This is not really a road review. I bought these tyres to use on a road going GTi type car after the Tyre Reviews assessment that they had great wear life compared to other tyres when used on track. The car is used daily for "normal" car stuff, but does get occasional use on track because I am involved in running track events, so I wanted a tyre that I could drive around daily, then go to track, do the occasional 5 or 6 laps, and drive home again, without stress.
Road driving, you can feel they have a stiff carcase and so you pick up far more of the high frequency bumps than some other tyres. In normal, sensible, road driving they are not deficient in anything that is going to scare you. As I drive on a lot of B roads to go to work I was always aware that in wet conditions, the stiff carcase is not communicating to you about the limits as much as some would. On a wider road this may be less of a concern. It is not a tyre I would chose to run through the winter, because there are better UHP options for that, but could if required. I never felt close to death!
On a dry track however, I thought they were very good. They do need a bit of heat, particularly the rear on a FWD car, which can give some hilarious oversteer if you try too hard too quickly. With some heat however, dry grip was impressively good and in my view would lose nothing of note to any of the budget road going semi slick tyres like the NS-2R in the same sort of driving, and likely offer more road performance on the way home. Heat management also seemed good, but track driving length would have never been more than 15 minutes at most. While more focused track tyres like Direzza or AO52 would offer more ultimate grip, on a standard road car, the extra grip giving extra stress on suspension, is not required. I can't comment on wet track driving because those circumstances never occurred, but I while potentially not the best option for the wet, I cannot see them being any worse than any of the dedicated or occasional track tyres.
As these were on a second set of rims, they did not get a great deal of road use because the other choice was Cont SportContact 7, which I prefer as a road tyre as they are more comfortable and have, in my view, better general all round performance. However the Conti, while capable of putting in a very respectable lap, will suffer from heat build up and degradation far quicker than the Goodyear. Driving three to 4 lap, repetitive stints, at a charity passenger ride track event at Croft circuit saw the tyre able to generate enough consistent grip to burn the paint off the cars standard brake calipers (not standard brake pads) without the tyre going off. The impressive part was wear rate was very good with no blistering, chunking or rapid wear.
I have now "retired" these tyres as they are three years old. Being on a second set of rims, but preferring the Conti for most things, they were not getting used. When they did get used, first time in about 12 months, at Donington in July, I did think they were understeery and past their best, particularly in Redgate, even though there was 3mm tread left.
So, for me, I prefer the Conti, but, were I faced with a choice of new tyres to have to use on a dry track event with repetitive lapping, it would be the Goodyear and if not the out right fastest of those two tyres, it would be very close, but it would definitely be the most consistent and longest lasting by quite a way.
Best Tyres for the Hyundai I20N
Hyundai I20N drivers have left 24 tyre reviews on Tyre Reviews, covering 132,943 miles of real world driving. Every tyre they rated is ranked below, so you can see what actually works on this car.
- 24owner reviews
- 132,943 milescovered on them
- 14different tyres rated
- 75%average tyre score
The quick answer
| Season | Owners' pick | Owner rating | Our category test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | Pirelli P Zero PZ4 9 Current version: Pirelli P Zero PZ5 | 69% from 8 reviews | Best Summer Tyres |
Highest weighted owner score from Hyundai I20N drivers. Full rankings and the evidence behind them below.
The best rated tyres for the Hyundai I20N
Rated only by drivers of this car. Each tyre needs at least 3 reviews from the Hyundai I20N to be ranked; the order weights a tyre's score by how many reviews back it, so one glowing review cannot top a table.
Summer tyres
The highest rated tyre in the Summer category for the Hyundai I20N is the Pirelli P Zero PZ4 - 69% from 8 owner reviews across 45,010 miles. The current tyre in that line is now the Pirelli P Zero PZ5.
| # | Tyre | Owner rating | Reviews | Distance reviewed | TR Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
69% | 8 | 45,010 miles | 9 |
| 2 |
|
61% | 3 | 27,508 miles | 8.8 |
Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best Summer Tyres →
TR Score is the tyre's overall Tyre Reviews rating out of 10, built from independent test results and every owner review of that tyre - not just the reviews from this car. The owner rating column is this car only.
