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Head-to-head Updated

Hankook Ventus V12 evo2 vs Sumitomo HTR Z III — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 1 + 1 road tests and 93 + 42 owner reviews. How we score

Ventus V12 evo2 leads, 69–65 Narrow edge

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Sumitomo HTR Z III
Tire BSumitomo

HTR Z III

Summer

± 7

Tests – · 1 test Owners 56 · 42 reviews

Best test result: #6 of 22 in 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires (tested tread life (miles))

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 71

    Dry

    Ventus V12 evo2 +4
    67
    Why this score
    SourceVentus V12 evo2HTR Z III
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests71≈ 68 (est.)
    Reviews found online7167

    Ventus V12 evo2: 60% × 70.9 + 40% × 70.9 = 71

    HTR Z III: 60% × 67.6 (est.) + 40% × 67.1 = 67

    No road tests of dry for HTR Z III. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.42).

  2. 71

    Wet

    Ventus V12 evo2 +8
    63
    Why this score
    SourceVentus V12 evo2HTR Z III
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests69≈ 65 (est.)
    Reviews found online7360

    Ventus V12 evo2: 60% × 69.2 + 40% × 72.9 = 71

    HTR Z III: 60% × 65 (est.) + 40% × 60.2 = 63

    No road tests of wet for HTR Z III. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. –

    Snow

    No comparison
    37
    Why this score
    SourceVentus V12 evo2HTR Z III
    Professional tests (TWG score)–≈ 53 (est.)
    Reviews found online–14

    HTR Z III: 60% × 52.7 (est.) + 40% × 14 = 37

    No road tests of snow for HTR Z III. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.32).

  4. 66

    Comfort

    Level
    66
    Why this score
    SourceVentus V12 evo2HTR Z III
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 68 (est.)≈ 68 (est.)
    Reviews found online6564

    Ventus V12 evo2: 40% × 68 (est.) + 60% × 64.9 = 66

    HTR Z III: 40% × 67.9 (est.) + 60% × 64.3 = 66

    No road tests of comfort for Ventus V12 evo2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

    No road tests of comfort for HTR Z III. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  5. 73

    Noise

    Ventus V12 evo2 +8
    65
    Why this score
    SourceVentus V12 evo2HTR Z III
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / – tests77≈ 66 (est.)
    Reviews found online≈ 66 (est.)62

    Ventus V12 evo2: 60% × 76.8 + 40% × 66.3 (est.) = 73

    HTR Z III: 60% × 66.3 (est.) + 40% × 62.1 = 65

    No owner ratings of noise for Ventus V12 evo2. The owner half is the owners’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.

    No road tests of noise for HTR Z III. The test half is the tested tires’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.

  6. 61

    Treadwear

    HTR Z III +5
    66
    Why this score
    SourceVentus V12 evo2HTR Z III
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 64 (est.)70
    Reviews found online5859

    Ventus V12 evo2: 60% × 63.6 (est.) + 40% × 58.3 = 61

    HTR Z III: 60% × 70.2 + 40% × 59.1 = 66

    No road tests of treadwear for Ventus V12 evo2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  7. 70

    Handling (owners)

    Ventus V12 evo2 +5
    65
    Why this score
    SourceVentus V12 evo2HTR Z III
    Reviews found online7065
Scores at a glance
CategoryHankook Ventus V12 evo2Sumitomo HTR Z III
Relative Score 69 65
Dry 71 67
Wet 71 63
Snow – 37
Comfort 66 66
Noise 73 65
Treadwear 61 66
Handling (owners) 70 65

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score
± 7

Ventus V12 evo2

± 7

HTR Z III

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

The professional test results behind the scores

Per discipline: the average % of the best tire over every test both tires were in, and how many of those tests each one won. “Different tests” rows compare results from separate tests.

DisciplineCategoryVentus V12 evo2HTR Z IIIΔHead-to-head
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #4/5 2017 Car and Driver UHP Tyre Test #17/22 2022 Consumer Reports Ultra High Performance Summer Tires – Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Ventus V12 evo2

Pros

  • Excellent value and cost-to-performance ratio compared to premium brands
  • Strong, reliable grip in both dry and wet conditions with good aquaplaning resistance
  • Comfortable ride with low initial road noise

Cons

  • Soft sidewalls can cause a floaty feel or roll during aggressive cornering and track use
  • Road noise increases noticeably as the tires wear down
  • Treadwear is relatively fast, leading to shorter overall mileage
All owner themes in the Ventus V12 evo2 review

Tire B HTR Z III

Pros

  • Excellent price-to-performance ratio
  • Strong dry handling and steering feedback
  • Quiet and comfortable ride quality

Cons

  • Inconsistent wet-weather side grip during cornering
  • Limited traction under heavy acceleration on high-horsepower vehicles
  • Not suitable for winter or freezing conditions
All owner themes in the HTR Z III review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Hankook Ventus V12 evo2 B · Sumitomo HTR Z III
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available381
Rim diameters15″ – 21″19″
Tread depth—10/32″
UTQG320 - 380 A - AA A300 A A
Sidewall—Blackwall
Max pressure—50 psi

Which one should you actually buy?

Hankook Ventus V12 evo2

Sumitomo HTR Z III

Narrow edge: Hankook Ventus V12 evo2 — better wet, noise and dry. Pick the Sumitomo HTR Z III if treadwear matters most to you.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Hankook Ventus V12 evo2 scores 71 vs 63 on wet.

Pick tire A You want a quieter cabin

Hankook Ventus V12 evo2 scores 73 vs 65 on noise.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Sumitomo HTR Z III scores 66 vs 61 on treadwear.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Hankook Ventus V12 evo2 scores 71 vs 67 on dry.

Tire A · Hankook Ventus V12 evo2
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Tire B · Sumitomo HTR Z III
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Ventus V12 evo2 or HTR Z III?

Which is better in the wet, Ventus V12 evo2 or HTR Z III?

Hankook Ventus V12 evo2, 71 vs 63 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Ventus V12 evo2 or HTR Z III?

Hankook Ventus V12 evo2, 71 vs 67 on our dry score.

Which is quieter, Ventus V12 evo2 or HTR Z III?

Hankook Ventus V12 evo2, 73 vs 65 on our noise score.

Which is more comfortable, Ventus V12 evo2 or HTR Z III?

Neither, by our numbers: 66 vs 66 on the comfort score, within 3 points.

Which lasts longer, Ventus V12 evo2 or HTR Z III?

Sumitomo HTR Z III, 66 vs 61 on our treadwear score.

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology