The Hankook Winter i cept evo is a Central European winter tyre with generally favourable owner feedback for snow traction and value. Tests are less convincing overall, with recurring wet-braking concerns and conflicting snow results.
Owners most often like the Winter i cept evo's snow traction, with 12 positive accounts against three complaints among 25 discussing specific aspects. Everyday wet and dry grip also receive more praise than criticism, and value is a recurring positive. Auto Bild's 2011 and 2013 comparisons support useful snow handling, while dry handling was a relative positive with Sport Auto in 2012. These findings explain its appeal for drivers seeking affordable winter mobility.
The comparative record is much less favourable than the overall owner picture. It finished in the lower half of all three tests, with longer wet stops a repeated Auto Bild criticism and weak wet performance noted by Sport Auto. Sport Auto also found unusually poor snow grip and handling, contradicting the other tests and preventing a consistent winter-strength claim. Steering precision attracts some owner complaints too. Noise is divided, and review stages are mostly unknown, so neither quiet running nor long-term durability is firmly established. Wet stopping remains the clearest compromise.
The quick answer
Owners say83%from 28 owner reviews74% would buy againRead the reviews
Strengths & weaknessesOwner-reported snow tractionEveryday dry gripWet brakingLimited steering precision for some ownersSummarised from the tests and owner reviews
Built from every independent test result and vetted owner review we hold for this tyre - the evidence is all further down the page. Data updated January 2025.
What treadwear rating and mileage warranty does the Hankook Winter i cept evo have?
The Hankook Winter i cept evo has no UTQG treadwear grade: winter and light-truck sizes are exempt. Hankook gives it no mileage warranty.
What do owners say about the Hankook Winter i cept evo?
Across 28 owner ratings the Hankook Winter i cept evo averages 83%. Owners rate Snow Grip highest at 10 out of 10 and Handling lowest at 7.2. 4 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 77% of owners score it 70% or better.
What is the Hankook Winter i cept evo's EU tyre label rating?
Across its range, the Hankook Winter i cept evo most commonly carries EU label ratings of E for fuel efficiency, C for wet grip and 72 dB for noise.
How comfortable and quiet are the Hankook Winter i cept evo?
Owners rate the Hankook Winter i cept evo 7.9 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 26 reviews.
How well do the Hankook Winter i cept evo wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Hankook Winter i cept evo 8 out of 10 for wear across 26 reviews. 4 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 3,000 miles.
More questions about the Hankook Winter i cept evo(5)
Would owners buy the Hankook Winter i cept evo again?
74% of owners say they would buy the Hankook Winter i cept evo again, based on the 27 owner reviews that answered the question. 41% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
What do owners say about the Hankook Winter i cept evo's snow traction?
Of the 25 owner reviews analysed for the Hankook Winter i cept evo, 15 mention snow traction: 12 praise it (strong snow traction) and 3 criticise it (weak snow traction). Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Hankook Winter i cept evo's wet grip?
Of the 25 owner reviews analysed for the Hankook Winter i cept evo, 11 mention wet grip: 8 praise it (confident wet grip) and 3 criticise it (weak wet grip). One owner wrote: "Grip is excellent in the wet with great feel thro the wheel". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Hankook Winter i cept evo's dry grip?
Of the 25 owner reviews analysed for the Hankook Winter i cept evo, 8 mention dry grip: 6 praise it (strong dry grip) and 2 criticise it (limited dry grip). One owner wrote: "On dry roads you can feel the rubber biting into the road". Read those reviews
What sizes does the Hankook Winter i cept evo come in?
The Hankook Winter i cept evo is available in 5 sizes, ranging from 205-245/45-60 R15-18.
Questions and Answers for the Hankook Winter i cept evo
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The Hankook Winter i cept evo is most often praised by owners for snow traction, with 12 favourable accounts against three complaints among 25 discussing specific aspects. Wet and dry grip also attract more praise than criticism, and value receives five positive comments. Twenty of 26 written reviews are positive overall, though noise is evenly divided. Around one in eight criticise steering precision, while some report poor wet stopping. Most reviews do not state their stage, and follow-up opinions differ, so there is no clear shared ageing pattern or dependable long-term wear conclusion.
What owners mention most counted across 25 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 28 ratings
Owner score83%
Snow Grip100%
Ice Grip100%
Dry Grip80%
Wear80%
Wet Grip79%
Comfort79%
Road Feedback76%
Handling72%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 94%
“This will be my 3rd winter with these tyres and I have no complaints whatsoever. They have performed well in snow,slush,rain and dry roads. Grip is excellent in the wet with great feel thro the wheel. Snow was no...”
