Firestone All-Season vs Hankook Kinergy ST (H735) tires

Firestone is an iconic American tire manufacturer that has been in the spotlight in the tire industry for over a century. Admired for its deep roots in both passenger vehicle history and professional racing, Firestone focuses on offering reliable, high-quality tires for use on passenger cars, light trucks, commercial vehicles, farm applications, and OTRs. It is now a part of the Bridgestone family and its portfolio includes all-season, winter, all-weather, UHP all-season, UHP summer, all-terrain, mud-terrain, rugged-terrain, and commercial van tires.

Hankook, a South Korean tire brand that has climbed the ladder to be among the top tire manufacturers in the world in no time. Hankook’s engineering philosophy centres on "Kontrol Technology", which focuses on providing a perfect balance between performance, driving confidence, and ride comfort with its innovative tread designs and construction precision. Hankook's range of tires caters to the needs of passenger cars, CUVs, SUVs, EVs, pickup trucks, trailers, and commercial vehicles. Hankook tire variations offered on the market include all-season, all-weather, winter, UHP summer, UHP all-season, all-terrain, mud-terrain, performance, and commercial van.

Both Firestone and Hankook have their two great touring all-season tires, which we will be comparing here. While the Firestone All-Season is a dependable all-season tire made to provide budget-conscious drivers with consistent year-round performance along with quiet rides, the Hankook Kinergy ST (H735) is a standard touring tire designed to offer a long-lasting tread life, better ride comfort, and enhanced stability.

If you want to own a reliable set of touring all-season tires, this Firestone All-Season vs Hankook Kinergy ST (H735) tires comparison will help you pick the better option based on your driving needs, preferences, budget, and our proprietary tire rating system, SimpleScore. With SimpleScore, we make it easy for you understand which tire is better overall, and in areas like traction, handling, and longevity.

Firestone All-Season tires

The Firestone All-Season is designed and engineered to provide a balanced performance and can be used on coupes, sedans, CUVs, and minivans. It is optimized for better ride comfort, quieter rides, and features a special all-season rubber compound for solid year-round traction in dry, wet, and light winter conditions. Its asymmetric tread pattern is optimized for hydroplaning resistance, and the footprint assures more comfortable rides. Additionally, Firestone has backed this tire with a solid limited manufacturer tread life warranty to provide better value to buyers.

Overall, the All-Season earns a great 8.4 SimpleScore, thanks to its long-lasting tread life, responsive handling, and better traction.

Get Firestone All-Season tires at the best deals for your vehicle here

Hankook Kinergy ST (H735) tires

The Hankook Kinergy ST (H735) is also a touring all-season tire designed for drivers of sedans, coupes, SUVs, and CUVs who prioritize comfort and mileage. It is designed and engineered for improved steering response, dependable stability, low road noise, improved braking performance, and long-lasting service. It is also M+S rated to handle light snowy and rainy conditions with greater confidence. Additionally, a higher tread life warranty coverage makes the tire a value-for-money option for buyers.

Overall, the Kinergy ST (H735) is rated a strong 8.5 SimpleScore because of its exceptional longevity, reliable handling, and consistent traction year-round.

Get Hankook Kinergy ST (H735) tires at the best deals for your vehicle here

Firestone All-Season vs Hankook Kinergy ST (H735) tires on traction

Both Firestone and Hankook tires picked for comparison here are all-season type and they are optimized for year-round service. But which one is better when it comes to offering traction and grip across all seasons? Let’s find out.

Commencing with the Firestone All-Season, the tire is rated an 8.4 SimpleScore for its reliable traction performance throughout the year. Thanks to its wide circumferential grooves and multiple siping edges, the All-Season bits the surface in wet and light snowy conditions with greater command. Its optimized tread compound is specifically formulated to remain flexible in different temperatures, allowing the tire to maintain a confident grip in rain, shine, and mild snowy conditions.

On the other hand, the Hankook Kinergy ST (H735) is rated an 8.3 SimpleScore, giving tough competition to its peer. The tire utilizes a specialized tie-bar system in the lateral grooves for solid block stiffness, which helps in maintaining a consistent surefootedness. The presence of four wide circumferential grooves helps in quick water evacuation to prevent hydroplaning, while the siping pattern provides multiple biting edges for light winter traction.

While both tires perform admirably in typical all-season conditions, it is the Firestone All-Season that has a slight advantage for its more consistent grip in wet and light snow conditions.

