Hankook Kinergy 4S2 Reviews - Page 2

Given 81% while driving a SEAT 1.4 TSI (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 18,000 average miles
Second review of the tyres now into 2 years of ownership.

Just driven back from West Wales during the start of storm Ciaran. Tyres are down to 5mm on the fronts and 6mm on the rear. That's on about 18k mileage.

Still inspire so much confidence in these wet UK weather conditions dealing with standing water, spray and the deluge of rain. So much so that I could concentrate on driving, safe in the knowledge of the tyres just working.

As JB has said in his first and second review of all season tyres they are an ideal pick for the UK autumn winter climate. I never fret coming into autumn and winter with these on my car.

And on top of that great comfort and perform well in dry and summer conditions.

Not driven them in much snow but I'd be happy to drive on them to Scotland or any other European ski resort.

Car is a Seat Leon 1.4 Act so not high performance, but these tyres make this a great all rounder for my family.
Helpful 35 - tyre reviewed on November 5, 2023
Given 75% while driving a Mazda mazda 3 1.8D (2019) (215/45 R18) on a combination of roads for 44,000 average miles
It is my first experience with all seasons tyres. Hankook Kinergy 4S2 do their job. I never expected high performances but I was so impressed of how good they are on all conditions: dry, wet and snow. Drove on snow (fresh and icy) several days in the last two winters, snow is frequent where I live. Many people say all seasons are bad compared to summer and winter tyres, well, my point is they are better than summer tyres used in winter and better than winter tyres used in summer (we see lots of these cases, right?). After about 44000 miles there are still 1.5mm of tread above winter mark. Hopefully I migh be able to use them for anothre winter too. I will buy them again without any doubt. Well done Hankook!
Helpful 52 - tyre reviewed on June 7, 2023
Given 78% while driving a Skoda (235/45 R18) on mostly country roads for 16,000 average miles
Reviewing on the day I've been waiting for. 2-3 inches on snow in the south of the UK, and the country grinds to a halt. Had the tyres on the car for a good 18 months and have driven a good 16000 miles on them, so well used. They worked flawlessly in the snow and ice. Standard straight road, windy road and even stop start driving up and down hills, and cannot fault them. A bit of wheel spin when pulling away on an uphill gradient but found the grip and just got on with it, bearing in mind my car is 1.7 tonnes, I felt in control at all times. Obviously wasn't going the speeds Jonathon drives on the snow handling track, but 30 mph on snowy roads is easy, comfortable and felt incredibly safe. Have given scores, but haven't reviewed dry/wet etc as others cover that off, today (08/03/2023) is the reason I bought these tyres, to get me home when it snows.
Helpful 56 - tyre reviewed on March 8, 2023
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Given 45% while driving a Audi S4 (245/35 R19) on a combination of roads for 1,000 spirited miles
They grip fairly well for an All Season tyre and they will be fine for mildly spirited driving. They have quite a light feel to them which doesn't instil confidence as it can be difficult to tell if they are actually gripping or if it's the car's electronics kicking in and saving the day. However, when cornering hard you can feel them start to break away and start to loose grip, giving you a change to correct. Also, when coming out of a corner and accelerating hard you can feel them "lift" so to speak. Basically, losing traction. They are also very noisy on the motorway. I've not had a chance to test them in the snow or ice as it's been a mild winter, nor check the wear rate yet. I'll come back in a year and revise the review. Ultimately, I would say if you drive calmly with the odd bit of moderate spirited driving they are fine and hopefully also provide good traction when the weather gets cold and bad. But if you like to push it hard when the weather is above 7°C then stick with a decent set of summer tyres.
Helpful 53 - tyre reviewed on February 8, 2023
Given 82% while driving a Volkswagen Golf Mk7 1.6 TDI Bluemotion (195/65 R15) on a combination of roads for 4,000 average miles
Excellent tyre. I am a track day enthusiast but this tyre was fitted to my Golf Bluemotion daily hack. I previously had the latest Goodyear Efficient Grips and fitted these going into the cold snap in December 2020. Dry grip is good but compared to the Goodyears previously they do have a slower initial response But this is an all season v a summer tyre, so what do you expect. In the wet, it is simply fantastic. Often you hear the cliche that "you can drive your car in the wet like you can in the dry!" - but with this you really can. Incredible confidence in all conditions and have not aquaplained at all. Snow/Ice - obviously not a full winter tyre but they're excellent all round. Can certainly keep you moving while other cars are stuck spinning their wheels and give you lots of confidence. Obviously not an enthusiast tyre - but they're an excellent tyre for all conditions and for people who have to do a lot of driving (my commute is 110 miles a day, 5/6 days a week) and have also fitted them to my Partners car too. Economy wise, i have not noticed any difference in economy between the Goodyears and these Hankook (still over 70mpg) Have done approx 4000 miles and no visible or appreciable wear. I did also have a fresh alignment carried out when fitted. 10/10 would recommend these.
Helpful 51 - tyre reviewed on January 15, 2023
Given 76% while driving a Renault Clio 1.5 dCi 86 (185/55 R15) on a combination of roads for 11,500 average miles
I'm satisfied with its performance, grip levels and handling it is very nice to drive. I knew that it will not last as long as competing option but I believed that price difference justifies that. But still, I am dissapointed with the wear rate, 20.000 km and fronts are gone. Before these I had Crossclimate+ and they lasted for 35.000 km.
Helpful 36 - tyre reviewed on December 21, 2022
Given 87% while driving a SEAT 1.4 TSI (225/45 R17) on a combination of roads for 8,000 average miles
Switched to the hankooks in Sptember 2021 just in time for winter. They replaced ageing gy as3 on the front and as5 on the rear. Comfort noticeably improved after switching to the hankooks. They inspire confidence in the wet and as the temperatures plummet I treat driving as if it is a normal day and don't feel I need to be overly cautious. Fast forward to summer 2022 and a fully loaded car plus roofbox and tyre pressures at a higher setting tyres still did a great job smoothing off bumps on our long trip to Cornwall. Seem to be wearing well as reports at this year's MOT stated 6.5mm on the front and 7mm on the rear. Great tyres able to cope with our wetter autumn winters inspiring confidence in treacherous conditions just as easily as when it's warmer. Plus their ability to cope with cold winters means they are worthy winners of tyre reviews mild winter weighting.
Helpful 50 - tyre reviewed on December 17, 2022
Given 90% while driving a Volkswagen Golf (195/65 R15) on a combination of roads for 9,000 spirited miles
Excellent tire and far outperformed the OEM tires (ContiProContact), especially in the snow. Very good in the snow and dry with slight weakness in wet breaking (subjective, not measured). Got me through a very bad snowstorm when they were new and passed many vehicles that had slid off the road. Even had good traction uphill. Tread depth after about 9,000 miles is at 7/32" (starting depth at 10/32") on the North American compound (warranty is 60,000 miles to 2/32"). Looking forward to see how it performs this winter provided there is adequate snow to drive through. I'm also writing this review because it seems that the tire is either discontinued entirely in the US or Tire Rack is electing not to carry it anymore. Further, I have noticed that many reviews on the tire appear to have been scrubbed from the Tire Rack website (I wrote one and was able to find it a week ago and now it is gone now that they no longer carry my tire size). I think it is a shame that this tire will no longer be offered as an option because it was a good buy compared to the more expensive Cross Climate 2. I know you can get tires from other places than Tire Rack but it is a major distributor and I use their website as a reference on what tires are available. Regardless, they should not be deleting or hiding reviews.
Helpful 36 - tyre reviewed on November 23, 2022
Given 81% while driving a Mazda 6 2.0 D (215/50 R17) on a combination of roads for 15,000 average miles
Excellent all season tyre. Confortable at dry and wet, even at light snow.
Helpful 37 - tyre reviewed on October 20, 2022
Given 61% while driving a MINI Cooper S (195/55 R16) on a combination of roads for 8,000 average miles
Dry: good dry performance for an all season tyre, I have not had to do any emergency stops but have done some fast cornering and the tyre does lean onto the sidewall but is good for an AS tyre and feels fairly rigid although this may be because I have a tyre with a higher load and speed index than the car requires.

