Off-Roading With Italian Flair: Pirelli Scorpion XTM Revew

“If a tire makes you happy, we’re happy.” It’s a simple sentiment, but it’s one I like. It’s not limited to Pirelli’s on-track performance tires, and the company’s exec says it applies to even its boring road car tires. And, of course, its latest, the Pirelli Scorpion XTM, is the first tire meant for buyers who plan on spending a lot of their time off-road.

If you’re thinking Pirelli has all-terrain tires already, you’re right. Sort of. It says that most of those tires, like the Scorpion AT Plus, are meant for very occasional off-roading — 5% off-road, 95% on-road, Pirelli told me ahead of driving the new tire for the first time. This one is more serious than those, but less aggressive than the Scorpion MTR mud tire. The XTM, for Xtreme, of course, is a more aggressive tire design.

Pirelli brought us to where the scorpions are to test out the new Scorpion tire. Though fortunately, despite 3 days in the desert and 1 night camping in the Dumont Dunes, I didn’t see any of the arachnid variety.

In short: The Pirelli Scorpion XTM is an all-terrain tire aimed at buyers who actually plan to travel across tougher terrain than the occasional dirt forest road. But, despite a 3PMSF rating and some chunky-looking treads, the Scorpion XTM delivers low on-road noise in addition to its off-pavement durability and traction.

Pirelli Scorpion XTM Review

Our drive route started on the edge of the abomination that is Las Vegas. It will never fail to surprise me that the gaudiest place on earth can be right beside some of the most dramatic landscapes and striking scenery in the world. But this is a story about tires, so I digress.

As we headed into Red Rocks Park, the thermometer was already reaching the 90s. Since the XTM has a 3PMSF logo on the sidewall, I’m expecting it to be a hot mess in the hot weather. How else could it handle freezing temperatures?

Pirelli said that nanotechnology lets it be soft enough for winter without overheating in the summer, and this drive puts that to the test in the latter, if not the former. Our first day is a full afternoon of high-speed rural highway driving through Red Rock and then Death Valley.

There might still be water on the ground in parts of the valley, but it is blisteringly hot — hot enough that the AC of the Ford Bronco I’m driving isn’t even close to being able to keep up. Stepping out for a stop, like at the stunning Artists Palette (which Ford’s GPS labeled as “Pallet”), was actually more pleasant than sitting behind the wheel of the Ford.

The Tires Were Comfortable, Even If I Wasn’t

At least the tires were comfortable. In the first half of the afternoon, I was driving on the Electric vehicle version of the tire (more later), the second half the standard tire. Both were whisper-quiet, at least by AT standards.

They were quiet, but at least as importantly, they had very low levels of vibration. Driving back from the desert on the Bronco’s standard tires a couple of days later showed just how peaceful life was with the Scorpions on.

It’s a Good-Looking Tire, Not Just a Good-Performing One

The Pirelli Scorpion XTM has a chunky, aggressive, and visually appealing tread — three traits that normally mean not just noise but highway skittishness. The XTM didn’t have any unwanted movement at all.

It’s obviously not a sports car tire, but slower curves and switchbacks were handled confidently. We were running door placard pressures, which no doubt helped, but that’s how you should be filling your tires on the highway anyway.

Day 2: From Tarmac to 2-Track

We didn’t hit the dirt until day two, and it wasn’t on the valley floor. Instead, we went east one mountain, heading toward the Dumont Dunes by way of Furnace Creek.

Furnace Creek wasn’t living up to its name, thanks to some much-loved cloud cover, but it was still warm. The tires on our fleet of Broncos and Jeep Wranglers soaked up the punishment as we fired across the barely there gravel roads and tracks as quickly as common sense and dust allowed.

What was impressive wasn’t the durability of the tires on this run, but that it wasn’t their first run, or their second or even third. Pirelli brought out more than 2 weeks of journalists, dealers, and other staff, so these tires had a few thousand punishing miles on them. Pirelli told us there had been no flats, and the tire treads showed no signs of the cuts and chunks I had expected to see.

Chip & Chunk Aren’t Just My Favorite Ice Cream

Factory Chip and Chunk testing, and yes they call it that too, took place on sugar cane fields in Brazil. Pounding over the dried cut stalks as well as the country’s brutal road surfaces.

