I have talked about Nokian WGR4 All Weather (4 Season) tires here before. I drove on these for over 12 years in my Priuses (Prii?). As I said these are not quite a 100% replacement to true snow tires. But for many city slickers I consider them an excellent choice. I put them on my Kona a couple of months back and again I am not disappointed. Sure beat the factory tires my Kona EV was shipped with. I do not notice any loss of the car's efficiency. They are also 'low rolling resistance' rated. I just read a not so super rating of these in a Consumers Magazine. I was surprised how low they rated it. The bottom line study before you buy.
Before I bought my Kona, I did a lot of reading and saw that people universally complained about the OEM Nexens that are installed on the car. Everyone at the time was raving about the Nokian WRG4s, so I installed them as soon as I picked my car. Living in New England, I liked the idea of having all season tires that would get me through the winter without needing snow tires. I've been happy with them: they have more grip, corner and handle well enough for a utility vehicle, and don't drone on the highway. The only caveat is that I'm not sure they'd be very good in an emergency stop - the Kona has a tendency to lock the wheels up without ABS interaction, just as it allows a lot of wheelspin before traction control kicks in. Few people seem to mention the Nokians today, which is a shame. Oh, and I was thrilled to see 6.2 mi/kWh / ~10 km/kWh puttering around country roads today. Perhaps their low-rolling resistance makes a difference. Bottom line, I think they're a good tire, but perhaps not the best option. I'd like to see an objective bake off for Kona tires.
what are better choices then? I don't necessarily need all season. I've read elsewhere Nokien 1 tires.
There are a lot of opinions on this forum, so your best bet is to search threads that have “tires” in the title. Here’s one for example: https://www.insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/are-there-better-riding-tires-than-stock-nexen.9432/ There does seem to be a lot of love here for Michelin Primacy tires.
I would recommend to try Michelin Primacy 4 as it's very quiet and low rolling resistance. Moreover it can add some range. Proof linlk - https://pushevs.com/2020/02/19/hyundai-kona-electric-gets-range-and-efficiency-boost/
Just like anything else. There may not be one best tire for all. Ultimately one has to pick one. I like my Nokian WR G4. (Disclosure I do not own shares in Nokian!) I bumped the curb recently and looked at the tire - no harm done - but noticed that it is also "Low Rolling Resistance" rated.
