I can easily see how the KO2, which is listed at 39 lb compared to 24 for the stock and 31 for normal AT tires plus the extra size can hurt the pre-2015 H4 CVT.
As for myself, I have been running 225-65-17 Geolander AT-S since last summer.
They were 28.3 tall installed. They are 27.6 tall right now, 10 months later. Normal sidewall bulging took away about 0.25" of clearance, maybe a bit more, and a bit premature treadwear did the rest (alignment). So, what I have now is the equivalent of a brand new stock tire, which I feel in regained performance.
The mpg did not change in any way I can feel at any time during this (yet another, sigh) learning about tires ('cause you did not when you were 20) process...
My hope is that the KO would, among the obvious,
-feature stiffer sidewalls and maintain height better than either of my AT-S sets has been able to,
-feature a tread that lasts a lot longer.
I am still new to the cars game, LOL, and though I have learned a lot over the last couple of years I am still not sure how actual unpaved mileage affects tires. It seems to wear them a lot faster than pavement. The KO 2 is supposed to be a lot better at that than the original version (or the AT-S).
Before this showed up, my favorite for next set was the 235-60-17 Cooper Discoverer AT 3. Foz owners rave about it and it gets great marks for on-road comfort, too, as well as very good marks on treadwear.
Maybe you can get a deal on those Coopers with lighter but strong enough wheels to partly compensate for the 7 lb penalty per tire?
EDIT: Btw, unfortunately, the Cooper Discoverer AT 3 are just as overpriced in 235-60-17 as are all tires in the sizes that could do for us (235-65-17 is more of a theoretical than feasible fitment, especially for off-road use, even though at least one member did offroad, I do not know how much, an H4 with 235-65-17 tires).