Hankook’s latest ultra high performance tyre was rated the best for braking on a wet road in an independent test of more than 50 brands and ranked in the top three overall when all other criteria were judged.

The new Ventus S1 evo 3, a UHP tyre for cars and SUVs, got a podium finish in its first group test from Germany’s leading automotive magazine, Auto Bild.

Fitting 225/45 R17s on a BMW 1 Series from 53 tyre makes, the testers described the Hankook tread as ‘a balanced, high performing tyre offering a precise steering behaviour with a good feedback on dry tracks and the best overall wet braking.’

Hankook is using high-performance natural resins in the tread compound, increasing the peak grip but also producing that across a significantly larger range of temperatures so the tyre gives its best performance over a very wide range. It grips better across a variety of road surfaces and weather conditions and is also better on fuel consumption and wear rates.

Engineer Klaus Krause, head of Hankook’s European Development Centre in Hanover, said: “For the Ventus S1 evo 3, our engineers set their sights on beating its predecessor – as Hankook’s most successful tread in the market to date – in virtually every area. The result of their work is an Ultra-High Performance tyre whose handling and driving characteristics have been optimised in such a way as to make driving emotion a true experience. Furthermore, the future requirements of so-called real driving emissions that the automotive industry needs to meet have already been incorporated into the development of the S1 evo 3.”