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Review: Hankook iON evo AS vs Pirelli AS+ Elect vs Michelin PS 4S vs Michelin PS AS 4

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I tested all these tires back to back on either a Tesla Model 3 or Y. I have both a Model 3 and a Model Y (wife’s).

My goal was to have a great handling tire (makes me happy) that can handle the occasional snow, is quiet, and has good range.

For context, I have the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires on both the 3 and Y. This is by far the best handling tire, really amazing, our benchmark for handling, and is just a joy to drive. I’m in Colorado though and for nov/dec/apr, we can see temps below 40, which is a no-no for driving the PS4S, so I wanted something more cold tolerant during the shoulder seasons. We have winter wheels (Pirelli Sottozero 3, which we love) for ski season.

Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4:
I drove this on a Performance Model Y (Tesla test drive). Handling is very good, and I hear it’s also very good in the snow. Negatives is that it’s loud and it’s not great for range, the former being more important to me.

Pirelli All Season Plus Elect:
We bought these for our Model Y. Handling is good if not great. And it’s quiet and comfortable, and of course it’s tuned for EVs and has good range. We really really like these tires. I would give the edge to the PS AS 4 for handling, but it is slight and totally not enough to justify the range hit or how loud they are.

Hankook iON evo AS ih01:
I just bought these for my 3. It was a gamble because I couldn’t find any reviews on them. They are brand new to the market. Overall, I definitively do not like them. The handling is terrible for a car like the model 3 w/ AB. It feels super floaty and squirrelly when cornering. The noise level is not great either surprisingly. Strangely enough, it’s relatively louder at slower speeds, but does seem to be quiet on the highway. The Pirelli’s have way better handling and seem quieter all around. Aside from noise and handling, there is one thing the evos does really well. It feels like a bat out if hell when accelerating in a straight line. You can tell the engineering is optimized for that trait. I do like that a lot, and I’m sure it has great range, and I would accept the noise level too, but the handling is just too awful, I can’t accept it. That said, if you’re not a spirited driver, I think the evos are a great value. They’re just not for me.

Overall, I think the Pirelli AS PE hit all the cords I’m looking for. The Michelin PS AS 4’s are a close second and might also be better in snow, but we’re not optimizing for snow since we have winter tires. And the quiet ride and good range is also very much appreciated.

I hope this review helps others out there!

All these new EV tires are very exciting. I’m a huge Michelin fan, but they need to up their game on EV tires. For now, Pirelli is winning my business.

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I bought the PS4AS and they were so much better than the stock MXM4s, I pretty much fell in love with them immediately. Very quiet, cornered well, just an overall great tire. However, they ate so much range that it was a dealbreaker.

Ended up returning them to Discount Tire and swapping them for Hankook Ion Evos instead. Not a bad tire at all and the efficiency is great.
Looking to buy some new tires and saw your post. So how is the Ion EVO AS efficiency been compared to the MXM4? And what region do you drive in - warm year-round or 4 seasons? Thanks!
 
With the price match and road hazard certificates total cost was $1360.21 and I will get $80 back as a Hankook rebate. $1,280 total cost, not too bad. Wanted to switch to All Season before the colder temps started.
I went with the Michelin Pilot Sport AS4 with the costco deal and it cost me $980 installation and tax included. But good to know the Hankooks are $300 more and will be curious if its worth the extra 300
 
Looking to buy some new tires and saw your post. So how is the Ion EVO AS efficiency been compared to the MXM4? And what region do you drive in - warm year-round or 4 seasons? Thanks!
I'm in Houston so 95% of the time Summer tires are great but we do get 10-15 days of temperatures below 45 which is why I switched to an All Season. I can only compare these to the Pirelli P Zero summer tires that came on the car. With the Pirelli Avg Energy was 271 Wh/mi and now seeing 252 Wh/mi with the ION so the tires are a little more efficient. Performance has been great and the Hankook's have been able to handle spirited driving without issue. So far only 500 miles on the Hankook but they have been great so far. Much quieter than the Pirellis.
 
I'm in Houston so 95% of the time Summer tires are great but we do get 10-15 days of temperatures below 45 which is why I switched to an All Season. I can only compare these to the Pirelli P Zero summer tires that came on the car. With the Pirelli Avg Energy was 271 Wh/mi and now seeing 252 Wh/mi with the ION so the tires are a little more efficient. Performance has been great and the Hankook's have been able to handle spirited driving without issue. So far only 500 miles on the Hankook but they have been great so far. Much quieter than the Pirellis.
My experience as well. Also for 3 and X, they smooth out speed bumps and potholes a lot better. My lower back is thankful
 
What about efficiency? That is very high on my 'want' list. I had a Volt and bought what I was told were good-efficiency Hankook Kinergy tires. They dropped my battery range 10% :-(
What tires did you have before on the Volt? For us the Hankook ION evo AS have been 6-7% more efficient than our previous Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II. See this post: Review: Hankook iON evo AS vs Pirelli AS+ Elect vs Michelin PS 4S vs Michelin PS AS 4
Before the Pirellis we had Michelin Primacy MXM4 All Seasons & the Pirellis were about 5% less efficient. So the Hankooks would appear to be only slightly better than the Michelin Primacy MXM4 All Seasons.
 
