Very good all round tire

Does not give confidence after 150-170 km / h

Very solid tire, value for money is hard to beat at the moment.
Tire performs very well, especially amazingly on wet roads, despite the 255 width there is no slipping, aquaplaning or spinning tires. I switched straight from Fulda Sport summer tires to this model. Comfort and actually driving behavior are better than its predecessor. I couldn't believe it myself.
At first the tires were extremely loud, so I even considered complaining. I like that the tires simply tend to sawtooth.
Luckily the noise disappeared completely after about 2000km.
In winter the tire behaves like an average winter tire. Not special but not bad either.

Have YOU got experience with the Hankook Kinergy 4S2? Help millions of other tire buyers

Review your Hankook Kinergy 4S2 >

Substituting the Michelin Crossclimate2 previously mounted, the benefits are very clear: less noise, more grip, super balanced, less rolling resistance.
The question marks are now the behavior in snow and ice, and the duration.

Extremely well performing tire in all conditions, if you don't push it too hard (especially when the temperatures are in the 30s). They're a very good fit for my Hybrid Jazz, that I drive in Swiss weather all year long; lots of wet and cold don't make the tires feel unsafe in any circumstance; even snow performance is acceptable. The noise levels are also quite good, and the wear is surprisingly low without much of an ageing effect of the rubber. I am now at 38000 miles and there is still quite a lot of tread available. Considering the price of this tire is at least 30% lower than the premium brands (Bridgestone, Michelin...) and that for my car Pirelli and Continental are not available, I am finding it very hard to buy another tire for my car! Exceptional tire for the price.

Good tires in wet, dry, good in a light snow, cornering. Poor fuel economy, when I used in summer F rated winter tire, they used 0.8-1l less when Hankook C rated tires. I was checking it carefully driving same roads, same conditions, same speed, traffic and etc. Not so sure for the wear yet. One of the best tires in autumn, or rainy spring.

Incredibly surprised for being a four-season tire, which I was always kind of against, but since they were on the car when I got it and were still pretty good (4y/o but plenty of tread, the car wasn't driven much in that period) I decided to keep them and test them. I recently started working in the testing dept. of a big tire brand in Italy so that was a good chance to acknowledge me more to my job.
I 10 months of ownership I drove 15.000 km in my '99 BMW E39 528i on the Hankook's and the general feedback of the tire-car package is very positive. I already knew the E39, having had another one right before this one, so I knew the level of comfort this car can bring when driven in its favourite habitat: the highway. Well, the Kinergy 4S2 just enhanced this, it's like the cherry on top. I normally drive at 2.3 bar (33 psi - the highest pressure allowed) and my usage is 90% highway, 10% flowy, medium-fast road, so the perfect environment for the car. On the highway, the sound coming from the tire, if not completely absent, can be considered almost nonexistent when mixed with some wind noise and the good deadening equipment of the car (radio turned off). Rolling resistance is also pretty low, allowing me a 12km/l (yes, not crazy low but it's a 1500 kg car with a pretty big engine). Despite riding on the highest pressure allowed, the tire seems to absorb any imperfection of the road in a very gentle way, thanks to it's high, soft sidewall. At 33 psi you can still see a pronounced curvature on the wall. Cornering on mildly fast roads is happily taken by the tire, giving a very good balanced behaviour, not oversteery, not understeery, just steady. Very fun.
In June I took the car to the Nurburgring and drove 4 laps, let's say as spirited as I could with traction controll off.
I lowered the pressure to 1.6 bar (23 psi). It was maybe a little too low for the weight of the car. Here is where you could really see and feel the softness of the sidewall: it bended lots on the tighter corners, the car was rolling.. but it stayed. Again, no oversteer if not asked, and no understeer at all. You felt the body rolling, but as soon as it reached the maximum, after that fraction of a second, it stayed there and let the tires do the job, clean and precise in turning the car. Always keep in mind we're talking 4-season tires, obviously.
I still never got to drive them on snow or ice, and very little in the rain, where I always stay cautious. Only once, it was raining and I was in a tunnel. Towards the end of a pretty long tunnel, to be precise, to both the asphalt and the tires were pretty dry already. On a medium right hander, one you can easily take in 5th gear with slight braking, the car just lost the back. I wasn't racing, but it was night and I was driving back home in the empty road. that's when you go a little over the speed limit, but not "fast", to give you an idea. Really, I was just going with the flow, enjoying some good driving but nothing crazy. If I did't have the controls on, I would've crashed. that was the only time these tires really let me down for a second.
Overall, the feedback is very positive for an all-around tire, I'm happy with it. It's something I wouldn't have personally chosen and I will later switch to 18's and more performance-oriented tires, but I will keep a good memory of the Hankook's. Will probably buy another set of them in 16" as a winter tire as we don't get any more snow here. Hope this was helpful for someone!

