Kenda Klever Tire Review

‍Overview

If you frequently find yourself driving between rugged, unpaved roads and paved roads, then you will need a tire that can comfortably perform well in both conditions. While you can use an all-terrain tire, it may struggle considerably when you encounter rugged, off-road surfaces.

On the other hand, if you opt for a mud terrain tire, it will be too uncomfortable, once you shift from off-road to on-road terrains. In short, each of these tires is built to perform well in specific conditions while compromising on certain areas.

However, there’s a particular tire known as a rugged terrain tire. This tire is more of a hybrid between an all-terrain tire and a mud-terrain tire. This tire is built to deliver outstanding off-road performances, without sacrificing on-road driving comforts.

And, the Kenda Klever is such a tire. It’s an all-season tire, built to tackle rough, rugged terrains, without sacrificing on-road capabilities. But, does this tire manage to pull this off? Well, we will find out more in this article.

About the Kenda Klever

The Kenda Klever is a rugged terrain tire. It combines the great aspects of an all-terrain tire with the features that you will love in a mud terrain tire. According to the manufacturer, you can use this tire on both off-road and on-road surfaces, without experiencing any significant issues.

In short, this tire is capable of handling rough, rugged terrains and conditions, which a regular all-terrain tire wouldn’t be able to handle. Such terrains may include rocky surfaces, loose dirt, mud, and harshly uneven terrains.

But unlike mud terrain tires, the Kenda Klever is also capable of delivering great on-road performances. While it may have a rugged tread design, it will deliver dependable on-road grip, without sacrificing comfort as well.

So, if you are a delivery driver or any other individual whose work involves driving between paved and unpaved surfaces, then the Kenda Klever may be a perfect fit for your vehicle.

Design Features and Technologies

As mentioned above, the Kenda Klever is built to perform well on rugged terrains, without compromising on-road ride quality.

In short, it’s built to give you outstanding all-around performance and ride quality, regardless of whether you are driving on paved roads or rugged, unpaved surfaces.

To this end, Kenda has outfitted it with an impressive array of features, so that it can perform as expected. Some of these features include:

All-Season Rubber Compound

Kenda has furnished the Klever with an all-season rubber compound. This rubber compound is designed to help this tire deliver stellar traction and grip on wet surfaces and snowy roads. And as much as this tire only comes with an M+S rating, its performance in snowy conditions should be adequate and acceptable.

Aggressive Tread Pattern

The Kenda Klever also sports a rugged tread pattern. This rugged tread pattern features deep and wide grooves, which help the tire get rid of mud, slush and debris. With this tread pattern, you can expect this tire to perform well in muddy conditions. The deep and wide grooves also help to maximize aquaplaning resistance.

Furthermore, the Kenda Klever features additional tread on the shoulders and sidewall, designed to enhance its performance in thick and deep mud. Also, the additional sidewall tread helps to protect the tire against tearing, chipping, abrasions and cutting.

Kenda has also provisioned this tire with interlocking center tread blocks. These specially designed tread blocks are meant to deliver aggressive snow and off-road performance.

Also, the tire’s tread features high sipe density. This feature is designed to enhance the tire’s performance on wet, snowy and ice-covered surfaces. Hence, if you happen to encounter muddy conditions, snow, light snow or loose terrain somewhere along your daily drives, you can expect this tire to pull your vehicle through.

Solid Internal Construction

Kenda also paid particular attention to this tire’s internal construction, considering it’s built to handle rugged terrains. To this end, the Klever comes with a solid, three-ply, sidewall construction.

This rugged terrain tire also features rim protectors. These rim protectors are designed to shield both the rim and the bead area from abrasive trail elements and surfaces. And with this robust construction, this tire can withstand hardcore and challenging off-road driving situations. So, regardless of where your driving takes you, you don’t have to worry about punctures or tire failure.

Ice Studs Provision

The Kenda Klever also comes with a provision for fitting ice studs. Therefore, if you are driving in sub-zero mountainous regions where roads are frequently covered by ice, you can just fit ice studs in this tire, and you will be ready to tackle the road.

Kenda Klever Performance

According to Kenda, this tire should deliver outstanding on and off-road performances. Therefore, you can expect it to deliver great dry and wet traction, as well as dependable performances on snow, mud, gravel, sand and other challenging conditions.

But, does Kenda Klever live up to these expectations? Can you depend on it to get the job done on-road and off-road? Having worked with tires for several decades, we’ve come across a couple of tires, which are marketed as great performers but end up being a complete failure and disappointment.

With this in mind, we decided to test this tire ourselves, to ascertain whether it performs as advertised. We mounted a set on a 2013 Ford F-150 and put them to work across different conditions, terrains, and surfaces. And, this is how the tire performed.

Dry Performance

The Kenda Klever performed well on dry tarmac. Its large tread blocks stuck to the road confidently, providing adequate amounts of grip. However, we noticed quite a bit of slipping when we pushed the F-150 to its limits. But, as long as you don’t accelerate aggressively, then you won’t experience any loss of traction on dry tarmac with this tire.

As for handling, well, it was as we had expected. You shouldn’t expect this tire to impress you in terms of handling. Steering response and road feedback were average at best. At the end of the day, the Kenda Klever is not a high-performance tire. Therefore, its handling will not be that impressive.

