Hankook Tire’s Winter i*cept evo 3 named test winner

- Hankook's UHP winter tread named test winner among a dozen brand-name tires in Auto Bild Sportscars
- Annual results of independent tire tests confirm Hankook Tire as a great choice for consumers
- Offers aquaplaning resistance, dynamic handling and short braking distances on snowy and wet roads

Neu-Isenburg, Germany, October 28, 2021 – Global leading tire company Hankook Tire was once again able to demonstrate the quality and performance of its products across numerous independent tests covering winter and all-season tires.

In this year’s winter tire test in Auto Bild Sportscars, the sports car branch of Europe’s largest automobile magazine Auto Bild, Hankook Tire was able win the test with its ultra-high performance winter tire i*cept evo 3. Auto Bild Allrad, the 4x4 offshoot of Auto Bild, also chose a Hankook product as the test winner – the Kinergy 4S 2 X all-season tire.

“These test victories, as well as other excellent independent test results, show that we as a premium manufacturer are able to provide consumers in a wide range of segments with respective high-performing products that can always be relied on, even in difficult weather conditions,” says Sanghoon Lee, President of Hankook Tire Europe.

As an all-weather SUV tire, the Kinergy 4S 2 X is a true all-rounder, combining specific summer and winter tire characteristics without causing temperature-related drops in performance. At the same time, it offers high reliability in wet, dry and snowy conditions. The editors of the German car magazine Auto Bild Allrad have named the Hankook Kinergy 4S 2 X as this year’s winner of their all-season tire test: “It really does exist! The one tire that keeps you safe in all weather conditions. The editorial team concluded that the test winner made by Hankook is “an exemplary compromise” (10/2021).

Hankook's ultra-high performance tread, the Winter i*cept evo 3, is specifically designed for vehicles ranging from upper mid-size cars to sports cars and luxury sedans, and is tailored to winter road conditions in Central and Western Europe. The directional design not only provides excellent and safe grip in wet and snowy conditions, but also helps to effectively reduce the risk of aquaplaning, among other things. Auto Bild Sportscars can also confirm this: “Excellent performance on snowy and wet roads, good margin of safety when aquaplaning, dynamic handling and short braking distances on snowy and wet roads” (11/2021). All this ensured test victory in the magazine’s winter tire test this year.

“Short braking distances on dry roads, very good performance across all wet tests including the aquaplaning hazard test, the best subjective handling during a lap in wet conditions, and very good grip across all snow tests.” The magazine “tire reviews” (27.09.2021) attested all this, putting the Hankook tread on the podium in its test as well.

The SUV version, the Winter i*cept evo 3 X, was also convincing in Auto Bild Allrad: Editors noted the “high performance potential in all weather conditions, short snow and wet braking distances” as well as “stable wet and dry handling” and “good performance at a fair price.” (11/2021). The Winter i*cept RS 2, Hankook’s tread for the small car to compact class category, which has already won numerous awards since its market launch, impressed testers at Auto Bild thanks to its good performance in snowy and wet conditions. They specifically referred to the tire’s “very good aquaplaning properties” and “short wet braking distances.” (40/2021).