Auto Bild Impressed with Hankook Tyre Test Winner

Hankook’s Optimo 4S was named the champion of Auto Bild’s major All-Season Tyre Test, with testers noting the tyre’s “absolutely impressive all-round talent.” The all-weather specialist was named the overall winner, having taken first place in five individual categories, and won the label of “Exemplary” over the rest of the competition. Like last year, the Auto Bild editorial desk confirmed that the Optimo 4S delivers peak performance in categories including braking, traction on wet surfaces and hydroplaning. The tyre also received special praise for having the lowest rolling resistance in the test, beating all of its competitors. The company was keen to stress this aspect of the test most in its press release after the award, saying that, in the vehicle segment tested – exemplified by the Ford Fiesta –fitment of its tyres could lead to average savings of more than 50 litres of fuel and 120 kg of CO2 over the life of the tyre.

Auto Bild compared nine all-season tyres currently marketed in the 175/65 R 14 size on a Ford Fiesta. Whether on snow or on wet or dry surfaces, the Optimo 4S garnered top ratings. The all-weather tyre from Hankook was also the hands-down winner in the ultimate safety challenge – braking on a wet surface. Overall performance on a dry surface, which in the past was always a major deficiency in all-season tyres, was another category in which Auto Bild awarded the Hankook Optimo 4S top marks, unchallenged by the competition.

In addition, with the Optimo 4S, Hankook Tire says that it is currently the only tyre manufacturer worldwide to carry a product that is authorised to bear the Blue Angel for environmentally friendly road use. The German government’s well-known official mark of approval tells consumers which product in a specific class is the most environmentally friendly while at the same time maintaining the highest quality. For more than 30 years now, the Blue Angel has been awarded by the Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung e.V. (RAL) on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt, UBA) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit, BMU). The criteria for the award include not only good noise and rolling resistance figures, but also excellent wet braking and hydroplaning performance and low tyre weight.

“A modern high-performance all-season tyre like the Hankook Optimo 4S, with its advanced materials and production technology, is well balanced enough that in some cases it can even represent a true alternative to regularly changing summer and winter tyres,” says Jin-Wook Choi, executive vice president and European head of Hankook Tire, commenting on the independent distinction granted by Auto Bild. “In addition, the test results show that safety and economic efficiency can be combined with excellent results in modern tyres. We are delighted at the outstanding outcome of the test, and we will be launching further top products in all segments in the future as well.”