Head-to-head Updated

Vredestein Ultrac vs Kumho Ecsta HS52 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

Ecsta HS52 is ahead, 76–63

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Ultrac

Summer

Tests 60 · 14 tests Owners 64 · 411 reviews

Best test result: #3 of 21 in 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test (curved aquaplaning)

“New boots! Vredestein Ultrac Pro 225s for the Turbo 3”

Tire BKumho

Ecsta HS52

Summer

Tests 81 · 7 tests Owners 71 · 2,328 reviews

Best test result: #2 of 55 in 2024 Summer Tyre Market Overview (dry braking)

“Mini review of the Kumho Ecsta HS52 I was running some Hankook's on my GT before and the tire wall not stiff enough. Now I've mounted these Kumho Ecsta HS52's and I highly recommend them: The tire wall is nicely rigid and they grip great in the dry, took quite some intent to make them loose traction. Additionally, I've accidentally ran over a pretty big sharp looking rock at decent speed that aimed right in a tread groove (thinnest part) and the thing shrugged it off no problem. And all of this for a damn good price too! So if anyone's looking for good tires, now you know.”

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 77

    Dry

    Ecsta HS52 +5
    82
    Why this score
    SourceUltracEcsta HS52
    Professional tests (TWG score)8385
    Reviews found online6776
    Dry Braking (% of best)95%100%
    Dry Handling (% of best)99%100%
  2. 78

    Wet

    Ecsta HS52 +1
    79
    Why this score
    SourceUltracEcsta HS52
    Professional tests (TWG score)8584
    Reviews found online6871
    Wet Braking (% of best)97%97%
    Wet Braking - Concrete (% of best)88%90%
    Wet Circle (% of best)98%91%
    Wet Handling (% of best)25%97%
  3. 67

    Comfort

    Ultrac +2
    65
    Why this score
    SourceUltracEcsta HS52
    Reviews found online6560
  4. 68

    Noise

    Ultrac +3
    65
    Why this score
    SourceUltracEcsta HS52
    Professional tests (TWG score)6864
  5. 28

    Treadwear

    Ecsta HS52 +46
    74
    Why this score
    SourceUltracEcsta HS52
    Professional tests (TWG score)1078
    Reviews found online5667
  6. 66

    Handling

    Ecsta HS52 +10
    76
    Why this score
    SourceUltracEcsta HS52
    Reviews found online6676
Scores at a glance
Vredestein Ultrac vs Kumho Ecsta HS52: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryVredestein UltracKumho Ecsta HS52
Relative Score 63 76
Dry 77 82
Wet 78 79
Comfort 67 65
Noise 68 65
Treadwear 28 74
Handling 66 76

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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Neutral
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Recomputed
Headline score

Ultrac

Ecsta HS52

The professional test results behind the scores

Each result is shown as % of the best tire in that test. “Same test” rows are the strictest comparison: both tires were measured side by side.

DisciplineCategoryUltracEcsta HS52ΔBoth?
Curved Aquaplaning Curved 95% #3/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test 82% #18/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test +12.8 Same test
Dry Braking Dry 95% #6/8 · 2024 Auto Express Summer Tyre Test 100% #2/55 · 2024 Summer Tyre Market Overview −4.7 Different tests
Dry Handling Dry 99% #7/8 · 2024 AMS Summer SUV Tyre Test 100% #3/20 · 2024 AutoBild Summer Tyre Test −0.8 Different tests
Rolling Resistance Efficiency 84% #5/10 · 2025 Autobild SUV Off-Road Summer Tyre Test 88% #16/20 · 2024 AutoBild Summer Tyre Test −4.8 Different tests
Fuel Consumption Fuel 97% #7/16 · 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 93% #46/50 · 2023 ADAC Summer Tyre Test +3.4 Different tests
Abrasion Other 47% #16/16 · 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 44% #30/50 · 2023 ADAC Summer Tyre Test +3.0 Different tests
Noise Other 96% #21/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test 98% #8/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test −2.1 Same test
Price Other 68% #10/16 · 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 77% #5/16 · 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test −8.9 Same test
Value Other 38% #20/20 · 2024 AutoBild Summer Tyre Test 98% #2/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test −60.3 Different tests
Wear Other 53% #19/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test 77% #5/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test −23.8 Same test
Overall Ranking Overall 25% #7/8 · 2023 Autoklub ČR Premium Summer Tire Test R16 40% #4/6 · 2023 Autoklub ČR Budget Summer Tire Test R16 −15.0 Different tests
Straight Aqua Straight 98% #6/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test 94% #16/16 · 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test +3.9 Different tests
Total Cost of Ownership Total 0% #20/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test 0% #7/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test 0.0 Same test
Wet Braking Wet 97% #3/20 · 2024 AutoBild Summer Tyre Test 97% #3/16 · 2026 ADAC Summer Tyre Test +0.1 Different tests
Wet Braking - Concrete Wet 88% #3/16 · 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test 90% #3/16 · 2026 ADAC Summer Tyre Test −1.8 Different tests
Wet Circle Wet 98% #4/8 · 2024 AMS Summer SUV Tyre Test 91% #15/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test +6.6 Different tests
Wet Handling Wet 25% #5/6 · 2024 ACE/ARBÖ/GTÜ Summer Tire Test R17 97% #14/21 · 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test −71.9 Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Ultrac

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and confidence in wet weather conditions
  • High level of ride comfort and ability to absorb road bumps
  • Low road noise and quiet operation

Cons

  • Rapid tread wear reported by several drivers
  • Softer sidewalls leading to less initial steering feedback or stability
  • Occasional complaints of tramlining or tracking narrow road repairs
All owner themes in the Ultrac review

