Best Tires for the Kia Motors Niro

I recently replaced my Continental PremiumContact 7 tires with a set of Pirelli Cinturato C3s.

After several hundred miles of mixed driving, including wet conditions, I have been pleasantly surprised by the overall performance. Grip levels are good in both dry and wet weather, steering response is predictable, and the tires feel stable and confidence-inspiring. Compared with the PremiumContact 7, I would say the C3 is slightly quieter and more refined on motorway journeys, which has been a welcome improvement.

Unfortunately, my experience has been let down by the manufacturing finish and quality control. Two tires from the set (DOT 2502) were finished to a very high standard, while the other two (DOT 2503) showed noticeably rough sidewall and shoulder finishing, visible splice marks and uneven trimming. The difference was obvious even though all four tires were the same model and made in Italy.

The tires themselves appear to perform well, and I have not experienced any safety or handling issues. However, for a premium-priced tire from a premium brand, the inconsistency in finish quality is disappointing and below what I would expect from Pirelli.

Overall:
Performance: 8.5/10
Comfort & Noise: 9/10
Quality Control & Finish: 4/10

A very capable tire on the road, but let down by surprisingly poor manufacturing consistency.

Wooly feeling tire with poor wet grip. Wears very fast with just 3.5mm left after 12k miles on a Kia Niro EV.

Car came from factory with Continental EcoContact 6Q, which were decent enough, but needed replacing at 14k on the front. The dealer I bought the car off fitted these Matadors, and I was honestly expecting them to be terrible. They really are quite good.

Only when really pushing on in the wet do they start to let go. They handle the cars 201hp no problem.

I would certainly consider buying them in the future if they weren't the price they are - for the same money you can get Falkens and only a tenner more for Goodyear.

Matador shares a lot of Continental knowledge, and really I can't tell the difference between them and the EcoContact 6Q. The Matador even have the Continental "wet grip" wear bars, same as the 6Q.

If you can get them cheap, then go for it.

These were supplied new on our 2023 Kia Niro EV. On inspection they appeared to have very shallow tread when new and now are up for replacement at only 36,000 Km of quiet economical driving (I'm 73 years old and used to enjoy seeing what a car could do but now I'm a confirmed user of active cruise control).
They would be the noisiest tire I have ever owned and I cannot recommend them in NZ. This is on New Zealand's coarse chip seal roads - on the limited stretches on asphalt available in the South Island they are the quietest tire I have ever owned - an unbelievable difference when driving from one surface to the other.

Very poor. The steering is imprecise. They're dangerous in the water. They're extremely soft on the sides. They pitch when turning. They should be discontinued and practically banned.

These tires do not behave like a true all season. They are essentially a winter tire with quite frankly TERRIBLE wet grip and handling. They are good in the snow, decent in the dry. But my god in the wet (any temp) they are abysmal. Constantly slipping and understeering like crazy. Honestly they are dangerous in the wet. I live in Scotland so it's wet half the time. Wish I hadn't bought them. Maybe ok if you live in mongolia! Wish I had bought Vredesteins Instead. (Apparently a more wet bias "all season"). Again. These are a very winter focused all season not suitable for wet conditions.

Fitted on Kia Niro in Aprl 2023, the tires are comfortable, a bit noisy and they wear fast. I don't know about wet grip but the dry grip is avg.

Replaces my Vredestein Quatrac Pro tires on my electric car.
Pro:
> The Hankooks have significantly more grip. Since installing them, I have never seen the traction control light on my dash pop up. Gives a lot of confidence driving in the worst of weathers, including snow.
>Significantly quiter. I tested with my iphone a drop of about 3-4db in the cabin on the same stretch of road compared to the vredestein.
Con:
>Range is 5-6%lower than what I was getting on the Vredestein.