The Kumho Ecsta KU31 is a summer performance tyre with strong owner approval for dry grip and value. Independent tests are considerably less favourable, especially in the wet, while a minority of owners report increasing noise as it wears.
The Kumho Ecsta KU31 attracts generally positive owner feedback for dry grip, value and everyday wet-road confidence. Tread life and noise receive more praise than criticism too, although both have substantial minorities of dissatisfied owners. The independent record is much weaker: last of nine in EVO's 2010 front-wheel-drive comparison and last of seven in Auto Review's 2014 test. Both criticised wet performance, directly contrasting with the more favourable owner picture. Auto Review also found low aquaplaning resistance and pronounced understeer.
Dry performance contains an unusual disagreement between tests. EVO noted good dry pace, whereas Auto Review criticised dry handling and measured a stop from 62 mph almost four metres longer than the best. Price remained a positive in that assessment. Later-use owner accounts include useful mileage, but some report short life or increasing noise, sometimes with uneven wear. Most returning owners stay positive while two become less satisfied, so there is no uniform ageing pattern. Its value appeal is better established than a consistent ability to match stronger performance tyres when pushed.
The quick answer
Owners say76%from 165 owner reviews76% would buy againRead the reviews
Strengths & weaknessesGood value for moneyGood everyday dry gripLimited wet performance when pushedWeak aquaplaning resistanceSummarised 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.
The Kumho KU31 looks smart, but unfortunately doesn't deliver in test. On wet roads the performance is mediocre with plenty of understeer and poor aquaplaning performance, and in the dry the braking distance from 62 mph is almost 4 meters longer than the best on test, which means when the Continental had stopped, the car would still be travelling at near 20 mph! Not the best option for road or track.
Winner: Continental ContiSportContact 5 P
Every independent test of the Kumho Ecsta KU31, newest first
Based on test and owner data, the Kumho Ecsta KU31 is expected to last around 22,600 miles (36,371 km).
What do owners say about the Kumho Ecsta KU31?
Across 165 owner ratings the Kumho Ecsta KU31 averages 76%. Owners rate Dry Grip highest at 8.3 out of 10 and Wear lowest at 7.2. 68 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 74% of owners score it 70% or better.
What is the Kumho Ecsta KU31's EU tyre label rating?
Across its range, the Kumho Ecsta KU31 most commonly carries EU label ratings of D for fuel efficiency, A for wet grip and 70 dB for noise.
How comfortable and quiet are the Kumho Ecsta KU31?
Owners rate the Kumho Ecsta KU31 7.4 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 143 reviews.
How well do the Kumho Ecsta KU31 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Kumho Ecsta KU31 7.2 out of 10 for wear across 143 reviews. 68 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 9,500 miles.
More questions about the Kumho Ecsta KU31(5)
Would owners buy the Kumho Ecsta KU31 again?
76% of owners say they would buy the Kumho Ecsta KU31 again, based on the 161 owner reviews that answered the question. 42% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
What do owners say about the Kumho Ecsta KU31's dry grip?
Of the 141 owner reviews analysed for the Kumho Ecsta KU31, 73 mention dry grip: 65 praise it (strong dry grip) and 8 criticise it (limited dry grip). One owner wrote: "The Kumho's transformed the front end giving so much grip". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Kumho Ecsta KU31's wet grip?
Of the 141 owner reviews analysed for the Kumho Ecsta KU31, 68 mention wet grip: 51 praise it (confident wet grip) and 17 criticise it (weak wet grip). Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Kumho Ecsta KU31's tread life?
Of the 141 owner reviews analysed for the Kumho Ecsta KU31, 61 mention tread life: 43 praise it (long-lasting) and 18 criticise it (wears quickly). One owner wrote: "I have owned the car for 6 years and driven a total of 55,000 miles. Kumo tyres were fitted just after purchase and this report reflects my experiance with two sets of Kumo tyres". Read those reviews
What sizes does the Kumho Ecsta KU31 come in?