The best rated tyres that fit the Hyundai I20N
The rankings above can only speak for tyres a Hyundai I20N driver has already reviewed. These are the highest rated tyres we hold that are actually manufactured in the sizes these drivers run - 215/40 R18, 225/40 R18 and 225/45 R18 - whether or not anyone here has fitted them yet. They are ranked on the TR Score, which is built from independent test results and every owner review of that tyre.
Summer tyres
Our highest rated tyre in the Summer category, in this car's sizes, is the Continental SportContact 7, at 9.7 out of 10.
| # | Tyre | TR Score | Made in | Hyundai I20N reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
9.7 | All your sizes | Be the first → |
| 2 |
|
9.7 | 225/40 R18, 225/45 R18 | Be the first → |
| 3 |
|
9.5 | All your sizes | Be the first → |
| 4 |
|
9.5 | 225/40 R18, 225/45 R18 | Be the first → |
| 5 |
|
9.4 | All your sizes | Be the first → |
| 6 |
|
9.4 | All your sizes | 1 |
Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best Summer Tyres →
Winter tyres
No Hyundai I20N driver has reviewed a tyre in the Winter category yet. Of the ones made in this car's sizes, the Hankook Winter I*cept Evo 4 is our highest rated, at 9.6 out of 10.
| # | Tyre | TR Score | Made in | Hyundai I20N reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
9.6 | All your sizes | Be the first → |
| 2 |
|
9.5 | All your sizes | Be the first → |
| 3 |
|
9.5 | All your sizes | Be the first → |
| 4 |
|
9.4 | All your sizes | Be the first → |
| 5 |
|
9.4 | 225/40 R18, 225/45 R18 | Be the first → |
| 6 |
|
9.4 | 225/40 R18, 225/45 R18 | Be the first → |
Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best Winter Tyres → Test winner: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3
All Season tyres
No Hyundai I20N driver has reviewed a tyre in the All Season category yet. Of the ones made in this car's sizes, the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 is our highest rated, at 9.6 out of 10.
| # | Tyre | TR Score | Made in | Hyundai I20N reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
9.6 | 225/40 R18, 225/45 R18 | Be the first → |
| 2 |
|
9.6 | 215/40 R18, 225/40 R18 | 1 |
| 3 |
|
9.5 | All your sizes | Be the first → |
| 4 |
|
9.5 | 225/40 R18, 225/45 R18 | Be the first → |
| 5 |
|
9.5 | 225/40 R18, 225/45 R18 | Be the first → |
| 6 |
|
9.5 | 225/40 R18 | Be the first → |
Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best All Season Tyres → Test winner: Goodyear Vector All Season 4
Fitment comes from each tyre's manufactured size list, and the sizes are the ones drivers reported when they reviewed. Check the size, load index and speed rating on your own doorplate before buying - a size a previous owner ran is not always the size your car left the factory on.
Every tyre reviewed on the Hyundai I20N
The complete record, including discontinued tyres and tyres with too few reviews to rank, ordered by the amount of evidence. A further 11 tyres have a single review each; they count toward the totals but are not listed.
| Tyre | Season | Owner rating | Reviews | Distance reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pirelli P Zero PZ4 Replaced by Pirelli P Zero PZ5 | Summer | 69% | 8 | 45,010 miles |
| Pirelli P Zero Replaced by Pirelli P Zero PZ5 | Summer | 61% | 3 | 27,508 miles |
| Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport | Summer | 78% | 2 | 8,000 miles |
Tyre sizes Hyundai I20N drivers run
The sizes fitted in the reviews on this page. Each one links to the top rated tyres in that size, across every car.
What Hyundai I20N drivers say
The most recent owner reviews from this car, in their own words.
