Built from every independent test result and vetted owner review we hold for this tire - the evidence is all further down the page. Data updated January 2025.
Good aquaplaning characteristics, a neutral handling and a high level of grip in wet conditions characterise the Nokian Z G2.
In the dry there's a slight lack of steering precision and grip which shows in the lap time, but over 15 consecutive fast laps the times remain fairly constant.
Winner: Pirelli P Zero
Every independent test of the Nokian Z G2, newest first
Owners rate the Nokian Z G2 8.3 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 24 reviews.
How well do the Nokian Z G2 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Nokian Z G2 8 out of 10 for wear across 24 reviews. 8 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 6,000 miles.
Would owners buy the Nokian Z G2 again?
79% of owners say they would buy the Nokian Z G2 again, based on the 29 owner reviews that answered the question. 52% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
What do owners say about the Nokian Z G2's dry grip?
Of the 22 owner reviews analyzed for the Nokian Z G2, 13 mention dry grip: 11 praise it (strong dry grip) and 2 criticise it (limited dry grip). One owner wrote: "Feedback and grip in just great!". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Nokian Z G2's dry handling?
Of the 22 owner reviews analyzed for the Nokian Z G2, 10 mention dry handling: 8 praise it (sharp dry handling) and 2 criticise it (vague dry handling). One owner wrote: "improved my car's handling". Read those reviews
More questions about the Nokian Z G2(2)
What do owners say about the Nokian Z G2's wet grip?
Of the 22 owner reviews analyzed for the Nokian Z G2, 10 mention wet grip: 8 praise it (confident wet grip) and 2 criticise it (weak wet grip). One owner wrote: "In the wet I start to sing, so I know I have the right one (Far better than the good Sportmaxx RT)". Read those reviews
Has the Nokian Z G2 been replaced?
The Nokian Z G2 has been replaced by the Nokian zLine.
Across 30 owner ratings the Nokian Z G2 averages 84%. Owners rate Wet Grip highest at 8.9 out of 10 and Wear lowest at 8. 8 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 79% of owners score it 70% or better.
Owner ratings averaged from 30 ratings
Owner score84%
Wet Grip89%
Dry Grip88%
Road Feedback86%
Handling84%
Comfort83%
Wear80%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 71%
“Had my first set of Nokian Z G2 215/55ZR17 (Made in Russia) fitted on my car for the past 4 years after reading the good reviews. However, after the 2nd year or approx 20,000 miles of rolling on city (70%)/highway...”
“I remember my dad buying nokians when i was young and he bought them as budgets so when i needed tires for my laguna and they had a deal on these tires i thought i would have a try, not too bad in dry not great in the...”
“Short version: Not bad, bought again once, but now they got to go. Long Version: Nothing wrong when driving civilized. No trouble with comfort, grip or anything. When the driving gets more exciting, usually when the...”
Had my first set of Nokian Z G2 215/55ZR17 (Made in Russia) fitted on my car for the past 4 years after reading the good reviews. However, after the 2nd year or approx 20,000 miles of rolling on city (70%)/highway (30%), the tires became quite noisy. After the 3rd year, the tires show signs of cracks and uneven wear although I performed wheel balancing and rotation for every 10,000 km. What surprises me is the tires had very uneven wear and the inner blocks surface were high and low during one of the my regular wheel balancing and rotation. Mechanic checked my wheel alignment and there is nothing wrong. TIll now, I do not know why this set of tires have so much uneven wear. I have used different types of tires in the past (bridgestone, yokohama, michelin, falken, goodyear, dunlop) but never encounter this phenomenon before, Although the wear indicator is still showing 5 to 6 (almost new) for the tires with 70% thread depth left, I decided to change the tires as the tires was getting too noisy.
Short version: Not bad, bought again once, but now they got to go.
Long Version: Nothing wrong when driving civilized. No trouble with comfort, grip or anything. When the driving gets more exciting, usually when the roads get smaller and windier, they do a good but not outstanding job. A bit of give on the back end on dry surfaces, enough to get a rush but not so much as to end up in the bottom of the valley. Not great on wet roads. The back end gets lose quickly and ESP steps in to keep me out of that valley.
What opened my eyes a quite a lot was the Michelin Alpin 5 I got for the brief winter period. They're thiner than my summer tires but provide a LOT more grip on wet AND dry roads. The latter one came unexpected. Now as the front wheels need replacement anyway I look into a complete replacement that gives me more confidence in the wet and grips at least as good on dry roads as the Alpin 5 does.
My sizes: 205/55/R16 (front) and 225/50/R16 (rear)
Which tires do you drive?
Researching the Nokian Z G2? Rate the tires you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
These tires give very impressive performance especially in the wet and under braking. They have stiff sidewalls which give good turn in and stability at the cost of a firm ride. The wear rate seems acceptable given the level of grip they provide.
As a summer tire I am very pleased with these and they represent excellent value for money.
The ZG2 is the the best breaking tire in the 50 UHP tire breaking test. What I have to say more. On that point this is the ultra premium tire. 1 or 2 meters can make the difference. Not only for myself but also for the people in front of me. Breaking is for me one of the most important issues. Having accidents or not you decide mostly in the shop by what tire you buy. So I buy only UHP tires. I find the lives of myself and others more important than the little money you "safe" to try something cheap. Deuteronomium 22: When you build a house with a flat roof you have to put a fence around it, so it is not your guild when someone fall down.
So I try to buy products from countries where the human rights and rights from animals got respected.
Handling and grip in dry and wet. So good. In the wet I start to sing, so I know I have the right one (Far better than the good Sportmaxx RT). In the dry the Sportmaxx RT is sometimes a little better but in wet this one is.
I found these tires to be the best tires I ever had on My car. Over 1 500 000 km on my back, I would recomend these tires for all performanse cars. Feedback and grip in just great!
I mounted the Nokian ZG2 this spring on my BMW 3-series with different sizes 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 rear.
I took them for the great price and the flattering reviews found online.
Aesthetically they are very beautiful, very knobbly and make good their actual width.
On the road with the dry are really great, very precise and really impossible to undermine the power of my car.
I used them a little wet and, anyway, I would not be a reliable tester as I drive really carefully on slippery road.
After 3,000 km are really really happy with the purchase and buy another one.
Very good tires lots of grip ,quiet but now have to replace them after only 15000 miles due to wear... My previous tires Dunlop , Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric both much better and last longer.
Near silent, very comfortable with excellent wet grip. Slight going over at high speed bends on the dry but only slight. Alway feel safe and enjoy the quite drive especially on roads with awful quality like in the UK.
These are the best tires I have ever had on my car. Nokian ZG2 handled brilliantly in the snow last year and improved my car's handling and quality of the ride. Only wish they were more freely available in the UK.