The Kumho Ecsta KU31 is available in 1 sizes, ranging from 185/55 R15.
Dry grip and value are the clearest strengths of the Kumho Ecsta KU31 in generally positive owner feedback. Wet grip also attracts substantially more praise than criticism, though some drivers find it less reassuring in rain. Tread life and noise are usually viewed favourably, with later-use accounts including good mileage, but both also draw a sizeable minority of complaints. A smaller group reports increasing noise as the tread wears, sometimes alongside uneven wear. Most returning owners remain positive, while two are less satisfied in later accounts, so there is no uniform ageing pattern. Several replacement-mileage accounts support useful life without establishing one dependable lifespan.
What owners mention most counted across 141 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 165 ratings
Owner score76%
Dry Grip83%
Road Feedback77%
Handling76%
Wet Grip75%
Comfort74%
Wear72%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 80%
“Not sure about the wear but I don't care because its all about safety. When I say safety I mean it does grip very well in dry and also wet. I've 290bhp BMW (rear wheel drive of course) and no issue. I dont see why pay...”
“These tires are absolute garbage! Don't listen to anyone who says any different! They do not know jack#@%! I just boguht these tires after having Bridgestone Potenzas. After 50,000 kilometers on Bridgestones, the brand...”
“I just cannot fault this tyre. It is quiet on the motorway. Progressive handling. Excellent in dry and wet conditions in Wales and England. Useless in snow and ice though, but then again this is a summer tyre. It has a...”
Fitted these tyres to Mini Cooper S using 15" tyres and they were great. Dry and wet handling is great, especially after the changes to the suspension and proper wheel alignment with proper corner weighting. You could really pushed the car to the limit and when they do understeered, you could really unwind the wheel and it would tuck in again. Great value for money vs performance. Quite playful too, could invoke lift off oversteer with these tyres. It hasn't got the outright grip compare to Potenza RE002, but you don't really need it with Mini Cooper S because the chassis with proper alignment and coilover is fun will smaller less grippy tyres.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
Possibly the worst tyre known to man. Had a couple of these now. The previous of which blew out. More recently my Passat developed a horrendous vibration. Turns out the tyre's no longer round. It had more bulges than a pant special. Had my car shaking like a defecating dog. Horrendous. Thinking of buying a set? Think again! Buy yourself a pack of rubbers, use them and glue them to your alloy wheel instead. Guaranteed a smoother ride.
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Not sure about the wear but I don't care because its all about safety. When I say safety I mean it does grip very well in dry and also wet. I've 290bhp BMW (rear wheel drive of course) and no issue. I dont see why pay double the price for Michelin and other "good" brands. Will definitely buy again but i can see that price is going up. obviously tyre maker know's its good and selling more every day.
I bought these tyres in November 2011 on a deal at £100 for a pair to fit to the front of my BMW E36 323i replacing a pair of 225/50 Pirelli P6000.
The Kumho's transformed the front end giving so much grip the rear would now swing around like hinge every time I really gave it some throttle. Before it would understeer slightly making the rear easier to control but now the front even in winter conditions could be thrown into corners with gay abandonment. At the time the front end of the old beemer was as good if not better than anything I had ever owned with these on.
After that car was retired 2500 miles later I put the wheels and tyres into storage until I purchased the BMW 116i and fitted some brand new Hankook Ventus Prime 3 to the other pair of wheels.
I bought the car at the beginning of summer and fitted the wheels with the Kumho's to the rear of the car figuring it would be better to wear the older tyres out quicker. The combo of Kumho's on the rear & Ventus Prime's up front was awesome. Turn off traction control and I could almost drift the rear of the car around roundabouts as the feedback was excellent and the grip & feel on the front was also rock solid. Come winter though and traction control was a must as the short wheelbase 1 series would constantly snap out on the cold tarmac.
