K137A VENTUS EVO SUV

<p>Grip and feedback is excellent, wear is less than I expected and the noise level and rolling resistance is low as promised and what I bought them for. Downsides: They are not great but not bad either on aquaplanning and they can be a bit unsure of themselves on very bad surfaces.</p>

<p>One year and approx. 10.000 miles later, the Hankooks are still unbeleivable. Mega grip in wet and dry conditions still much better then the Michelin's, in the winter I have use other tyres. Comfort wise, noise is still lesser then the OEM Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, the ride is not as good as the Michelin's but still very good, as far a 18" 40 series tyr can be comfortable.
The wear is as far as it looks until now better then the Michelin's too.</p>

<p>I had previously had Michelin Pilot Sport 3 S (BMW Star marked). Wanted to switch away from Runflat tires. Compared to them, definetly more comfortable, quieter and have better grip. The steering response is worse than the PS3S-s but that's probably due to softer sidewals.</p>

<p>I have replaced Bridgestone Turanza T005A with a set of these for this season. So far, I've driven them for about 3 months...</p><p>From my initial impressions, these tyres have an amazing amount of grip in the dry. I was not unhappy with dry grip of the Turanzas, but these are signficantly better. In the wet, considering they are new and the tread is pretty fresh, they also grip well. Went through 2 situations with a heavy rain and I didn't really have to alter my driving much...</p><p>Regarding efficiency, these are not great compared to the Turanzas... I was able to occasionally get below 5.5 l/100 km with those, which is not happening with these new Hankooks. I'd consider that a tradeoff for the grip (can't have everything). The efficiency is not terrible though, I think my fuel consumption went up by a bit less than 10% (something like 0.4 l / 100km).</p><p>Comfort is fine. They're slightly stiffer than the Bridgestones, but not still acceptable... They seem to also be a bit noisier than the Bridgestones, but that might also be the car getting older...</p><p>Most of my driving happens on motorways and some backroads...</p>

<p>Fitted as replacements for the factory Toyo Proxes R51A (215/45R18) after 5 years and 52,000km. I could only find the Hankooks in 225/45R18, which is a mild plus-size on the standard rim and has caused zero issues.</p><p>Price first, because it's the strangest part. These were around 40% cheaper than replacing like for like with Toyo, Kumho and other mid-range brands. For context, Winrun, an actual budget brand, was only $30 a tyre cheaper. A current generation premium tyre at borderline budget pricing is an absolute steal, and it seems the Hankook badge just isn't strong enough in Australia to command what the product deserves. Long may that continue.</p><p>The difference from the Toyos was obvious on the first drive. Everything improved at once: comfort, noise, dry grip, and especially wet grip. The Toyos were honestly always dangerous in the wet despite still having 6mm of tread, sliding and slipping on a car with modest power. The Hankooks are planted in conditions that used to require real caution. Steering is slightly heavier but far more communicative, and the ride settles over bumps in one motion instead of jiggling.</p><p>What impresses most is the breadth. It has the grip and precision to suit a sports oriented car but rides and sounds along like a touring tyre. I run the previous Ventus S1 evo3 on my Volvo SUV and rate them highly, and these are a clear step better again.</p><p>No hesitation recommending these for anything from a family hatch to something much quicker. At Australian pricing they might be the best value tyre on the market right now.</p>