The Kumho Ecsta KU39 is a mid-range ultra high performance summer tyre whose owners generally like its grip, quietness, comfort and value. Tests are less favourable on steering and wear, with inconsistent braking and wet-road results.
The Kumho Ecsta KU39 has a stronger owner following than its 11-test record suggests. Dry and wet grip draw substantially more owner praise than criticism, alongside quiet running, comfort and value. Some of that everyday appeal is supported by tests, particularly comfort and the noise, aquaplaning and value praise in Auto Bild’s 2014 assessment. Overall test finishes were nevertheless usually in the lower half.
Steering is a clear disagreement: owners generally like the feedback, whereas testers repeatedly found slow or dull responses. Testers also criticised mileage, while owner wear reports lean positive but include a meaningful minority of complaints. Braking and wet grip vary between tests, with Auto Bild’s short dry stops in 2014 unusual beside its long stops in 2012, and opposing wet verdicts in EVO’s two 2012 sizes. Most reviews lack a lifecycle stage, so neither typical mileage nor consistent retained grip is established. Its comfort and value case is more secure than precise steering or uniformly strong test performance.
The quick answer
Owners say79%from 125 owner reviews78% would buy againRead the reviews
Strengths & weaknessesRide comfortGenerally quiet runningSlow or dull steering in testsVariable tread lifeSummarised 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 October 2025.
Based on test and owner data, the Kumho Ecsta KU39 is expected to last around 25,714 miles (41,383 km).
What do owners say about the Kumho Ecsta KU39?
Across 125 owner ratings the Kumho Ecsta KU39 averages 79%. Owners rate Dry Grip highest at 8.6 out of 10 and Wear lowest at 7.3. 39 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 80% of owners score it 70% or better.
What is the Kumho Ecsta KU39's EU tyre label rating?
Across its range, the Kumho Ecsta KU39 most commonly carries EU label ratings of D for fuel efficiency, C for wet grip and 73 dB for noise.
How comfortable and quiet are the Kumho Ecsta KU39?
Owners rate the Kumho Ecsta KU39 8.1 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 115 reviews.
How well do the Kumho Ecsta KU39 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Kumho Ecsta KU39 7.3 out of 10 for wear across 115 reviews. 39 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 6,000 miles.
More questions about the Kumho Ecsta KU39(5)
Would owners buy the Kumho Ecsta KU39 again?
78% of owners say they would buy the Kumho Ecsta KU39 again, based on the 122 owner reviews that answered the question. 47% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
What do owners say about the Kumho Ecsta KU39's dry grip?
Of the 114 owner reviews analysed for the Kumho Ecsta KU39, 67 mention dry grip: 63 praise it (strong dry grip) and 4 criticise it (limited dry grip). One owner wrote: "Excellent dry grip for the price". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Kumho Ecsta KU39's wet grip?
Of the 114 owner reviews analysed for the Kumho Ecsta KU39, 55 mention wet grip: 47 praise it (confident wet grip) and 8 criticise it (weak wet grip). One owner wrote: "grip really well in the wet". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Kumho Ecsta KU39's road noise?
Of the 114 owner reviews analysed for the Kumho Ecsta KU39, 48 mention road noise: 39 praise it (quiet) and 9 criticise it (noisy). One owner wrote: "extremly well balanced and quite factor, they are silent and absolutley perfeclty manufactured". Read those reviews
What sizes does the Kumho Ecsta KU39 come in?
The Kumho Ecsta KU39 is available in 35 sizes, ranging from 205-275/30-55 R16-20.
The Kumho Ecsta KU39 receives substantially more praise than criticism for dry and wet grip, quiet running, comfort and value. Handling and steering feedback are also generally liked, although they attract fewer comments than grip. Tread life draws more favourable than unfavourable reports, with some mid-life and end-of-life accounts supporting good service, but around one in ten reviews raise wear concerns. Most accounts do not identify a stage of use, so they cannot establish a typical lifespan or consistent grip retention. Repeat reviews give varied experiences, and changes in scores alone do not show a common deterioration pattern.
What owners mention most counted across 114 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 125 ratings
Owner score79%
Dry Grip86%
Comfort81%
Road Feedback80%
Wet Grip78%
Handling76%
Wear73%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 99%
“I bought this tyres because of the reviews I read comparing to the price. The previous were Continental Contact 5 which costed double price at the time. Exceptional handling in dry and almost the same in wet. It will...”
