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Hankook Winter i cept IZ3 vs Hankook Winter I cept RS3 — 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 + 14 road tests and 0 + 28 owner reviews. How we score

Winter i cept IZ3 leads, 73–70 Narrow edge

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Hankook Winter i cept IZ3
Tire AHankook

Winter i cept IZ3

Winter

± 8Provisional

Tests 75 · 1 test Owners – · none yet

Best test result: #2 of 14 in 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test (wet braking)

Hankook Winter I cept RS3
Tire BHankook

Winter I cept RS3

Winter

± 5

Tests 79 · 14 tests Owners 71 · 28 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2024 Auto Bild Winter Tyre Test (straight aquaplaning)

Category by category

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

  1. 73

    Dry

    Winter i cept IZ3 +2
    71
    Why this score
    SourceWinter i cept IZ3Winter I cept RS3
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / 13 tests7472
    Reviews found online≈ 71 (est.)71

    Winter i cept IZ3: 60% × 74.3 + 40% × 70.5 (est.) = 73

    Winter I cept RS3: 60% × 71.9 + 40% × 70.9 = 71

    No owner ratings of dry for Winter i cept IZ3. The owner half is estimated from its road-test score, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. –

    Wet

    No comparison
    87
    Why this score
    SourceWinter i cept IZ3Winter I cept RS3
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 14 tests–94
    Reviews found online–76

    Winter I cept RS3: 60% × 93.9 + 40% × 75.5 = 87

  3. –

    Snow

    No comparison
    78
    Why this score
    SourceWinter i cept IZ3Winter I cept RS3
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 14 tests–81
    Reviews found online–75

    Winter I cept RS3: 60% × 80.6 + 40% × 74.7 = 78

  4. –

    Comfort

    No comparison
    68
    Why this score
    SourceWinter i cept IZ3Winter I cept RS3
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 2 tests–81
    Reviews found online–60

    Winter I cept RS3: 40% × 80.8 + 60% × 60.2 = 68

  5. 72

    Noise

    Winter i cept IZ3 +7
    65
    Why this score
    SourceWinter i cept IZ3Winter I cept RS3
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 1 / 11 tests7663
    Reviews found online≈ 66 (est.)≈ 66 (est.)

    Winter i cept IZ3: 60% × 75.7 + 40% × 66.5 (est.) = 72

    Winter I cept RS3: 60% × 63.4 + 40% × 66.5 (est.) = 65

    No owner ratings of noise for Winter i cept IZ3 or Winter I cept RS3. 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.

  6. –

    Treadwear

    No comparison
    71
    Why this score
    SourceWinter i cept IZ3Winter I cept RS3
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 9 tests–74
    Reviews found online–66

    Winter I cept RS3: 60% × 73.8 + 40% × 65.7 = 71

  7. –

    Handling (owners)

    No comparison
    72
    Why this score
    SourceWinter i cept IZ3Winter I cept RS3
    Reviews found online–72
  8. –

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    60
    Why this score
    SourceWinter i cept IZ3Winter I cept RS3
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 12 tests–60
Scores at a glance
CategoryHankook Winter i cept IZ3Hankook Winter I cept RS3
Relative Score 73 70
Dry 73 71
Wet – 87
Snow – 78
Comfort – 68
Noise 72 65
Treadwear – 71
Handling (owners) – 72
Efficiency – 60

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

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

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

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

Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

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

Less 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

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

Not important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

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

Recomputed
Headline score
± 8

Winter i cept IZ3

± 5

Winter I cept RS3

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.

DisciplineCategoryWinter i cept IZ3Winter I cept RS3ΔHead-to-head
Dry Braking Dry 98% #3/14 · 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test 93% #8/9 · 2026 Sport Auto Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Dry Handling (tester's mark) Dry 89% #4/14 · 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test 82% #5/9 · 2026 Sport Auto Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Wet Braking Wet 91% #2/14 · 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test 97% #4/9 · 2026 Sport Auto Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Wet Handling Wet 100% #2/14 · 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test 96% #4/9 · 2026 Sport Auto Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Wet Handling (tester's mark) Wet 89% #4/14 · 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test 70% #5/9 · 2026 Sport Auto Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Ice Braking Snow 100% #7/14 · 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test 88% #14/16 · 2026 ADAC Winter Tyre Test - 185/65 R15 – Different tests
Snow Braking Snow 98% #7/14 · 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test 95% #5/9 · 2026 Sport Auto Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Snow Traction Snow 97% #6/14 · 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test 83% #9/9 · 2026 Sport Auto Winter Tyre Test – Different tests
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Overall Ranking Overall #4/14 2025 Friction and Studded Winter Tyre Test #6/9 2026 Sport Auto Winter Tyre Test – Different tests

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A Winter i cept IZ3

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

Tire B Winter I cept RS3

Pros

  • Outstanding traction and braking grip on snow and slush
  • Excellent wet weather performance and aquaplaning resistance
  • Strong dry grip and predictable handling characteristics

Cons

  • Significantly high cabin noise levels reported by multiple users
  • Reduced high-speed stability or 'washy' feeling at Autobahn speeds
  • Accelerated tread wear or shorter lifespan noted by some drivers
All owner themes in the Winter I cept RS3 review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Hankook Winter i cept IZ3 B · Hankook Winter I cept RS3
CategoryWinterWinter
Vehicle typePassenger Car / Crossover—
Sizes available3346
Rim diameters15″ – 20″14″ – 17″
Sizes in common1818

Which one should you actually buy?

Hankook Winter i cept IZ3

Hankook Winter I cept RS3

Narrow edge: Hankook Winter i cept IZ3 — better noise. It leads or ties in every category we score. Hankook Winter i cept IZ3 rests on little evidence so far (1 test, 0 reviews), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire A You want a quieter cabin

Hankook Winter i cept IZ3 scores 72 vs 65 on noise.

Tire A · Hankook Winter i cept IZ3
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Tire B · Hankook Winter I cept RS3
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Winter i cept IZ3 or Winter I cept RS3?

Which grips better on dry roads, Winter i cept IZ3 or Winter I cept RS3?

Neither, by our numbers: 73 vs 71 on the dry score, within 3 points.

Which is quieter, Winter i cept IZ3 or Winter I cept RS3?

Hankook Winter i cept IZ3, 72 vs 65 on our noise 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