205/55R16

Moottori 2021: Summer Tire Test R16

The new Nokian Hakka Green 3 made a debut in independent tests, yet so far without any direct comparison to its premium-class rivals.

List of models tested:

In the upcoming summer season 2021, the Finnish Nokian Tyres is launching a few new models, including the Nokian Hakka Green 3, which has just made its debut in the independent tests, because it was added to the Moottori test lineup. At the same time, however, we will still have to wait a little longer to see the results of direct comparison of this tire and its direct rivals because this test by the Finnish publication was a slightly unusual one — the experts focused on finding out how much money you could save using tires of different types.

tested tires
Tested tires

The price has always been and remains one of the primary considerations when people purchase a new set of tires in different countries all over the globe, and because of this the test involved tires from the economy-class brands of Haida and Tigar (owned by Michelin) and a set of even cheaper tires — Insa Turbo (a brand owned by a Spanish company, which is a part of the Grupo Soledad holding), and Ässä (this tire brand is owned by the Finnish company Ässä Uusiorenkaat, the tire features a tread pattern borrowed from the Michelin Primacy HP). In addition, the test also included medium-segment tires from Kleber, while the Nokian model, selected for the test, is priced in Finland twice as much as Haida and Tigar, and at the same time has very low rolling resistance — an A by the EU tire label — that is, it can also help you save your money, albeit in a different way. Besides, you can save even more money because, according to the manufacturer, the Hakka Green 3 has a 35% longer tread life (about one season longer) than the Hakka Green 2. On the other hand, the Moottori test did not assess resistance to wear, so, to get more information on this particular subject, we will need to wait for other tests from other industry publications.

Dry surface

 

The tires were also tested on public roads where the experts evaluated road holding ability and ride comfort. The Nokian tire model was rated the best for rutting resistance, while the worst in this regard was the Tigar tire, which soon began to drift in the direction in which the rut goes. The behavior of Haida and Insa Turbo was just as unstable as that of the Tigar tire, yet they were still more reliable, while the Kleber and Ässä models performed almost on a level with Nokian, even though the Kleber model was slightly prone to slow drift. The experts also noted that Haida and Tigar transmitted noticeable vibrations to the passenger cabin, even when driving on a high-quality road surface, while the Nokian tire, whose carcass was lighter and more durable, also felt pretty rigid, which was particularly noticeable when the car was hitting sewer hatches and other large road inequalities. The retreaded tires turned out to be rather effective at absorbing the road vibrations. The Ässä tire had a slight advantage, and, as for the Kleber tire, in spite of the fact that when the car was hitting large bumps, the vibrations were quite noticeable, the experts noted that on the whole it provided a reasonably smooth ride.

The Kleber also demonstrated the best maneuverability on dry pavement, and the Moottori experts said that it had great steering feedback even at mild cornering angles, combined with a crisp steering response. The Nokian model also got high scores, which, according to the experts was quite an achievement for «eco-tires», but in the event of a quick turn of the steering wheel it was a bit slower to respond than the Kleber tire. The Tigar tire provided reasonably good control, but it was also slow in steering response and generally felt too soft, while the two retreaded tires performed similarly to each other, the difference being that the Ässä model had a slightly better steering feedback. In the lateral stability test, conducted with a blocked steering wheel, all the tires demonstrated similar performance, and only the Haida and Insa Turbo models were losing their tracks by the end of the turn — the former a bit quicker, the latter a bit slower. The other four tires demonstrated a good road holding ability while cornering.

Moottori 2021: Summer Tire Test R16

Another thing that was evaluated was the stability of the tires when driving around obstacles (at speeds of 100, 110 and 120 km/h), and, when turning smoothly, all the tires held their grip, but the Kleber and Nokian tires were recognized as the best. During an emergency maneuver, the Haida tire could barely hold grip at 100 km/h, but when the speed was increased by 10 km/h, the rear wheels would inevitably go into a skid. With regard to maneuvering at even higher speeds, the experts noted that Haida could lose grip already at the first turn of the steering wheel and there was a real danger that the car would spin around its axis. The best tire to tackle high-speed emergency maneuvers was pronounced to be the Kleber model but the Nokian model was almost on a level with it.

In the dry braking test, the Kleber model outperformed Nokian with a minimal lead, while the Chinese Haida was even worse than cheap retreaded tires.

Wet surface

 

On wet pavement, the situation with the level of driving safety becomes more obvious, and in this performance area the retreaded tires had predictable issues. First place in the wet braking test was scored by the Kleber tire, which was the only one to have the highest EU tire label grade for this parameter. The Nokian tire came second with a minimum lead, while the Haida tire and the retreaded models demonstrated an excessively long braking distance. The same picture was to be observed in all of the other wet tests — handling, lateral stability, and hydroplaning resistance.

