Successful balancing act: Auto Bild EV tyre mini test

Full electrics accounted for 32.9 per cent of all UK new car registrations last year, and their growing popularity is accompanied by efforts to maximise range between charges. Selecting tyres with minimal rolling resistance helps here but can leave tyre developers – and buyers – facing the well-known ‘magic triangle’ dilemma: Can energy efficiency be optimised without compromising safety characteristics? This question lies at the heart of the latest Auto Bild mini tyre test.

The German motoring magazine compared a specialist EV tyre, the recently launched Hankook iON evo, with two Michelin tyres: A rolling resistance-optimised, original equipment Pilot Sport 3 as well as a sport-oriented Pilot Sport 5. Auto Bild tested the 245/45 R19 102Y tyres in eight disciplines, five related to safety in wet and dry conditions and three covering comfort and energy efficiency.

Answering the safety/efficiency trade off question, Auto Bild tyre testers Dierk Möller and Henning Klipp state that with the Hankook iON evo, drivers do “not have to choose between safety/driving pleasure on the one hand and range/environment on the other.” The testers posit that Hankook has “successfully managed” the “balancing act between the very different requirements.” Whether or not other tyre managers have gotten to grips with this issue will be revealed in Auto Bild’s next major EV tyre test, they add.

1st place – rated ‘very good’: Hankook iON evo

+ Exemplary low rolling resistance, convincing driving dynamics on wet & dry roads, short braking distances, good driving comfort, low external noise.
– Average aquaplaning reserves.

2nd place – rated ‘good’: Michelin Pilot Sport 5

+ Convincing driving dynamics with sensitive steering and short braking distances on dry roads, harmoniously safe handling on wet roads.
– Average rolling resistance, elevated external noise.

3rd place – rated ‘satisfactory’: Michelin PS3 OE tyre

+ Very good aquaplaning safety reserves, decent handling on wet & dry roads.
– Extended wet & dry braking distances, average rolling resistance, limited ride comfort.

Auto Bild reports that Hankook Tire supported its ‘Tyre Check’ test. Commenting on the result, Klaus Krause, head of the tyre maker’s Europe Technical Centre, said: “The Hankook iON is our tailor-made answer to the rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles and the associated need for suitable tyres. The very good result in the Auto Bild test proves that with our products we offer drivers of electric vehicles a great advantage over conventional tyres.”