“My old car was fitted with Kumho tyres when I brought it secondhand. I had never heard of them before. When They wore out I replaced them with Pirelli Allroad tyres designed for the car. These wore out very quickly less...”
“I have been researching for an all round tyre for everyday driving on my 150bhp VW Golf GTI. So far I have used Dunlop SP01, Dunlop fast response and continentals. The Dunlop's have driven well, low noise and good grip...”
I've had these KU39 tyres on the rear of my BMW 520d touring for the last 14 months. Unfortunately 1 tyre blew out through the side wall whilst towing a caravan, however I blame it on the pot holes and state of the roads. The other rear tyre has just reached its end of life at 20,500 miles, and whilst I could drive another 2000-3000 miles the winter is approaching and its better to get some extra depth of tread.
This is the 3rd set of Kumho's I've had on my BMW and I do enjoy them. They are quite, comfortable and grippy both wet and dry. The last set I had lasted 23,000 miles, so these ones are a little less. Generally they wear similar to Hankook tyres but are cheaper, although I've found I can get longer wear out of Contiental tyres, but they are not as comfortable as the Kumho's.
I bought this tyres because of the reviews I read comparing to the price. The previous were Continental Contact 5 which costed double price at the time.
Exceptional handling in dry and almost the same in wet. It will not wear visibly but I think it starts to show its age in 4 maybe 5 years!
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
Not bad in the dry do tend to understeer if fast cornering with higher and lower psi, I’ve read some reviews about these in the wet and I find them bad in the wet I wouldn’t have the same confidence in them as I would in the dry ( summer tyres ) I only have the car a few months but I’ll try a different set when the time comes and then compare
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Overall the tyres are nice. They are good value for money, and feel safe, even if you are driving them a bit harsher, if you know how to control the slip angle of the tyres, in spirited driving.
Now, the sidewall is soft, so soft that I had to inflate the tyre over the recommended pressure by 2 PSI. This was to get rid of understeer in the dry. Amazingly enough, the understeer is most noticable when doing slow corners if the tyres are under inflated.
On the motorways, the tyres have never failed me or made me lose trust, not even once. On the country roads however... Acquaplaning can be an issue if it is a very wet day, and you are driving conservatively. It was for me at least.
For me, this tyre shines on the motorway. The noise is low, the comfort is high. Even in a low profile such as the one in my car.
Overall, for the price of tyres, they are not bad. I would get them again if they were on a promotion. I would recommend.
Excellent dry grip for the price. Wet grip is average, not dangerous but will spin up when you put your foot down. Sidewalls are very hard so they are a bit noisey and harsh.
Overall a good tyre for the price
I have bought these tyres to the rear wheels for my 2007 BMW X3 3.0sd (twin turbo 286 HP, 6 automatic gearbox, four wheel drive version) in May 2017. Now, the time is October 2019 and the tyres have been used for 22000 miles since new in 3 summer seasons (mostly from April to November).
GRIP: Dry Grip: Very good overall, but it is not excellent like a Michelin Pilot Sport or Continental Sport Contact.
Wet Grip: Very good overall.
Offroad usage: Satisfactory. I have even used them on bushy, grassy and muddy offroads. Only once I had a risk of staying (bushy and muddy conditions with slight uphill were together), but my X3's electronic systems have helped to go inch by inch! Else they were very good in handling and traction.
BRAKING: Dry and wet : Very safe.
Offroad : Safe enough.
WEAR: Expected life of the tyres are around 30000 miles according to current wear figures. Also, tyres are very durable against unusual knocks created by potholes and bumps (ps: I have used 42-45 psi tyre pressure, recommended tyre pressure of the BMW is 42psi for maximum loaded car, once a month, I check the tyre pressures, and approximately 3 psi loss per month could be faced)
DRIVING STYLE: 80% 50MPH average speed drive (60 mph in German and Austrian Highways!). 1% offroad usage. Around 6000 kms, Ukrainian roads and offroads have been used with extreme potholes, bumps. (My left front suspension has been broken because of Ukrainian roads!)
BUY AGAIN: Yes. They are very good in performance/price measure.