What about efficiency? That is very high on my 'want' list. I had a Volt and bought what I was told were good-efficiency Hankook Kinergy tires. They dropped my battery range 10% :-(
Hankook ION are not the same as Kinergy. Kinergy is an old design, not well rated by anyone. the iON evo is an entirely new model and production process.
 
What tires did you have before on the Volt? For us the Hankook ION evo AS have been 6-7% more efficient than our previous Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II. See this post: Review: Hankook iON evo AS vs Pirelli AS+ Elect vs Michelin PS 4S vs Michelin PS AS 4
Before the Pirellis we had Michelin Primacy MXM4 All Seasons & the Pirellis were about 5% less efficient. So the Hankooks would appear to be only slightly better than the Michelin Primacy MXM4 All Seasons.
The Volt came with OEM Michelin Energy Savers. But your information is helpful. I assume the MXM4's were the Telsa's OEM version? If yes, then I will definitely look into the Hankook as based on your experience should give "OEM-level" efficiency.
 
The Volt came with OEM Michelin Energy Savers. But your information is helpful. I assume the MXM4's were the Telsa's OEM version? If yes, then I will definitely look into the Hankook as based on your experience should give "OEM-level" efficiency.
They were not the OEM tires, they were the replacements we purchased for the OEM tires on our 2016 S90D. I believe that Tesla has used them as the OEM tire at times.
 
What tires did you have before on the Volt? For us the Hankook ION evo AS have been 6-7% more efficient than our previous Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus II. See this post: Review: Hankook iON evo AS vs Pirelli AS+ Elect vs Michelin PS 4S vs Michelin PS AS 4
Before the Pirellis we had Michelin Primacy MXM4 All Seasons & the Pirellis were about 5% less efficient. So the Hankooks would appear to be only slightly better than the Michelin Primacy MXM4 All Seasons.
I agree. IONs are slightly as or more efficient. MXM4’s are pretty efficient tires though. IONs are rated double the mileage at 50K. If true irl, then much better. They are quieter and more comfortable ride too
 
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The Volt came with OEM Michelin Energy Savers. But your information is helpful. I assume the MXM4's were the Telsa's OEM version? If yes, then I will definitely look into the Hankook as based on your experience should give "OEM-level" efficiency.
The MXM4s are not exactly the same as Energy Savers but likely the equivalent for a larger, heavier car. They have been the standard tire for the 18" wheels on Tesla 3 model.

The tire company will share tweaks, production and engineering across product lines. Historically there was a strong tradeoff between efficiency in rolling resistance and other parameters like wet traction, and it takes significant advancement to optimize both well, which is what the top tire manufacturers can do and the off-brands do not.

Until the Hankook ION, there was no replacement tire for Tesla 3 which had equal or greater efficiency. The ION has a better warranty and starts at a higher tread depth than the OEM MXM4 (higher tread depth lowers starting efficiency), so it looks like a more advanced tire technology than the MXM4.

EV manufacturers always want to use the most efficient tire (subject to cost and availability of course) because that results in a better tested range which they can advertise, and that helps sales. So it's not surprising that almost any other tire will have lower efficiency but for a base-level EV (not performance model) it's easy to get better handling/grip at some efficiency cost.
 
Anyone know the official highland tire? The MT review of the Highland on YouTube mentioned a Michelin model I never heard of.
The 18” tires on the Highland Model 3 will be a 235/45/18 Michelin “e.Primacy” in Europe. I can’t find that tire in the US.

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The 19” tires on the Highland Model 3 will be the new 235/40/19 Hankook iON EVO summer tire.

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I believe these are summer tires because I have the all season tires and they say “AS” on the tire.

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It is important to note that all of these tires are rated for speeds well above 130 mph. I don’t believe the Highland cars are limited to 125 mph because of tires. That just does not appear to be true.
 
They were not the OEM tires, they were the replacements we purchased for the OEM tires on our 2016 S90D. I believe that Tesla has used them as the OEM tire at times.
Hmmm. If not the OEM version, then they might not have been LRR. I have seen that a couple tire companies sell the 'same' model tire with and without OEM specs, and they are/perform differently. I am using the OEM Eagle Touring Sound Comfort T1 (had T0 before the T1 came out) and average 267 w/mile in the summer, 340 w/mile in the winter and 307 average over 35K miles. Since I have a 75kW pack, I am really trying to prioritize efficiency over all other parameters, thus the reason for my inquiry. Thanks.
 
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