“Drove this Tyre on my BMW 123d and it was not save. Car was uncontrolable at Speeds above 80mph! It was really dangerous, cause it was not possibel to drive staight. It feels like driving tyres made of plastic foam!...”
“Had these on my Civic and still on my MX5. As a Winter tyre, they are OK. Stopping distances on packed snow less than half of Summer tyres, I measured. However, do not cope with uphill climbs as well as my new Winter...”
This will be my 3rd winter with these tyres and I have no complaints whatsoever. They have performed well in snow,slush,rain and dry roads. Grip is excellent in the wet with great feel thro the wheel. Snow was no problem and made for confident driving. On dry roads you can feel the rubber biting into the road,once again giving you confidence. As for wear,after 8,000mls I still have 6mm of tread to use. My car is mildly tuned(still does 127mph) and gets some hard driving so I can't ask for anything more from these tyres. Buy again?? Certainly.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
Drove this Tyre on my BMW 123d and it was not save. Car was uncontrolable at Speeds above 80mph! It was really dangerous, cause it was not possibel to drive staight. It feels like driving tyres made of plastic foam! Realy strange...
This tyre is not compatible whit an BMW Series one.
77%
Member
Subaru
215/55 R17 V
10,000 miles
A Combination of Roads
Spirited
Have forester XT with 230PS, sure I use turbo often ;)
traction on dry, pritty ok, however it is easy to slip on curve or circle with speed a bit.
Dry grip is ok, had no pb with that.
consideration, wet wet snow + mud grip is below average, had several issues with extrem stop, and missed curve. This is why I wont buy again. for AWD start grip is anyway good, but is very important to have tires good for braking...
and btw, they are less comfortable (maybe because of H index) then summer tires Michelin energy saver...
Not a bad budget tyre, mine have covered over 20,000 miles and the wear is excellent. I have a daily commute of 80miles on untreated country roads and motorway. These tyres are excellent in heavy rain, very very solid and I've had cars aquaplane in front of me.
I run winters all year round, in Ireland we get so much rain you need a decent tyre that can handle the conditions. I bought the Hankooks as my budget would not stretch to Nokians which I have always used. I do not have the confidence that I had with the Nokians (wrd3). I am running these on my wife's Citroen C3 hdi and they are amazing. The cold weather grip is phenomenal. I would not go around a roundabout in my A4 estate with such confidence. When we got snow here I took the Citroen to work as I knew it could go almost anywhere. The Nokians are not wearing as well as the Hankooks but there is a trade off.
Your tyres are the only thing keeping you in touch with the road, out of a ditch, pole or wall and are what will get you home home safe at night. Il run these tyres till next October and then change them, probably for a more defined winter tyre .
All in all a good tyre with excellent wet weather performance but just not confidence inspiring in icy and snowy conditions.
I've tested the same road in my car and then in the little Citroen and the abs would be kicking in for the Audi while the Citroen cornered and braked with ease..
Excellent winter tyre, much less wheelspin in the cold and wet, excellent in the snow last year and only fitted on the front then but now fitted all round for this year, just back from a longweekend in Germany and fine crusing at 100mph. I can't fault them and can be purchased at a good price.
As the previous reviewer report, much the same and not the grip I was expecting especially with the road surface being under 7c since I've bought them. Bit unfair to do a review with so little mileage, however tyres usually scrub in after 100 miles and the amount of wheel spin from just above idle rev's should have seen to that by now!! Was quite surprised especially as only 170bhp/170lb torque. However I do feel cornering and braking grip are better than normal rubber so something's right. Its just the wheel spin from junctions and roundabouts that's disappointing (no better than normal tyres) and I do drive with a light right foot. I think I'll need to give them a couple more months to bed in and hopefully some ice/snow/slush and give a complete appraisal. I'll report back/re-rate in Feb2014.
This is my first winter tyre and if I'm honest I'm really disappointed with the experience so far.
I live in the countryside and the roads around here are damp most of the time. I have found there to be very little grip in damp, wet or dry conditions. I have to take roundabouts and bends with care as I can feel the car wanting to slide.
My car has about 250lb/ft of torque (the same as most 2.0 diesels) and it will wheelspin through all the gears at half throttle with these Hankooks on. My summer tyres (Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD-3) are fine with half throttle.
I'm seriously considering putting my summer tyres back on until the snow actually hits as I don't feel confident in my car at present.
Decided to buy winter tyres and very glad I did. They grip very well in the lower temperatures and are better than I hoped in the snow. Never a problem getting to my destination. I have just swapped back to summer tyres (mid april) as the Hankooks were getting very squirmy in the warmer weather.
Overall a good tyre and showed me that winter tyres are worthwhile.