However, it delivered decent stability, even when we were cruising at higher speeds. Also, the braking distances were short. As much as some other rugged tires may deliver shorter braking distances than the Kenda Klever, the difference is not significant.

Wet Performance

The Klever’s performance on wet and slippery surfaces was impressive, in terms of both grip and traction. You can depend on this tire to deliver sufficient grip and traction for everyday driving. Also, the braking distances were equally short.

As earlier noted, this tire comes with wide and deep grooves. These grooves play a key role in hydroplaning resistance. And this may explain why the Kenda Klever is such a stellar performer in wet and slippery conditions.

As for handling, the performance was similar to what we observed on dry tarmac. Road feedback was average. However, we didn’t experience any slipping or skidding when driving at higher speeds, even in pools of water.

Snow and Ice Performance

Overall, we were impressed with the tire’s performance on dry and wet tarmac. From there, we proceed to examine its performance on snow and ice. Again, this tire didn’t disappoint.

Even on freshly fallen snow, the Kender Klever kept our F-150 moving. We also examined its braking performance when moving downhill. Again, its performance was stellar.

The tire managed to bring the F-150 to a stop, without sliding sideways or forwards. As long as you don’t push your vehicle too hard in snowy conditions, then the traction delivered by this tire will be adequate.

On ice and heavier snow, the Klever’s performance was a bit poor. Fortunately, the Kenda Klever comes with provisions for ice studs. Therefore, you can simply fit the studs and improve its performance in these conditions, whenever the need arises.

Off-Roading Performance

The Kenda Klever is marketed as a tire that can confidently handle off-road terrains. As part of our tests, we also decided to see whether it can hold its own in these conditions. Again, this tire didn’t disappoint.

We began our off-roading tests on lighter conditions. Here, we examined the tire’s traction and grip on gravel and loose sand. And, we never, at any moment, felt as if this tire was hunting for traction. The grip was top-notch. Also, the steering response was great.

The only issue that we encountered with the Kenda Klever on light off-road terrain is stones being stuck in its tread blocks. Nevertheless, we didn’t experience any issues with stone drilling.

From light off-road terrain, we then proceed to rugged and more challenging terrains. Here, we wanted to assess how this tire would handle deep, thick mud. Again, thick, deep mud wasn’t an issue with the Kenda Klever. It dug in confidently and deliver a strong grip.

We also noticed that the Kenda Klever is also a decent rock crawler. Even after subjecting this tire to aggressive rock crawling, we never noticed any signs of premature wear and tear. There were no punctures on the sidewalls and the tread.

Overall, the Kenda Klever is an outstanding off-road performer. And as much as mud terrain tires may deliver slightly better performances than this tire in off-road conditions, you should be prepared for an uncomfortable ride once you are back to civilization. So, if you are after a tire that can provide a nice balance between outstanding off-road performances and a decent on-road ride, then the Kenda Klever is just what you need.

Ride Quality

The majority of rugged terrain tires that you will find on the market are not refined. They tend to be extremely uncomfortable. The ride may be harsh while the noise and vibrations, may make the journey unbearable.

However, the Kenda Klever is slightly different. As much as it may not surface imperfections as well as an all-season tire, the vibrations are not excessive. Also, the noise levels are acceptable.

However, you may notice some roar when you are driving at higher speeds or on uneven terrains. But compared to the majority of the other tires that we’ve assessed in this category, we can say the Kenda Klever is above average.

Sizes and Fitment

Kenda produces the Klever in a wide array of sizes, ranging between 16 inches and 22 inches. Below are some of the trucks and SUVs that are compatible with this tire:

• Ford F-150, F-100, Ranger, Bronco, Super Duty, Explorer, and Excursion
• Chevrolet Colorado, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500 and Silverado 3500
• Jeep Wrangler, Cherokee, Wagoneer, Gladiator, CJ5, CJ6, CJ7 and Commandeer
• Mitsubishi Pajero and L200
• Toyota Land cruiser, 4Runner, Hilux, Tundra, Tacoma and FJ Cruiser
• GMC Canyon
• Dodge Ramcharger, Ram 1500, Ram 2500 and Ram 3500
• Hummer H3, H3T and H3X
• Nissan Frontier, Titan, Titan XD, Titan XE, Titan Pro and Xterra

Kenda Klever Price Range

The Kenda Klever is currently going for approximately $180 to $500 per tire. Hence, if you buy a set of four tires for your truck or SUV, you can expect to spend between $720 and $200. However, these are just estimates. The actual price that you will pay for your set of tires will depend on where you buy them as well as the size you choose. As you may expect, the bigger the size you choose, the costlier the tire will be.

Kenda Klever Pros

• Excellent off-road performance
• Impressive dry and wet traction
• Dependable traction on snow-covered roads
• Acceptable ride quality

Kenda Klever Cons

• No warranty

Verdict

Overall, there’s almost nothing to dislike about this tire. It performs extremely well off-road without sacrificing on-road manners. Furthermore, its snow performance is more than adequate, an area that you can improve by adding ice studs. Also, its steering response is decent and the ride is stable, even on challenging terrains. If you need a tire that can comfortably handle a wide range of weather conditions, surfaces and terrains, is durable and comes at an affordable price, then you should get the Kenda Klever.