Tire B Ecsta HS52

Pros

  • Excellent wet and dry weather traction
  • Low road noise and quiet operation
  • Smooth and comfortable ride quality

Cons

  • A few reports of accelerated or abnormal tread wear
  • Slightly sensitive to tire pressure regarding comfort
  • Occasional complaints of high-speed vibration or imbalance early on
All owner themes in the Ecsta HS52 review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Vredestein Ultrac

Positive

Community members generally view the Vredestein Ultrac and Ultrac Pro as a compelling, budget-friendly alternative to premium high-performance summer tires like the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Users frequently highlight significant cost savings alongside comparable dry and wet performance, comfort, and noise levels, though a few note trade-offs in extreme cornering stiffness.

r/CarTalkUK ·22 upvotes ·2025-05-27

“Are budget tyres closing the gap to premium? I changed a set of tyres on my daily pd130 winter bash about and managed to get a set of vredestein ultrac for £80 a tyre fitted which I thought was a pretty good price. The tyre fitting service was saying to me that the gap between budgets and premium is much smaller in the last 10 years and that taxis tend to opt for budget tyres all the time and have no issues. Any thoughts on this? I’ve always gone for medium to higher end tyres. Leer más”

r/ZL1 ·2 upvotes ·2013-12-15

“I just had a set of Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta put on. Initial thoughts... I got them in 275/40/20 for the fronts and 315/35/20 for the rears. They fit the wheels perfectly. I immediately noticed a much softer ride. Sport Mode now feels like Tour Mode, maybe even softer. I DD my ZL1 so cold weather performance is very important. Temps were near 40°F and they stayed quite grippy. This is a huge improvement over the stock Goodyear's. Initial turn in response is good. I had the opportunity to push them on an off ramp and they felt a little mushy when pushed and didn't seem to want to exceed .75g I had a set of these on a previous car (2004 ZO6) and expect great wet weather performance. I will update this post once I get some more miles on them. Read more”

r/ZL1 ·2 upvotes ·2013-12-19

“The Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta are probably the best sport tyres ever made. Ive sold tyres for a living since I was 16, I've tried and tested hundreds of different tyres so i can give my customers the best advice, so I class myself as somewhat of an expert. The Sessantas are brilliant. I had them on an X5 for 8,000 miles, they couldn't have performed all round any better. EDIT: Oh and they wear so evenly it's unbelievable!”

Top themes
#Price and Value Comparison#Comparison to Michelin PS4S#Wet and Dry Grip#Ride Comfort and Noise#Tread Wear and Longevity#Handling and Steering Feel

Based on 17 community posts

Tire B

Kumho Ecsta HS52

Mixed

The Kumho Ecsta HS52 receives a polarized mix of reviews from the community, praised by many for its rigid sidewalls, strong dry grip, sharp steering responsiveness, and great value compared to premium alternatives. However, some users report disappointing wet weather performance, potential issues with aquaplaning resistance, and inconsistent test results across different sizes. Overall, it is viewed as a solid mid-range option, though experiences with wet traction and longevity vary significantly among drivers.

r/tires ·3 upvotes ·2025-09-23

“What’s up with these tyres? Kumho ectsa hs52 date code 3923, tyres are (UK) legal regards tread but I can’t imagine this damage is normal. Both front tyres have this, looks like the tread is tearing apart in multiple places. I did not fit these tyres but it was mot’d 3 months ago and has done 2k miles since. I’ve owned the car 11 months but only noticed this very recently. I am getting them replaced on Monday with little use before then but I’m curious how this has happened. Is it just a shit brand? Wear is even across the face so I don’t think it would be the alignment or anything to do with the car and the damage is random across the contact patch. It’s a Peugeot 508 2l diesel so quite a bit of weight on the nose. Fitting Bridgestone Turanza 6. Rear tyres are good, but a different brand (horizon horace 2122 date)”

r/TyreReviews ·2 upvotes ·2026-02-07

“I had the kumho ecsta hs52's on my previous car. I was very satisfied with them. Good grip in the dry and wet and very responsive. Kumho in general makes really good tires”

r/TyreReviews ·1 upvote ·2026-01-22

“Bad i have hs52 on my audi a3 8l quattro 1.8t i have no grip with rain.. Like cant corner fast it just goes straight... Dry its fine but wet forget it. My oncle has the same experience with kuhmo on his bmw 118 diesel he got some rims and they had pretty good threats kumho on it. He said all it wanted was to drift and spin out. He said a couple of times it did a 180 he said never again i said same don't trust my car with these tyres. Im gonna get some new rim 17" and Goodyear asymmetric 6. To replace my 16" stock rims with kumho... I have had bad tyres but never this bad. Like 1 ere prix were even better in my Mercedes even doh they became ovals.”

Top themes
#Dry grip and handling#Wet weather performance#Sidewall stiffness#Price and value#Comparison with competitors#Fuel economy and weight#Tread wear and durability

Based on 17 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Vredestein Ultrac B · Kumho Ecsta HS52
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover

Which one should you actually buy?

Vredestein Ultrac

Kumho Ecsta HS52

Winner: Kumho Ecsta HS52 — better treadwear, handling and dry. Pick the Vredestein Ultrac if noise matters most to you.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Kumho Ecsta HS52 scores 74 vs 28 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Kumho Ecsta HS52 scores 76 vs 66 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Kumho Ecsta HS52 scores 82 vs 77 on dry.

Pick tire A You want a quieter cabin

Vredestein Ultrac scores 68 vs 65 on noise.

Tire A · Vredestein Ultrac
Tire B · Kumho Ecsta HS52

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How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.

76

Leads

Ecsta HS52

Amazon