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Vredestein Ultrac vs Hankook Ventus Prime 4 — 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 14 + 14 road tests and 419 + 2,521 owner reviews. How we score

Ventus Prime 4 is ahead, 75–61

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Vredestein Ultrac
Tire AVredestein

Ultrac

Summer

± 6

Tests 63 · 14 tests Owners 59 · 419 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 20 in 2024 AutoBild Summer Tyre Test (wet handling)

“Are budget tyres closing the gap to premium? I changed a set of tyres on my daily pd130 winter bash about and managed to get a set of vredestein ultrac for £80 a tyre fitted which I thought was a pretty good price. The tyre fitting service was saying to me that the gap between budgets and premium is much smaller in the last 10 years and that taxis tend to opt for budget tyres all the time and have no issues. Any thoughts on this? I’ve always gone for medium to higher end tyres. Leer más”

Hankook Ventus Prime 4
Tire BHankook

Ventus Prime 4

Summer

± 4

Tests 77 · 14 tests Owners 71 · 2,521 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 21 in 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test (dry handling)

“Simbolul cu mașina și fulgerul de pe Hankook Ventus Prime 4 arată că anvelopa e compatibilă și cu mașini electrice (EV), nu că e destinată exclusiv lor. Poate fi folosită fără probleme și pe mașini cu motor termic.”

Category by category

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

Key facts

  • In 7 tests that measured dry braking for both, Ultrac won 1 and Ventus Prime 4 won 6 (average 97% vs 98% of the best).
  • In 7 tests that measured wet braking for both, Ultrac won 2 and Ventus Prime 4 won 5 (average 93% vs 94% of the best).
  • In 6 tests that measured straight aquaplaning for both, Ultrac won 5 and Ventus Prime 4 won 1 (average 99% vs 95% of the best).
  • In 5 tests that measured wet handling for both, Ultrac won 2 and Ventus Prime 4 won 2 (average 99% vs 98% of the best).
  • In 5 tests that measured noise for both, Ultrac won 0 and Ventus Prime 4 won 5 (average 98% vs 99% of the best).
  1. 75

    Dry

    Ventus Prime 4 +4
    79
    Why this score
    SourceUltracVentus Prime 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 13 / 12 tests8483
    Reviews found online6073
    Dry Braking (% of best) · 7 shared tests · wins 1–697%98%
    Dry Handling (% of best) · 4 shared tests · wins 1–399%99%
    Dry Handling (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–180%90%

    Ultrac: 60% × 84.3 + 40% × 60.3 = 75

    Ventus Prime 4: 60% × 82.7 + 40% × 73 = 79

  2. 82

    Wet

    Ultrac +5
    77
    Why this score
    SourceUltracVentus Prime 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 13 / 13 tests9279
    Reviews found online6675
    Curved Aquaplaning (% of best) · 4 shared tests · wins 4–098%85%
    Straight Aquaplaning (% of best) · 6 shared tests · wins 5–199%95%
    Wet Handling (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–180%90%
    Wet Braking (% of best) · 7 shared tests · wins 2–593%94%
    Wet Braking (concrete) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 1–088%82%
    Wet Circle (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–195%98%
    Wet Handling (% of best) · 5 shared tests · wins 2–299%98%

    Ultrac: 60% × 92 + 40% × 66.4 = 82

    Ventus Prime 4: 60% × 78.6 + 40% × 74.5 = 77

  3. 63

    Comfort

    Ventus Prime 4 +6
    69
    Why this score
    SourceUltracVentus Prime 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 67 (est.)70
    Reviews found online6067

    Ultrac: 40% × 67 (est.) + 60% × 60.3 = 63

    Ventus Prime 4: 40% × 70.3 + 60% × 67.4 = 69

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

  4. 67

    Noise

    Ultrac +6
    61
    Why this score
    SourceUltracVentus Prime 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 11 / 8 tests6758
    Reviews found online≈ 66 (est.)≈ 66 (est.)
    Noise (% of best) · 5 shared tests · wins 0–598%99%
    Noise (tester's mark) (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–080%80%

    Ultrac: 60% × 66.9 + 40% × 66.4 (est.) = 67

    Ventus Prime 4: 60% × 57.6 + 40% × 66.4 (est.) = 61

    No owner ratings of noise for Ultrac or Ventus Prime 4. 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.

  5. 25

    Treadwear

    Ventus Prime 4 +49
    74
    Why this score
    SourceUltracVentus Prime 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 3 / 6 tests1079
    Reviews found online4867
    Abrasion (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–147%82%
    Wear (% of best) · 3 shared tests · wins 0–342%70%

    Ultrac: 60% × 10 + 40% × 48.3 = 25

    Ventus Prime 4: 60% × 78.5 + 40% × 66.9 = 74

  6. 60

    Handling (owners)

    Ventus Prime 4 +12
    72
    Why this score
    SourceUltracVentus Prime 4
    Reviews found online6072
  7. 72

    Efficiency

    Ventus Prime 4 +12
    84
    Why this score
    SourceUltracVentus Prime 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · 11 / 9 tests7284
    Fuel Consumption (% of best) · 1 shared test · wins 0–197%100%
    Rolling Resistance (% of best) · 5 shared tests · wins 1–482%89%
Scores at a glance
CategoryVredestein UltracHankook Ventus Prime 4
Relative Score 61 75
Dry 75 79
Wet 82 77
Comfort 63 69
Noise 67 61
Treadwear 25 74
Handling (owners) 60 72
Efficiency 72 84

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

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
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Less important
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Recomputed
Headline score
± 6

Ultrac

± 4

Ventus Prime 4

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.

In the overall rankings of 8 tests that ran both, Vredestein Ultrac finished ahead 2 times and Hankook Ventus Prime 4 6 times.