Wet: performance here is very good and stays very good when it gets cold as you would expect from an AS tyre, handling in the wet is also very good.

Snow: these tyres *almost* feel like a full winter tyre in the snow, amazing traction on fresh and compacted snow, I was able to climb steep hills in a front wheel drive car with these following my brother driving will full winter tyres and neither of us had any slip and I was also able to stop fully on a snow covered hill.

Ice: ice performance is good but here is when you see the tyre lose out to a full winter tyre. You can stop on ice covered hills and not slide which is amazing as when i got out of the car I almost fell over as it was so icy. But when trying to climb hills on ice they aren't amazing as my front wheel drive open differential car couldn't climb even a few feet up an ice covered hill. Granted it was basically sheet ice so I wasn't expecting it to get up but I suspect a full winter tyre would have done better.

Wear: This is the main reason I won't be buying this tyre again. They have been on for only 8000 miles and are approaching 4mm which is where their snow performance will drop off and as I'm using them as a winter tyre this is quite important. I will be switching to something like the Goodyear Vector 4 seasons Gen-3 to get better wear.

Comfort: very comfortable tyres but sill offer good feedback for an AS tyre Noise: very quiet in this size, much more so than my summer set with UHP tyres but that is to be expected.
Helpful 45 - tyre reviewed on September 28, 2022
Given 67% while driving a SEAT Ateca Xcellence (215/50 R18) on a combination of roads for 0 easy going miles
Just a safe tyre for all seasons, little snow & ice but 95% not.
Helpful 36 - tyre reviewed on September 28, 2022
Given 82% while driving a Volkswagen Tiguan (245/50 R18) on a combination of roads for 20,000 average miles
Fitted these to our family car a 2015 vw tiguan 4 motion, and they transformed the handling for the better really making the most for vws 4 motion system particularly in bad weather i.e rain/snow it never spun a wheel just gripped and got on with business which for me was piece of mind knowing my wife and kids were in safe hands what ever the weather, dry grip was also impressive as to was the tread life will certainly recommend.
Helpful 38 - tyre reviewed on July 20, 2022