Hankook Winter i*cept evo2 SUV review
The Hankook Winter i*cept evo2 W320, which had already been awarded the "Red Dot Design" award even before its official premiere, was specially developed for medium-class passenger cars, as well as expensive limousines and premium sports cars. The same model, adapted to the features of the popular category of vehicles Sport Utility Vehicle, is called Hankook Winter i*cept evo2 SUV W320A.
Owners rate it 18.3 points lower than the instrumented road tests do — see the two score breakdowns below for where they disagree.
Two scoring systems, side by side
Owner scores come from reviews on retailer and review sites; road-test scores come from instrumented tests. Where they disagree, it is usually a discipline owners rarely push to the limit.
By owner reviews
52%By road tests
70.3%What owners like and dislike
Themes extracted from 1 owner review across retailers and review sites.
The Hankook Winter i cept evo2 SUV is widely regarded as a reliable winter tire that significantly improves snow traction and braking performance compared to all-season alternatives. While it excels in winter conditions, some users note a slight deficiency in steering feedback during wet road conditions.
Pros
- Excellent traction and braking performance in heavy snow
- Significant improvement over standard all-season tires in winter conditions
- Reliable handling for SUV applications
Cons
- Lacking steering feedback on wet surfaces
- Not intended for off-road use despite SUV classification
Worth knowing
- Users transitioning from all-season tires on heavy SUVs report a noticeable increase in confidence during winter driving.
1 published test appearance
Placement within each field. Open a test for the discipline-by-discipline result.
2019 AMS Winter SUV tire Test · 215/55 R17
6th of 11
| Discipline | Placement | Field position |
|---|---|---|
| Wet Braking | 5th of 11 | |
| Wet Handling | 7th of 11 | |
| Dry Braking | 11th of 11 | |
| Dry Handling | 2nd of 11 | |
| Snow Braking | 4th of 11 | |
| Snow Handling | 2nd of 11 | |
| Rolling Resistance | 10th of 11 | |
| Straight Aqua | 9th of 11 | |
| Subj. Dry Handling | 7th of 11 | |
| Subj. Comfort | 4th of 11 | |
| Subj. Wet Handling | 8th of 11 | |
| Noise | 1st of 11 | |
| Price | 4th of 11 | |
| Subj. Snow Handling | 3rd of 11 |
About the Hankook Winter i*cept evo2 SUV
As the manufacturer asserts, these tires are up to any dangerous driving conditions in the form of snow, ice, frost, heavy rain and wet leaves on the road. This is due to the tire's advanced constructional features and the use of an optimized rubber compound containing high-dispersed silica, which greatly improve the tire's grip on snowy and wet roads.
Design
Asymmetric tread pattern of Hankook W320 and Hankook W320A provides excellent traction properties and increased braking efficiency on snow, slush and wet roads. Special 3D-lamellas "scattered" over all tread surface by limiting the block mobility increase driving stability in cold conditions, prevent abrasion and due to maximization of edge effect increase the tire general performance on winter surfaces.
Lateral X-shaped grooves on the inner part of the tread, which functionally resemble ice axes, improve traction on snowy roads. The optimal angle of these side grooves also increases the snow performance of the Winter i*cept evo2.
Radial grooves, located on the outer part of the tread, have 30% more cavities than existing analogues. It allows Hankook W320 Winter i*cept evo 2 tires to quickly drain water and snow slush from the contact area, with good resistance to aqua- and slushplaning, as a result, stable and easy driving on snowy and wet roads is provided.
Reinforced sidewalls and sidewalls, combined with wide shoulder areas and optimized tread beads, ensure quick and precise steering response and improved cornering traction.
We will also remember its predecessor, model Hankook Winter I*cept Evo W310, which was tested with pleasure by experts from a number of authoritative profile publications. The tire has never risen on the podium, but it consistently showed average results. Of course, it did not reach the indicators of premium car tires, but in its price range it was clearly one of the leading positions.
Availability
The Winter i*cept evo 2 and Winter i*cept evo 2 SUV winter tires are mainly produced at the Hankook factory in Hungary. They are currently available in different sizes: the passenger car version is available in sizes 16 to 20 inches with speed indexes H, V and W, while the off-road version is available in sizes 16 to 21 with speed indexes T to V.