Germans Give Hankook Tyres Thumbs Up

Hankook Tyres has upset expectations by beating premium European brands to win several tyre tests in Europe.

Prestigious magazine Auto Motor Und Sport (AMS) tested 10 brands of Ultra-High Performance (UHP) tyres fitted to a Mercedes-Benz E-Class and ranked Hankook's Ventus S1 evo first overall, calling it "the new benchmark in this tyre class."

In what AMS described as a "gala performance", the Ventus S1 Evo was rated best in more than half of the test criteria. It was particularly commended for its "very good driving characteristics in both wet and dry."

It is the second time Hankook has topped the magazine's rankings. In 2008 the Ventus Prime was described by AMS as a "sensation" when it topped a test of luxury car tyres.

The latest success follows a recent recommendation of Hankook by the German automobile club ADAC and its European test partners in their influential summer tyre test, which is read by more than 18 million people.

As one of only two out of 12 tyres recommended by the ADAC, the Ventus S1 evo was commended for its high mileage and low fuel consumption.

In addition, Ventus S1 evo was one of only two tyres rated as "very good" by specialist VW and Audi magazine Gute Fahrt when tested on a VW Golf.

The Hankook tyre out-performed 10 competitors in wet braking. Gute Fahrt also gave the Ventus S1 evo its highest recommendation for noise, comfort and wet and dry handling.

Hankook says the results vindicate its investment in developing tyres for the demands of the European market.

"Western Europe has probably the most demanding tyre consumers in the world," said the Executive Vice President of Hankook Europe, Jin-Wook Choi.

"It is because of this that we have built one of the most modern tyre factories in the world in Hungary and established an R&D centre with over 40 engineers in Germany."

Meanwhile, Hankook's RA14 radial for car-derived delivery vans and people-movers has won a tyre test conducted by Europe's biggest motorhome magazine, Promobil.

Tested on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, the Hankook was best in the wet and rated highly in other criteria, including rolling resistance.

Hankook's Ventus S1 evo and RA14 radial are now available in Australia.