Fitted tires based off reviews form this site. They exceeded my expectations, so much so I have also fitted them to my partner car also. Excellent ware (39,000km and still 1mm to ware bar), good dependable wet and dry handling, very good in colder temperature, Great in the snow (the little we get in Ireland)
Would recommend to anybody

Got these for the winter season as I live in a country with mild winters. I was reluctant to get all seasons initially, but after some woeful experiences with the BMW-homologated Pirelli Snowcontrol 3 that came with the car, I figured it probably can't get any worse anyway.
These tires are some of the most decent, uncompromising I've ever had - they do exactly what you expect them to, regardless of conditions. I've driven them up to 210 km/h on the Autobahn and felt just as safe as with summer tires, drove them in snow and felt like I had more grip than the previous Pirelli winters and their performance in the wet is more than fine. They're a bit soft and squealy on the limit, but that's something to be expected of tires that bridge the gap between winter and summer tires. You can still have fun with them if you want to, but I haven't felt unsafe driving with them at any point.
The only other downside would be a certain humming at around 70-90 km/h, akin to what winter tires would do at around the same speed. They're quieter than winters overall, though. Would most likely buy them again, especially considering how good they are in terms of value for money.

For an idea of the climate they're operating in, I live in Dublin, Ireland so plenty of rain and mild temperatures for most of the year with some low temperatures and snow/ice around January/February.

I previously had 205/55R16 4S2s fitted to a mk2 1.4 Focus, and absolutely loved them in all weathers including ice and snow. When it came time to replace the front tires on my Mk3.5 1.5TDCi Focus, I decided to upsize from the 16s that also came on the car to 17x7J wheels all round, as I didn't like the sidewall flex on the 16s.
I went with 225/45R17s rather than Ford's recommended 215/50R17s, as the 215s were much harder to come by and were more expensive. They have absolutely transformed the car compared to the 16" Davanti DX390s that came with it. Even with the slightly wider than recommended fitment, the turn in is almost instant, with very little hesitation. When they begin to let go they do so gradually, without any judder, and they're exceptionally easy to reel back in, wet or dry. They inspire a lot of confidence that when things go wrong, it won't be catastrophic and will guide you back onto line once a bit of speed has bled off.
Compared to the Davantis they're replacing, road noise is much reduced, and even despite the much smaller sidewall, comfort hasn't been affected too negatively. I've noticed much less road noise at all speeds, and the car settles down much more quickly over bumps. There's certainly more road feel through the seat and wheel, but I wouldn't class it as less comfortable since it doesn't tend to wallow the way it did before.
I've also noticed that, due to the stiffer sidewall, it doesn't scrape the deflectors in front of the front wheels over speed ramps anywhere near as easily as it did previously, but this might be more to do with the size change than the tire change.
If things carry on as they are, I fully intend to keep these tires and based off previous experience, I would recommend them to anyone who wants their run-of-the-mill car to perform well in all weathers!

I bought them because I need one set of track tires and one set for normal driving on roads. I didn't want third set of wheels as a winter set of tires.
I am sad. I should buy Bridgestone All Season 6 instead of this tires. I bought it because of the very good price but I am not satisfied with grip in various conditions. Wear is very good. They look like not used. Next time I will definitely go for more premium brands.

I do mostly short city trips, and a few longer 30+ km trips a month, with some 300+ km trips a few times a year.

Best: They are decently responsive, and wear seems very good.

They do "sing" a bit at 100+ km/h, but its nothing major.

They are lacking in snow and slush performance, but my only direct here comparrision are dual motors (AWD) with winter tires vs my SR+ (RWD).

Very sharp slip. Then they let go, they go. It always surprises you, and the TC saved me several times. It does not inspire confidence.

Worst of all: I've never had worse tires in regards to balancing. They get flatspots SO easily, even though they are XL (extra load) rated. I've had them balanced 4 times, where they are perfect on the way back from the shop, but the next day, they will be vibrating again.

Very good tire giving excellent handling on dry roads and confidence on snow.
As new can be a bit noisy on highway speed but this goes after 500km. For the moment vary happy with 4S2.

The best tires for all conditions.

Second review of the tires now into 2 years of ownership.

Just driven back from West Wales during the start of storm Ciaran. Tires are down to 5mm on the fronts and 6mm on the rear. That's on about 18k mileage.

Still inspire so much confidence in these wet UK weather conditions dealing with standing water, spray and the deluge of rain. So much so that I could concentrate on driving, safe in the knowledge of the tires just working.

As JB has said in his first and second review of all season tires they are an ideal pick for the UK autumn winter climate. I never fret coming into autumn and winter with these on my car.

And on top of that great comfort and perform well in dry and summer conditions.

Not driven them in much snow but I'd be happy to drive on them to Scotland or any other European ski resort.

Car is a Seat Leon 1.4 Act so not high performance, but these tires make this a great all rounder for my family.