In regard to the Kleber model, the experts also noted that this tire warns the driver when it is about to lose grip, and generally ensures a very high level of driving safety, while the Nokian tire, while slightly prone to oversteer, was still far from the risk of going into an uncontrollable skid. «Wet performance has always been the Achilles heel of eco tires, but this Nokian model demonstrates very good results in this performance area» — the publication noted. According to the experts, the retreaded tire demonstrated poor performance on wet pavement; the Insa Turbo was so unreliable that it jumped from understeer to oversteer, which could also end up in a skid. Measurement-wise, the Ässä model was still worse, yet its behavior was more stable, and, consequently, safe. On wet pavement, the Haida model was strongly prone to understeer, and the car could keep its course only on condition of slowing down, yet this tire was still a bit more reliable than the retreaded tires. On wet pavement, the Tigar tire performed much better than Haida, and its behavior was rather balanced, yet its overall grip level still fell short of the leaders’.

The retreaded tires also came last in the rolling resistance test (performed in the Nokian laboratory by the standard ISO 28580: 2018), which, among other things, has to do with their sheer weight — the Insa Turbo and the Ässä were the heaviest tires on test. The difference in the tires’ performance was huge, and when the car was switched from the Nokian to the Insa Turbo, the fuel consumption could jump up from 6 to 6.9 liters per 100 km.

Environment

 

The noise in the car was measured at three different speeds, and, for example, at 80 km/h, the best result was shown by Kleber, and at 100 km/h — by Nokian.

Summer tire test summary Moottori R16, 2020. Places 1–6.
Summer tire test summary Moottori R16, 2020. Places 1–6. Click to enlarge.

Verdict

Even though the new Nokian model did not have rivals in the premium class, it shared the first place with the Kleber tire of a lower price segment, falling short of its performance in a number of key disciplines, but Moottori notes that the Hakka Green 3 is first of all a «green» tire designed with a focus on environmental performance, and its safety results — particularly on wet pavement — could be considered to be quite an achievement for a tire of this category. As for the retreaded tires, the economy clearly compromises the driving safety in challenging conditions.

1st place: Kleber / Dynaxer HP4
Quick Take
73 45
Price/Quality Comfort Dry Performance Wet Performance Treadwear Handling
  • Year Released: 2018
  • Regions for sale: Europe, Russia+
Kleber Dynaxer HP4
  • Excellent longitudinal grip and very good handling response in any weather conditions
  • Stable behavior during emergency maneuvers
  • Increased fuel consumption
2nd place: Nokian / Hakka Green 3
Quick Take
N/A 30

Nokian Hakka Green 3

Handling Treadwear Price/Quality Dry Performance Wet Performance Snow/Ice Performance
  • Year Released: 2020
  • Regions for sale: Europe, Russia+, Japan
Nokian Hakka Green 3
  • Very good grip on wet pavement (particularly for eco tires)
  • Stable behavior during emergency maneuvers
  • Very low rolling resistance
  • Relatively rough ride
3rd place: Tigar / High Performance
Quick Take
72 25

Tigar High Performance

Dry Performance Comfort Handling Treadwear Wet Performance
  • Available Sizes in Line: 56
  • Year Released: 2017
  • Regions for sale: Europe
Tigar High Performance
  • Excellent lateral stability in the wet
  • Low price
  • Fuzzy steering response
  • Unstable behavior during emergency maneuvers
  • Low riding comfort
4th place: ⛔ Haida / HD667
Quick Take
N/A 8
  • Available Sizes in Line: 15
  • Year Released: unknown
  • Regions of sales: unknown
Haida HD667
  • Low rolling resistance
  • Low price
  • Poor grip and inadequate handling response in any weather conditions
  • Unstable behavior during emergency maneuvers
  • Low riding comfort

5th place: Ässä HP

  • Retreading tires saves resources, which is a plus from the environmental standpoint
  • Low price
  • Unstable behavior during emergency maneuvers
  • Weak grip on wet pavement
  • Low hydroplaning resistance
6th place: Insa-Turbo / EcoEvolution Plus
Quick Take
N/A 6

Insa-Turbo EcoEvolution Plus

  • Available Sizes in Line: 1
  • Year Released: 2012
  • Regions for sale: Europe
Insa-Turbo EcoEvolution Plus
  • Retreading tires saves resources, which is a plus from the environmental standpoint
  • Low price
  • Weak grip on wet pavement
  • Long braking distance on wet and dry pavements
  • High rolling resistance

Price