Tires are important. They are certainly the most important part of your suspension system. Without tires, you are not really going anywhere, or certainly not fast or quietly. But the reality is that tires are expensive too and when shopping for a new or used vehicle the size and type of tire is often overlooked as part of that purchase.

When the vehicle is new, you may not need to think about it for three or four years after purchase, but on a used vehicle the tires are most likely also used and may only last a year or two. For a lot of consumers their new SUV is sporting some sweet 18-, 19- or even 20-inch rims. They look great but you may not have thought about the cost implications coming from your typical family sedan.

Most sporty or luxury SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q5 or BMW X5 (in my case a Lexus LX570), come standard with some of the big name brand tires like Michelin and Bridgestone. But these vehicles are large and the tires fitted are meant to provide both a sporty and compliant ride while being quiet.

My Lexus LX570 came standard with Michelin Latitude tires in 285/50/R20 – I really love the Michelin tires on my Lexus. They are quiet and seem to perform well in dry and wet conditions – I also tow a heavy trailer and they do not feel squirmy under those conditions.

To achieve these characteristics the tires tend to be softer. The result? These tires do not last all that long either. After swapping out my winter tires I noticed one of my summer Michelin tires was badly worn. Before I purchased the vehicle the alignment was obviously off as the other tires look nearly new in comparison. Not wanting to risk poor driving performance it was time to find a new set of tires – but that sticker shock is not fun. A quick search online reveals that these tires are priced around the $270 mark, or well over $1,200 for a set after taxes.

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Enter the Sailun Atrezzo SVR LX. This tire is aimed squarely at the sporty/luxury SUV market. The tire is available in only 18 fitments and they range from 20 to 24 inches.

According to Sailun these tires perform well in both wet and dry conditions while offering a quiet and comfortable ride. Their marketing spiel mentions that the SVR LX is a premium high-performance tire designed for SUVs, sport trucks and crossover vehicles. It is a sporty design engineered with an advanced tread, accentuating the appearance of your ride while providing unparalleled all-season performance, comfort and tread life. Well that certainly sounds promising – right?

The treadwear rating is reasonable as well without being overly optimistic; Sailun rates the tire with a 60,000-km tread wear life. The street price for the SVR LX tire is closer to $180 a tire – that’s close to a $400 savings for the set of tires for my vehicle. In my opinion that’s worth the risk.

To be honest, my biggest concern with trying a different type/brand of tire was noise. My LX570 is whisper quiet on the highway and I wanted it to stay that way. Too many times a tire has ruined the ride and NVH levels in a vehicle I have owned and it concerned me.

I mounted up the Sailun tires and headed out around the neighbourhood. First impressions were good, they seemed just as smooth and quiet as the Michelins, so did I luck out? Sailun claims their grooved tread walls help reduce road noise and enhance high-speed stability. After a few highway runs with the radio turned down to zero I listened carefully – this tire is good. To be fair the Michelin tires were dead silent, not a peep could be heard, and while the Sailun tires are very very quiet, there is a slight hum that can be heard on the highway depending on the road surface, with the radio on at all though it is unnoticeable and the hum is barely audible even with it off – I’m being very “Princess and the Pea” picky here.

The grooves in the Atrezzo SVR LX are deep and in the rain these tires perform just fine from what I can tell. I’m testing these on a 2,720-kg (6,000 lb) SUV after all, I’m not about to head out to the racetrack or through a slalom course.

Also on Autos.ca: Tire Review: Sailun Z4+AS

I’ve also had a chance to tow a very heavy trailer with these tires fitted and I haven’t noticed any sidewall deforming causing a unbalanced or tail happy ride, which can be a very stressful factor when towing on the highway.

Overall these tires have impressed me. I’ve put close to 8,000 km on them now and they look and sound good as new. I was very concerned about mounting anything but the OEM-selected Michelin Latitudes on my ride but these tires have proven to be just as good at a substantial savings.

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