Tire: Ecsta 4X
Category: Ultra High Performance All-Season
UTQG (treadwear): 420 AA A
This is more of a volume tire from Kumho in the Ultra High Performance All-Season tire segment. The Ecsta 4X (KU 22) is one of the more affordably priced tire, but there are some compromises that come along with that. Generally speaking, tires in the segment will have great dry and wet traction along with the ability to use the tire in snow and colder temperatures.These are decent tires overall, and generally speaking are pretty normal from an engineering perspective.
Whenever you hear "affordable" and "performance" in the same sentence when talking about a tire, you've gotta tell yourself...you can have one, but not both. I think that's what we have here. I know a number of drivers that do run these tires, but most people I know switch after having these one for one term. Snow traction is lacking, and that is one of the biggest knocks against the Ecsta 4X, and this is no small thing as you really don't want to get stuck in 2 inches of snow (real story). Wet traction is also lacking, but it's less of a big deal compared to the snow traction. Longevity is one aspect where this tire does well and I have seen instances where they will last for over 70,000 miles before needing to be replaced. So if you want a performance tire, these are fairly affordable, and will also last you awhile. But I'd only be buying them if you live in a place with no snow and little rain. So in conclusion, there are better tires out there.
