Tire: Optimo H725A
Category: Grand Touring All-Season
UTQG (treadwear): 340 A A / 360 A A
Hankook makes a lot of these Optimo tires in this Grand Touring All-Season segment, and the H725A is one more option. This tire in particular was designed to be used as an Original Equipment tire for use on sedans, minivans, and crossovers. I find it to be a pretty average tire overall, being designed more for comfort and versatility than for performance. I see these tires often fitted to Pontiac, Chevrolet, and Volkswagen sedans. The H725A does use an asymmetric design with twin steel belts for high speed stability, but otherwise is a completely normal tire from an engineering perspective.
As I mentioned, this is a pretty average tire, but in terms of performance I would rate it well below many other tires in the performance category. Generally speaking, OE tires are put on cars to get them off the dealer lot, so not a ton of time or energy is put into them...okay that was maybe a bit harsh, but they are made to fit a wide variety of vehicles. The one redeeming quality about these tires is that they will last quite a long time. In fact I have had a few drivers I know hit over 100,000 miles on a set. More commonly I'll see people change out these tires at around 80,000 miles, which is still very good for the money. Now these won't be easy miles if you live in a place with rain or snow. The wet weather traction in all situations is poor and many people have informed me of that. I can't recall a driver replacing these tires for another set of the same thing just because of that. While they are "all-season" tires, that is for the most part in name only. I recommend upgrading to a better tire if you regularly encounter wet roads. I'm not saying this tire is dangerous, just that it is very easy to hydroplane and the snow traction is very limiting. But if you don't have to deal with that, and you are just looking for an affordable, long life, comfort-oriented tire, this Hankook Optimo H725A may be worth considering.
