Owners generally rate the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 as a strong all-weather all-rounder, with most praise focused on dependable wet and dry grip (mentioned by around half of reviewers) and reassuring snow traction. Longevity is often reported as good, and a notable minority also highlight the comfortable ride and strong value for money. The most consistent drawback is road noise, raised by over a third of owners, while a smaller group report higher fuel consumption/rolling resistance.
What owners mention most counted across 66 reviews
I just bought hankook kinergy 4s2 for 400€ .I had Bridgestone a005. I find these tyres an excellent choice for the price.They are made in Korea which is great! I have a feeling like iam driving in jellies. Very good for roads with potholes.The ride is more smooth than the Bridgestone. They are a bit noisy but i believe that the noise will disappear after more km.I will renew my after more km. However i really recommend these tyres tyres
We got tired of the swapping between summer and winter tyres, especially since - where we live - driving on snow is a rarity. All Seasons should do the trick! And after a local promotion meant tyres + mounting was done for €399, they have proven to do so indeed!
I can't tell you much about how good or bad the tyres are 'at the limit', with a 1.0 Spark on LPG there isn't much sportiness to be had anyway! I can however tell you that they have always filled me with confidence when driving, especially in the wet. The tyres were a bit noisy and uncomfortable for the first 1500 or so km, but after that they quieted down do their current and quite comfortable noise levels.
Unfortunately the right front tyre only lasts about 35.000 km, but that is almost definitely caused by the large amounts of roundabouts on 80kmh/50mph roads where I live. If this wouldn't be so I think we could get to 50.000 km on these tyres, with some rotating between the front and rear . The attached pictures are of the left front and left rear, they have 3,5 mm and 5,5 mm of tread left respectively.
All in all, especially for this type of car these tyres have proven to more than satisfactory, and I would certainly look to buy them again once they are worn out completely.
Which tyres do you drive?
Researching the Hankook Kinergy 4S2? Rate the tyres you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
I bought these tires after having driven with Michelin CrossClimate on my TM3 LR AWD. I drove 85,000 km on the Michelin, and it was a great tire. These Hankook tires were ranked first alongside the Michelin CrossClimate 2, where Michelin performed better in snow than in rain (where Hankook was best). And since there is more rain than snow in Denmark, this seemed like the obvious choice.
It turned out I was terribly wrong. They are not very good tires. They are decent in dry conditions, but in wet and snowy conditions, they are terrible. It feels like there is no grip or feedback. We took them on a ski trip, and there were multiple moments when the car felt like it was slipping for no reason. In the rain, when accelerating hard, they struggle to maintain traction. This was NEVER a problem with Michelin.
I have now driven approximately 35,000 km on them, and they will need to be replaced within the next 5,000–10,000 km. Do not buy these Hankook tires unless you want to gamble with your safety!
The tires are supremely competent on paper and in a dry, analytical manner it ticks the boxes for a good grippy compromise from cold to hot weather. Yet in practice I find these tires really awful. They bring out the worst handling traits on my car (2012 Toyota Yaris) that I never experienced with three other different types of tires I had on the very same car (both summer and winter tires).
My main problem with the Kinergy 4S2 tires is that there is too much movement in them. Torsional flex is generous and lateral movement is extreme. As a result the car is really sensitive to tramlining and following ruts in the road. The car is extremely nervous on the motorway with side wind and gusts. I am sensitive to motion sickness, but I never imagined I would become motion sick behind the wheel going in a straight line. When you demand the sideways grip from the tire (sporty cornering, swerve, evade obstacles) there is so much flex that it will feel like the rear wants to step out. You may get used to it (I have) but it does not inspire confidence.
I have tried if tire pressure has any positive effect on the tires' stiffness, but the effect is rather limited. The standard 2.3 bar for the car was increased to 2.7 bar without a major improvement in responsiveness / feedback. Unfortunately any higher pressures seriously compromises comfort over bumps, which would take away one of the very few good traits of this tire.
Fuel mileage is another factor that has disappointed me: I have a 4.5% increase in fuel consumption compared to my previous WINTER tires (the comparison includes a compensation for differences in the tire radius between the tires and consumption monitoring over at least 10 tank stops in the same season with the same driver and driving style). With the lifespan of my previous tires (60,000km) I can expect to pay for an additional 137 liters of fuel. With current fuel prices that's almost enough to fund a full second set of tires. Enough reason for me to take my losses and start looking for a new set of tires that I do like.
Very good tyre with plenty of grip. Managed to grab a set of 4 at a good price. Covered over 15,000 miles before parting with the car and they still had over 4mm of tread remaining. Only downside was that they produced a bit more road noise and slightly worse fuel economy compared to the previously fitted tyres. However, a small price to pay for much better grip in the typical wet and cold British weather.
I drove a Ford Fusion 40 miles to get from my small town of country roads all the way to the airport in 3-5 inches of fresh snow most of the way and I was complete shocked how well these ate the miles of snow like I never expected. Not only that, but they gave confidence at pretty high speeds I probably shouldn't have been driving. The area I drove that was deeper 5ish inches I thought for sure was likely going to get me stuck when I had to come to a full stop, but no, they did great and we made our flight.
I was surprised that such a well-priced all-season tyre could be so good in the wet. Much better in the wet (traction, braking and handling) than my summer Toyo TR1 tyre and nearly as good in the dry. We don't get much snow here (Hungary), ice and rain are more common, especially the latter. Hence I opted for all-season for winter driving BUT they work well enough in snow, which also surprised me. I was tempted to use them all year around but for the extreme summer heat. Coming from down-under, I was unprepared for the continental climate extremes. I obviously need better summer tyres but I will be getting new Hankook 4S2s when the time comes to replace them. I've done about 15,000km so far. I am about to bolt the winter rims back on this weekend (late October) and I still have 5-6mm of tread left. I'm looking forward to improved grip in the wet, especially.
Substituting the Michelin Crossclimate2 previously mounted, the benefits are very clear: less noise, more grip, super balanced, less rolling resistance.
The question marks are now the behavior in snow and ice, and the duration.
Extremely well performing tire in all conditions, if you don't push it too hard (especially when the temperatures are in the 30s). They're a very good fit for my Hybrid Jazz, that I drive in Swiss weather all year long; lots of wet and cold don't make the tires feel unsafe in any circumstance; even snow performance is acceptable. The noise levels are also quite good, and the wear is surprisingly low without much of an ageing effect of the rubber. I am now at 38000 miles and there is still quite a lot of tread available. Considering the price of this tire is at least 30% lower than the premium brands (Bridgestone, Michelin...) and that for my car Pirelli and Continental are not available, I am finding it very hard to buy another tire for my car! Exceptional tire for the price.
Good tyres in wet, dry, good in a light snow, cornering. Poor fuel economy, when I used in summer F rated winter tyre, they used 0.8-1l less when Hankook C rated tyres. I was checking it carefully driving same roads, same conditions, same speed, traffic and etc. Not so sure for the wear yet. One of the best tyres in autumn, or rainy spring.