Premium tyres at mid range prices. Pleasantly surprised how good these tyres are, replacing a set of Continental EcoContacts. Handles very well in the dry, turn in is much sharper than the Contis, making the vehicle much more nimble, yet comfort and noise is outstanding, absorbs bumps very well considering these are 45 profile ultra performance tyres, with very little road roar compared with the Contis, it transformed the whole character of the car. Wear rate should be good at 280. Sporty looking tread pattern, with squared off shoulders. Haven't had much chance to test them properly in the wet yet. I would definitely buy these again.
Seem to be really good tyres- had gt radial sport active fitted previously which were absolutely awful in the wet and changed because these were so bad in the wet. The kuhmo are so much better and grip really well in the wet and dry grip is superb- the price is really competative about £110 a tyre compared to £160 ish for premium tyres. Wear seems fine so far to as some reviews say they wear really quickly. Only slight negative is they do seem a bit noisy on certain road surfaces. For the price they are a great all round tyre and would have no hesitation about buying them again
Fitted these to replace the ageing Cinturato P6 tyres that were on my Lancer when I bought it. The old tyres were lacking grip, starting to get noisy and had premature tyre squeal when driving hard.
Fitted 4x KU39 from Tempe Tyres in Sydney.
Upsized from 215/45/R18 to 225/45/R18 on the stock 7.5in.
Tyres were fantastic. Loads more grip right off the bat. Drove the car home after the tyres were fitted on the freeway for 2 hours in the pounding rain. No issues.
Nice stiff sidewall so no feeling of washiness or roll. Loads of grip wet and dry for what they are and low tyre noise (at least for the 10 months I used them)
Unfortunately the car they were on was written of by a red light runner who T-boned me so only put 15,000kms on the tyres, but they were still going strong after roughly a year.
Will definitely buy again.
Member
Alfa Romeo
225/45 R17
37,500 miles
Mostly Motorways
Average
I am better at speaking in English than writing it. sorry for my bad enlgish but i hope you understand!
Dry grip; 8. Well.... when it is summer the tyres are great! Only when it is below under 7 degrees the tyres want to do a step aside. But... If you drive sportive you never have a unsafe feeling in summer.
Wetgrip; 7. If you drive in the rain with a normal road you have 0% stress about the grip, even in roundabouts or in turns on a 60mile motorway the tyre go's wherever you want to go there is no complains about. However. If there is aquaplanning (i dont know if this word is correct cause i'm dutch and here in the Netherlands you have aquaplanning alot), the Kumho's KU39 struggle's with the water... only option is to slow down the speed or doing two hands on your steering wheel! But if you know this and you seeing alot of water on the road you can lowing your speed for like 10km/h's and there are no problems.
Road Feedback; 9. The Kumho's give you always the feeling what's happening. And that's the reason why i love them.
Handling; 10. When you go with to much speed around the corner most tyres you go in to a slip . These tyres don't!!! In all the 37.5000 miles and my sportive drivenstile i have no unsafe feeling when i realy push hard. When you think; Oh shit mayby i'm late to take the corner. No problem... when you want to take a corner on your right... you go that way you want!
Wear; 10. AWESOME. I have an Alfa Romeo 147 JTD 140hp 340nm and i'm drive normal for like 90% of the time. Only i have my moments like everyone.... and then i realy pushed hard around the corners. Sometimes i leave with wheelspin by the trafficlights, or have slippy tyres when i go hard in a sharp turn.
I driven 37.500 miles (60.000km) on 1 set Kumho's KU39 front tyres!!! That's alot. Only they are now gone, and when they are born like now, you have not much grip but it is cold outside and i think that is normal when the tyres have 1.6mm left.
Comfort; 10; No complains about the comfort the sidewall is not soft but bad roads are no problem for the tyres (or your back)
Buy Again; 6. Well it is very hard to find tyres who are 100% what you want IMO. But i tink if you looking for a cheap tyre that makes you happy in all conditions buy the Kumho for sure. If you live in a country where it rains all day mayby you have to look at another tyre like the Uniroyal rainsport 3 (only with aquaplanning you have to pay attention on the road), but if you live in Italy, Kroatië or another warm country the Kumho's ku39 are perfect for you!!!
I give this time the change to Michelin Pilot Sport 4. They are much expensiver then Kumho's..... but YOLO. You can spend out your money 1 time in you life!