I swapped the tyres around as the Ventus Primes had won the 2018 Auto Bild test and the Kumho's had proved brilliant on my old car. This sorted the handling, you still needed TC but the car definitely handled better and the Kumho's had almost as much grip on the front as the Hankooks.
So to sum up, the Kumho's work great on the front of a BMW as the weight of the engine increases grip and they have great feel on the rear in summer. They tend to snap out easily on the rear of a rear wheel drive car in winter so not suitable for that application.
The only other fault I have is that once the tyres were down to 6mm (after about another 7000 miles, around 10,000 in total) they were prone to aquaplaning. Maybe this wouldn't have happened on the 323i as it was heavier on the front but it certainly does happen quite a bit on the 116i.
These are an old tire now and technology has moved on so I doubt I would buy again, I also have a feeling they may become dangerous well before reaching the legal limit but they were great in 2011 for the price. They may not aquaplane as much on a heavier car, a 205 section tyre is quite big for a car the size of a 1 series.
These Kumo tyres replaced Bridgestones on my Subaru Spec B and have performed excellently. Wear is very good for a car with 245HP and despite being summer tyres have enabled me to drive through deep snow out of my housing estate while other people have been stuck. However it has to be considered the Spec B is 4 wheel drive with a limited slip differential.The general road handling is superb and in particular wet road driving/brake is so very safe. For example on one occasion I had to drive from Frankfort to Luxemburg in heavy rain and easily maintained a speed of 85 to 90mph. At no time was there any change in steering feel or load, the car just felt safe. On the Autobann running at 140mph the car feels totaly stable which is a compliment to both car and tyre. I have owned the car for 6 years and driven a total of 55,000 miles. Kumo tyres were fitted just after purchase and this report reflects my experiance with two sets of Kumo tyres.
Bald after 18,000 miles is pretty average. The grip is 'OK' average, middle of the road etc. They are a decent enough lower-mid-range tyre, but for anyone looking for something more, i would spend a little more. The PS91 is a much much better tyre than these. Handling feels a bit vague too.... on the plus side, these look fantastic on the car - the design is great!
Bought these as cheap runflats when the previous owner's Goodyear Eagle F1 assymetrics died a death from sidewall failure.
Initially liked them - I thought the tread pattern looked excellent for water displacement in the wet, but immediately noticed that road noise was worse, especially under braking.
one month in, the water 'chine' tread on the shoulders became severely feathered, causing an awful rumbling noise whenever I corner. It was so bad it prompted me to replace my front wheel bearings before I homed in on the tyres as the culprit! The road roar was especially noticeable when I took the car to Europe on holiday, the super-smooth French tarmac really made them buzz.
I tried reversing them and running them in backwards to un-feather them, which partly reduced the noise, but after putting them the right way around again for the winter they're still unbearably loud - particularly under braking, cornering at low speeds on smooth tarmacked roads.
I have to assume this is due to the tyre tread blocks having insufficient strength, I'll be replacing them. My advice: don't buy.
Bought these for my Audi A5 cabriolet. Would never buy them again. They made my car vibrate very much, i tried to re-balance several times with no success. Even renovated my rims and still vibration. Gave up and bought new Bridgestones, the car stopped vibrate emediatly !!!!. Egg-Shell problems with these tires are a fact.
I'll keep it brief. Coming from Maxxis Z3 these tyres are day and night difference on the road esp in wet conditions. One thing is for sure these tyres love high tyre pressures. So if you have a 3400 lb car be sure to run around 35psi, i was at 32 psi and I tell u the difference between 35 and 32 was night and day (subaru). I'll certainly buy again, and I recommend these tyres as a nice budget grippy tire.
i have bought these tyres for years and found the price coupled to overall performance is excellent, the only negative i have found is that when the tyers get to about 80% worn ,they feel a tad hard on the ride, but this again informs me through the steering feed back that new ones will be needed soon, dry and wet driving is excellent and fuel economy exceeds fords expected mpg,i feel very safe with these tyers so i will not change brand,
