-wheel drive vehicles will never stray very far from public roads, the tires they are fitted with as standard tend to be biased towards road use. That is to say that for highway driving in a variety of conditions, they will offer good traction and low noise levels.

The all-terrain tire was also know to have a fault in it: the weak sidewall. BF Goodrich fixed this problem by using a Tri guard 3 Ply sidewall in their all-terrain tires.