ADVANTAGE: Firestone All-Season

Firestone All-Season vs Hankook Kinergy ST (H735) tires on handling

Now, let’s find out which of the two tires is better in handling and overall controllability. This handling comparison will also help us find which tire excels in steering response, stability, cornering, ride control, and braking performance.

With an 8.4 score in handling, the All-Season assures confident driving throughout the year. Thanks to Firestone’s engineering standards, the tire offers reliable ride control and handling in dry, wet, and light snow conditions. There are deep sipes for extra control in snow and better braking performance on wet and mild snowy surfaces. The ribs and sturdy shoulder blocks offer solid control, especially while cornering, and the wider footprint provides consistent stability at highway speeds. Additionally, the optimized rubber compound and advanced asymmetric tread design control vibrations and tread noise levels for enhanced ride comfort.

The Kinergy ST (H735), on the other hand, is rated competitive 8.3 SimpleScore in handling. Hankook has focused on great steering precision by incorporating a solid center rib that provides a strong on-center feel. Likewise, the high-stiffness tread blocks ensure more stable handling during maneuvers. The specialized pitch sequencing lets the tire maintain great stability while offering smooth rides at highway speeds. The footprint of the Hankook tire is flatter than the Firestone tire and assures better confidence while cornering.

In handling, the Firestone tire again takes a narrow lead with a marginally higher rating for its overall controllability and cornering stability.

ADVANTAGE: Firestone All-Season

Firestone All-Season vs Hankook Kinergy ST (H735) tires on longevity

In this section, we will learn about the wear-resisting and long-lasting abilities of both tires and find out which of the two touring all-season tires resists tread wear better, covers more miles, and offers better tread life warranty coverage.

First, let’s talk about the Firestone All-Season, which scores a great 8.7 SimpleScore in longevity. This tire is covered by a 65,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty, indicating its ability to cover a good number of miles and maintain adequate durability to resist wear. The optimized footprint of the All-Season distributes driving forces evenly for optimum wear resistance and uneven wear, thus offering a lasting service.

Contrarily, the Kinergy ST (H735) excels with its superior lasting abilities and an 8.9 SimpleScore in longevity. This tire is backed by a better 70,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty, which assures better value on purchase. Hankook utilizes an abrasion-resistant compound and a specialized dual-filler system to control wear rate, allowing the tire to cover more miles.

While both tires are great in terms of longevity, the Hankook Kinergy ST (H735) is comparatively superior with a higher rating, improved wear resistance, and better tread life warranty.

ADVANTAGE: Hankook Kinergy ST (H735)

When to use each

Both the All-Season and the Kinergy PT (H737) are touring all-season tires and are suitable for year-round use on dry, wet, and light snowy roads. These tires are good for drivers who want better mileage and ride comfort on highways. However, none of these tires is Three Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) certified; therefore, don’t consider them for driving in moderate to severe winter conditions, in temperatures above 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Coming to rim sizes, the All-Season is available in 15- to 20-inch choices, while the Kinergy ST (H735) is offered in 13- to 18-inch rim options.

Which one should you choose?

Looking at the overall SimpleScore, the Kinergy ST (H735) is better than the All-Season (8.5 vs 8.4). However, they both have their own unique attributes and abilities, and your decision to buy one of these touring all-season tires should be based on your driving requirements, budget, and preferences over traction and handling vs longevity.

Let’s talk about the prices now. The All-Season is available at a starting price of at least $104 per tire, while the Kinergy ST (H735) is available at an initial price of at least $81 per tire. This means you get a set of four All-Season tires at an initial price of at least $416, while a set of four Kinergy ST (H735) tires will cost you at least $324.

Based on SimpleScore, you should choose the Firestone All-Season if you:

• Drive vehicles like the Subaru Crosstrek, Toyota 4Runner, GMC Acadia, or Ford Escape
• Need a tire that’s better in traction (8.4 vs 8.3)
• Prefer a tire that’s better in handling (8.4 vs 8.3)
• Need a tire backed by an up to 65,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty
• Are comfortable paying more for a tire that provides better controllability and road grip

On the other hand, you should choose the Kinergy ST (H735) if you:

• Drive vehicles like the Acura RDX, Dodge Charger, or Honda Odyssey
• Want a tire that’s better in longevity (8.9 vs 8.7)
• Prefer a tire that’s covered by a longer service mileage (70,000 vs 65,000 miles)
• Need an affordable tire and an overall better all-season touring tire

Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help, as our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.