Kumho IZen KW27

These are tires that just keep giving! I bought this set of Kumho IZen KW27 winter tires in 2015 after having a particularly bad time in the Alps the previous year driving a Volvo V70 R Design on summer tires and having to use snow chains whilst the locals were using winter tires without any issues. They have now completed 30,000 miles, I am driving a different Volvo and the skiing trips have come to an end, but there is still life in these Kumho winter tires, I'm sure I will get another winter out of them after this winter, I live in the north of England, the winter tires go on sometime in November and are usually removed by the end of March which mean they are rarely in used in temperatures above 7c, this could be a reason why they have lasted so long.
Originally bought to travel on skiing holidays, where they excel in the snow and ice, I have found that they perform equally well in the cold, wet climate of England, the tread disperses water efficiently providing excellent grip.

Sole reason for this post; bought 4 of these for trip annually to Alps from U.K. After only 4 trips -3,000miles; One of them has "bubbles" (-4 of) on inside sidewall of tire; beware of missing this if being inspected.
It could be a "one off"; hope so as I need to replace as a single tire.

The previous owner fit this tire to the car the winter before I bought it. So they were pretty new when I started with them. The tire itself is quiet compared to the SportContact 6s I have for the summer. But after fitting them back on the car the road feedback is very lacking and the wet grip is so bad it made an Audi with Quattro spin it’s wheels! The most shocking thing is the balance of the car and the braking distance. Driving on motorways it’s floating around all over the place and the braking distance feels dangerously long. All in all then, the noise level is the only good thing I have to say about the tire.

Overall an excellent tire - especially good on winter roads - these are winter tires after all! I've driven in the UK and across the continent to Germany and back in deepest winter. I've driven in the high hills north of Frankfurt with steep snow covered roads and tracks and found the adhesion excellent. No comparison with my usual Michelin summer tires which would be comparitely useless in these conditions. Normal driving/roadholding is good with a little less steering response than my Michelins - they feel a little softer when changing direction but nothing untoward. In the wet they are not as good as my Michelins but then I did buy them for snow/ice/winter use - especially for the Continent and Germany. They wear well for a softer compound and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

I have drived for 1000 miles under the heavy winter conditions(snow-ice etc.) The tires suprised me with their performance. With this price, kw27 is the best option for the big wheel cars. highly recommended.

I had these on all 4 wheels on a Honda CRV 2.2 4x4. I used them to replace two sets of contis that only lasted about 9k each. Had these on all year round for 3 years done nearly 30k and they were still going strong when I traded the car - therefore wear was excellent. Driving was good in wet and dry, saved me in the snow on several occasions allowing me to pass stranded proper 4x4'S. I was so impressed that I then put them on my next car an AUDI A4 all road again they performed well but I only had the car for 12 months before twins forced the sale for another new version CRV which when the current yokohamas give up the ghost - which I am guessing wont be long then I will go back to the Kumho's.

This winter I have had these on all 4 wheels my Citroen DS4 and I'm surprised I've not had a major crash yet. If I hit water on the motorway between 70-80 mph the aqua plane and loss of control and feel is so frightening,tonight once again I lost the back end! at first I thought it must be me but it has happened so many times now that I'm going to remove them before I crash. Last year I had them only in the front and it did not seem to be so bad but this year it's a bargain I just can't afford to keep, a real shame as in the dry and at speed they behave quite well and a great price for a car like mine with oversized wheels.

Best winter tire on to date. Perfect for 350+ bhp cars. Faultless winter traction on ice and snow and pretty impressive in normal driving conditions all the way up to 175mph.
Fuel efficiency is impressive and they have worn very well. Braking when wet and cold is also impressive.
perfect for the safe drivers and true petrol heads alike

I have bought two sets of these tires over four winters which were fitted to a Mk4 Mondeo 2.0 tdci estate. I am now using another brand.

My impressions of the KU27 was that initially you had to be very careful with them for the first 300 miles or so until they had bedded in.