Off-road expert and Rebelle Rally founder Emily Miller was our guide for the event, and she told us she had put more than 13,000 miles on these tires without issue on her own secret test routes.

We didn’t crawl over rocks, but we did have loads of high-speed corners on the very soft and slick road surfaces. The XTM tires were stable and, crucially, predictable. Keeping traction to the limit and then slowly breaking away when pushed slightly beyond.

I never felt at risk of a tire rolling over and unseating a bead. The vehicles in front and behind didn’t look like they were at any risk either. Of course full pressure isn’t comfortable, but it is good for stability.

Pirelli Scorpion XTM Takes On the Sand

Finally, we reached the 7,620 acres of wasteland that are the Dumont Dunes OHV Recreation Area. The site has dunes reaching stories into the sky, but it also has rocky trails and slow, technical bits. We tried both.

First, trails in the Wranglers. Dropping down onto a 35-degree slope that was a mix of scree and loose dirt, I wasn’t confident that the XTM would be able to deliver a slow and deliberate descent. But with the Jeep’s hill descent control set to just 0.6 miles per hour, the tires had enough grip to crawl down the hillside slowly.

Heading back up was equally drama-free. A medium dose of throttle — no wild wheel spinning needed — brought me to the top of the matching hill on the other side of the wash. I keep returning to the word predictable, but it’s accurate and exactly what I want in a tire.

After trails in the Wranglers, there was a desert rallycross in the Broncos. A simple course with fun bends was a great place for these off-roaders to have some fun.

Instead of testing traction, the rallycross course immediately turned into a test of how sideways a Bronco could go before getting too out of shape to rein in. I would have liked some more grip at the nose when turning into the sand, but that was really more of a skill issue than a tire problem. Even in RWD with ham-fisted use of the gas, I couldn’t get the Bronco stuck in the sand.

Pirelli Scorpion XTM Elect in the Dunes

I still hadn’t hit the dunes, though, because that was reserved for the trio of Rivian R1S SUVs on hand for the drive. Because a nearly 4-ton monster with three electric motors is exactly what you want in soft sand (sarcasm).

It showed confidence in the tire and the vehicle, but I wasn’t ready to take their confidence as gospel. This test was meant to show off the Elect, Pirelli’s EV-ready version of the tire. The difference, we’re told, is that the Elect tire has lower rolling resistance to keep your range as high as possible.

There are two trade-offs for that rolling resistance. The tire has less mud traction and is a bit more expensive. I don’t know exactly how much more expensive, because Pirelli didn’t have pricing yet for the 37 sizes this tire will offer.

Back to the dunes. Thanks to a large and flat tread surface, the XTM has plenty of grip. A new molding technology Pirelli calls Mega Mech means there is no gap between the main tread and the chunky sidewall teeth like you’ll find on other tires. It looks cooler, and it helps add traction when you need to use every bit of the tire’s surface to keep moving.

Massive Power Needs Huge Grip & Smart Computers

The Rivians have loads of horsepower. They’re also tricky to drive because Rivian hasn’t added in a “coast” mode to its regen braking.

No matter what you do, if your foot comes off the throttle, the SUV starts to break. Burying the nose, cutting momentum, and just asking to get stuck.

Fortunately, the tires have enough traction — and the incredible computer system enough brains — to get you moving again. You can really feel the torque vectoring system working in this big rig. Adding and removing power left and right, front and rear,

Assuming the price increase isn’t massive, I’d take the EV tire for gas models, too. Using less fuel is always nice, lowering your running costs and helping you stay on the trail for longer. Plus, I don’t often drive in mud. If your usual off-road adventure is a muddy maelstrom, you might want the standard version no matter what you drive.

Pirelli Scorpion XTM Review: Conclusion

The Pirelli Scorpion XTM withstood our punishing driving on rocks, gravel, and pavement without a complaint. It was quiet, smooth, and comfortable, and it delivered excellent traction on all of those surfaces. A 55K-mile warranty suggests that it should do that for a long time.

But one of the biggest parts of any tire equation is price, and Pirelli didn’t have a number for us on the drive. If it’s in line with its competitors, this is a solid buy. The tire, at least, made me happy, which should make Pirelli happy.