Hankook Kinergy 4S2 review
The Hankook coped well in most of our tests
- Score: 99.1%
- Rating: 4th
- Price: £99
Hankook’s two-time winner remains a strong contender with a set of attributes that are well balanced for the UK climate, because it’s biased slightly towards wet and dry. In the snow it was third in braking, fifth in traction and fourth around the handling track where it was described as good but not the best; mostly it had good predictability, but the back end would step out with little warning.
It was impressive lapping the wet handling circuit even though it was only fifth fastest, feeling really strong with positive steering, good traction, good cornering grip and solid, dependable stability. All that was missing was the lap time. It was first around the wet circle and fourth in wet braking, less than a half metre behind the best, and second and third in the deep-water aquaplaning tests – a strong wet performance.
On paper it’s one of the noisier tyres, but all seven were tightly bunched, while it was mid-ranked for economy. Completing an impressive performance, it was third in dry braking and fastest in dry handling tests, where it was neat, poised and predictable and so easy to exploit. It may have been surpassed by some newer designs now, but the Hankook still offers strong performance, particularly in the wet and dry, which suits the typical UK winter climate.
We say:
“Demoted by newer designs but still delivers strongly for the UK climate”
Blackcircles.com says:
“Our customers are happy with the tyre’s performance in wet and dry conditions”
| Hankook Kinergy 4S2 | Score | Place |
| Snow braking | 98.7% | 3rd |
| Snow traction | 96.6% | 5th |
| Snow handling | 99.1% | 4th |
| Straight aquaplaning | 96.8% | 3rd |
| Curved aquaplaning | 98.8% | 2nd |
| Wet braking | 98.6% | 4th |
| Wet handling | 98.2% | 5th |
| Wet circle | 100% | 1st |
| Dry braking | 93.2% | 3rd |
| Dry handling | 100% | 1st |
| Cabin noise | 98.4% | >6th |
| Rolling resistance | 91.9% | 4th |