Comlared to the KU37 summer tires that came off, 27's were not so good in the wet and would break away dramatically on a wet and greasy roundabout for instance. As the tires wore, this problem escalated and I had to take them off and renew by the time they were half worn.

In the dry the tires performed quite well and I never pushed them to the limit. But the Mondeo is a fine handling car which in itself would compliment any tire.

In snow the tires saved me from getting stuck on at least four occasions and without them I certainly would not be able to get up my drive.

So in conclusion, you pays your money and takes your choice. With tires you certainly get what you pay for.

Had Conti Winterconact 850s on before these and would highly recommend anyone to get the Contis. The Kumho make the car floaty, traction control is always kicking in and the mpgs have fallen drastically (average 43mpg with Contis down to ave 35mpg with these). I spent £200 each for these and have been running them for 8 weeks with about 2k put on them. Had them in the snow and ice and they do grip ok but I'm finding it hard to fully trust the tires and am thinking of getting rid of them already. Do yourself a favour and get Pirellis, Conti or Michelin as you're wasting your money on these. Only good thing is road noise is low...but that's it!

Have run the KW27 tires on my car (310+hp on front-wheels). First impressions when switching from my summer tires (Eagle F1 Assymettric 2, 255/35/18):

- Terrible, terrible grip in the wet. It gets scary that front wheels still spin at 110+ km/h in 4th gear on a wet highway!!
- Massive understeer tendency in the wet, still there in the dry
- Massive thread blocks that provide extreme little amounts of grip feedback through the steering wheel
- Extreme "floaty" car and steering behaviour at higher speeds (i.e. 150km/h+). Do not even try "sport cornering" in dry. The car takes a long time to 'settle' the load through the extreme movement of the thread blocks, giving very little confidence.
- Don't even dare to take these tires up to 200+, even though they are rated at 270km/h. Summer tires have been taken up to 270km/h easily with extreme stable results. Again, due to the thread blocks and very soft compound used.
- Thread wear on front wheels is enormous when using it on high powered FWD cars. This is mainly due to lack of grip in any kind of situation, especially wet conditions. Tire wheel spin is extreme as it cannot handle any serious amounts of torque. High amount of thread-block movement during cornering does not help wear either. Rubber compound is very soft as well.

Overall, being a car enthusiast, these winter tires are the worst I have ever had. The transition from proper summer tires (Eagle F1, Pilot Sport 3) is enormous and scary. Wet performance is dreadful.

I would not recommend these tires in any way if you're not driving in extreme snow conditions. Go for tires with smaller thread blocks.

I have premium Continental Sport Contacts 245/45/17 summer tires on my high performance 2013 Mercedes E Class estate most of the year.

These Kumho winter tires at just £108 each provide a better, smoother ride, equal grip in the dry, better grip in the wet and wear better. They are incredibly heavy-duty, thick tread proper snow tires. At first sight you can be a bit taken about by the "welly boot" look of them, but once on the car, and with the low profile, that isn't as noticeable.

I fit them from 1 November to 15 March and am not concerned that the temperature during this time is often higher than 7C where I am, given the lack of wear on these and the fact I'm saving my summer tires.

I highly recommend fitting them to any powerful rear wheel drive car such a mine, given the problems of traction in snow and ice involved with the car. A complete bonus is the performance they give even when conditions aren't down to the limits where they might actually save a serious loss of grip and accident that having summer tires on might cause.

very good on snow and ice but on wet and dry TC light is always on

Drove on these for the last few winters. Been to the alps resort then across Netherlands in winter and back to the uk in the last 6 months.
Wear is excellent approaching 30k miles. The wet grip is second to none and dry grip is good even when the temp is getting upto 10 degrees Celsius.
Winter traction is impressive. Have not got stuck in the snow since ive put these tires on. Ice traction is very good both under acceleration and deceleration.
Quiet ride and fuel consumption has not changed from running summer tires.
Performance is very good upto 145mph. Smooth ride assertive handling and great stopping distance.
Best winter tires yet.

Good comfort and good wear. Nice tire for the price if you are not a racer.