This tyre has a more compliant side wall than the pirellis which helps with bad roads and potholes . They offer substantially more wet weather grip for the uk rain, and you will find they last a hell of a lot longer than the OED fitted pirellis They may cost a little more but definitely money very well spent, they are very responsive and sure footed tyres for all year round use.
TL;DR: It was, I’m 95% satisfied with the performance
Dry: Well, it’s an all season on a sporty car, and i didn’t drive it in the summer heat, so not much to talk about. The grip is good, it doesn’t soften up too much in highway drive in ~15C (the warmest it seen), the handling isn’t too fun, but communicative. The comfort is good (way better than the OE PZ4 ofc), but it is quite loud @70/140kph (some sort of resonance, it was bad in the first 500km, then got better). It’s slightly better than a full winter, and that was my goal.
Wet: My point with the tire choice was to handle cold (below 5C) wet, and it nailed it. It has absolutely no grip issues in cold wet, even in the usual salted up/slushy 0C winter roads, or deeper water, it feel just like driving in a summer rain. This comes with the compromise, that the wet grip doesn’t get better with warmer (10-15C) temps, it was weird at first, but i guess that’s a design choice, and i like it.
Snow: Now, that we finally got proper winter, i can say that in fresh or slightly packed snow, these feel just like real winter tires, the grip is good, the balance was perfect (even playful). However, as we move from fresh snow to more packed/icy snow or full ice, the grip dropped drastically (it does with any tyre, but less with full winters). It was ok-ish for just getting from A to B, but you really felt the lack of sipes.
Wear/fuel use: I didn’t drive too much on them yet, but they seem to handle the agressive suspension/LSD/torque of the I20N well, there is no significant wear (the OE Pirellis died way quicker lol). The fuel use is hard to tell, it dropped a bit vs PZ4s, but i think the new PS5 set going up in spring well be even better.
As conclusion, i love the tires, if i drove in the mountains i’d need real winters, but currently they perfectly fit my sporty-ish mild winter tire needs (CC3S wasn’t yet on the market, and tbh I’m slightly concerned about the low starting tread depth of them). So, defo buy again, or maybe try something else for curiosity, oor 4S3? :D
They perform very well in dry conditions and the wear is very even despite not having a casing with a very hard sidewall.
In wet conditions, they perform perfectly under normal driving conditions. I haven't had any problems with aquaplaning in puddles on the motorway, nor any close calls.
The only drawbacks I see are its price, above all, and the fact that if you push the tire hard during sporty driving, its sidewall gives way even before it starts to lose grip. However, I'm aware that this tire isn't designed to perform like a UHP, so I see it as ideal for someone who drives a lot of miles and isn't concerned about price.
The front tyres lasted approximately 4500 miles. Not the best but they are classed as a soft compound. Replaced like for like. They have just released the PZ5.
That's a pitty because the tyre has a very sporty and direct feeling and in terms of dry lateral grip, was on par with the OEM tyre (once warmed)
Unexpectedly, wear was not an issue to this car .
Now on to the wear... just over 3000 miles and the fronts are down to about 3-4mm already. In contrast I've had Michelin CCs on my last two cars (a 130bhp Duster and a 200bhp Astra) that both looked much better with 15-20k miles on them. I know the i20N has 200bhp with an LSD but I've not been driving super hard yet as I get used to the car and that's also at least 50% motorway miles. I could almost understand that wear rate if they were phenomenal tyres but they just aren't so no way I'm buying them again to replace the OEMs and am already looking for new tyres.
Drive a Hyundai I20N?
Review your tyres and help the next owner choose. It takes about five minutes, and every review on this page came from a driver who took them.
Where this data comes from
Every rating on this page was submitted by a driver through the review form on this site, naming the car, the tyre, the size and the distance covered. Reviews are checked by hand before publication, and the page rebuilds automatically as new ones arrive.
About the TR Score
The Tyre Reviews Score rates each tyre out of 10 using independent test results and the full body of owner reviews, so you can check a car-specific ranking against the wider evidence.
Who does the testing
Every test published as a Tyre Reviews test is run by Jonathan Benson, who has been testing tyres independently since 2007.

