iON FlexClimate: EVs get a grip with Hankook’s first all-season tyre for electric cars 

The Hankook iON FlexClimate joins a select band of all-season tyres designed specifically for EVs. These retain driving range while offering improved grip in poor weather conditions, particularly when temperatures drop below a chilly 7 degrees Celsius. 

Cold, wet, and even light snow conditions can all be dealt with by Hankook’s new tyre, which completes the iON range. It uses a new tread pattern to find traction in poor conditions to keep you moving when others risk becoming stranded. The tyre’s ProGrip rubber mixture helps balance traction with the low rolling resistance needed by EVs to ensure a good driving range on each battery charge. 

Hankook has looked at other ways to make the iON FlexClimate ideally suited to winter driving in an EV. The way the tyre is made is even stronger than usual, to deal with the extra weight of EVs due to their large battery packs. This prevents the tyre tread from bowing under the weight of the car and means the full width of the tread is always in contact with the road for the best acceleration and braking. 

Another change for this all-season tyre is a stiffer edge, which uses Grip Boost technology for the sidewall, so the iON FlexClimate delivers excellent comfort and steering precision. All of this is combined with reduced noise levels to better pair with electric vehicles.  

The iON FlexClimate comes in sizes from 17- to 21-inches to fit the most popular EVs. Because it has M+S (mud and snow) and 3PMSF (Three-Peak Mountain Snow Flake) ratings, it’s the ideal all-season tyre for EVs like the Audi Q4 e-tron — already shod with Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3 EV for warmer weather — BMW iX, and Ford Mustang Mach-E. All three of these EVs offer four-wheel drive that works with the tyres to seek out traction in poor conditions. 

Any EV will benefit from using Hankook’s new all-season tyres and they work just as well in warmer weather. So, even if you drive a high performance Tesla Model S or Kia EV6 GT, you’ll feel the benefits of an all-season tyre all year round. 

Of course, in winter conditions, the likes of the Skoda Enyaq iV and Mercedes EQB come into their own with raised ride height and improved ground clearance to cope with snow and slush on the roads. Even more modest EVs will feel a boost from an all-season tyre, with models such as the MG ZS EV and Volvo XC40 Recharge delivering more weather-beating ability than you might imagine. 

*Hankook iON FlexClimate available on Blackcircles.com soon.