DisciplineCategoryUltracVentus Prime 4ΔHead-to-head
Dry Braking Dry 97% 98% −0.7 1–6 in 7 shared tests Newest: 2024 Summer Tyre Market Overview · 205/55 R16
Dry Handling Dry 99% 99% −0.5 1–3 in 4 shared tests Newest: 2024 AutoBild Summer Tyre Test · 205/55 R16
Dry Handling (tester's mark) Dry 80% 90% −10.0 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Summer and All Season Combined Tyre Test · 225/45 R17
Curved Aquaplaning Wet 98% 85% +13.4 4–0 in 4 shared tests Newest: 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test · 215/55 R17
Straight Aquaplaning Wet 99% 95% +3.8 5–1 in 6 shared tests Newest: 2025 Summer and All Season Combined Tyre Test · 225/45 R17
Wet Braking Wet 93% 94% −0.6 2–5 in 7 shared tests Newest: 2024 Summer Tyre Market Overview · 205/55 R16
Wet Braking (concrete) Wet 88% 82% +6.4 1–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test · 215/55 R17
Wet Circle Wet 95% 98% −2.4 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2022 Auto Bild Summer Tyre Test · 215/55 R17
Wet Handling Wet 99% 98% +1.0 2–2 in 5 shared tests Newest: 2025 Summer and All Season Combined Tyre Test · 225/45 R17
Wet Handling (tester's mark) Wet 80% 90% −10.0 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Summer and All Season Combined Tyre Test · 225/45 R17
Noise Noise 98% 99% −0.8 0–5 in 5 shared tests Newest: 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test · 215/55 R17
Noise (tester's mark) Noise 80% 80% 0.0 0–0 in 1 shared test Newest: 2025 Summer and All Season Combined Tyre Test · 225/45 R17
Abrasion Treadwear 47% 82% −35.1 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test · 215/55 R17
Wear Treadwear 42% 70% −27.7 0–3 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test · 215/55 R17
Fuel Consumption Efficiency 97% 100% −3.4 0–1 in 1 shared test Newest: 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test · 215/55 R17
Rolling Resistance Efficiency 82% 89% −6.5 1–4 in 5 shared tests Newest: 2025 Summer and All Season Combined Tyre Test · 225/45 R17
Also published by the testers (not in the score)
Price Cost 84% 83% +1.7 1–1 in 2 shared tests Newest: 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test · 215/55 R17
Total Cost of Ownership Cost #20/20 #4/20 – 0–2 in 2 shared tests Newest: 2024 AutoBild Summer Tyre Test · 205/55 R16
Value Cost 45% 73% −28.0 0–3 in 3 shared tests Newest: 2024 ADAC Summer Tyre Test · 215/55 R17
Overall Ranking Overall #9/14 #6/14 – 2–6 in 8 shared tests Newest: 2025 Summer and All Season Combined Tyre Test · 225/45 R17

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A Ultrac

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and confidence in wet weather conditions
  • High level of ride comfort and ability to absorb road bumps
  • Low road noise and quiet operation

Cons

  • Rapid tread wear reported by several drivers
  • Softer sidewalls leading to less initial steering feedback or stability
  • Occasional complaints of tramlining or tracking narrow road repairs
All owner themes in the Ultrac review

Tire B Ventus Prime 4

Pros

  • Exceptional wet and dry grip providing high confidence
  • Significantly reduced road noise and smooth, quiet ride quality
  • Competitively priced offering great value compared to top-tier premium brands

Cons

  • Accelerated tread wear reported by some users, leading to shorter overall tire life
  • Noticeable decrease in wet traction and grip as the tread wears down past the halfway mark
  • Stiffer sidewalls can translate to a firmer ride or reduced comfort on rough surfaces
All owner themes in the Ventus Prime 4 review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Vredestein Ultrac

Positive

Community members generally view the Vredestein Ultrac favorably, recommending it as offering the best of both worlds at a good price point. While drivers appreciate its appearance and value on daily vehicles, prospective buyers express inquiries regarding noise levels and potential fast tread wear.

Top themes
#good price point#best of both worlds#tread wear concerns#tire recommendation#wide tire appearance#budget versus premium

Based on 8 community posts

Tire B

Hankook Ventus Prime 4

Positive

Community opinion on the Hankook Ventus Prime 4 is largely positive, with drivers viewing it as a comfortable, quiet, and capable touring tire. Users frequently praise its strong dry and wet performance alongside its compelling price-to-performance ratio compared to premium alternatives like Michelin. Some uncertainties exist regarding long-term tread wear and slight fuel economy impacts, but owners generally report satisfactory everyday reliability.

r/TireQuestions ·1 upvote ·2026-10-09

“Found a cut on one of my tires, is it 100% cooked? Three month old Hankook Ventus Prime 4 and I found a cut/split. It’s holding air fine but it is cooked?”
r/TyreReviews ·6 upvotes ·2024-03-16

“Hankook Ventus Prime 4 vs Kumho Ecsta HS52? Hey there! Went to this reddit after reading a lot of reviews on the website, a bit of a newbie in general. I have read about many models and settled on 2 possible ones due to pricing and availability in my country (not looking for any other options). In my price range and requirements I've settled on Ventus Prime 4 initially (50% cheaper than Primacy that my car came stock with), but have also seen some good stuff said about HS52. I was quite settled on the first one since it scored very well in 2022 Autobild review, but now that 2024 came out a lot of numbers are completely different (predicted tread life alone took a huge dive) and Hankook is now 4 positions lower than Kumho. To add to this, Hankook was only 10% more expensive thank Kumho in my country, but now there was a price drop and and now there is 20% price difference, so set of Kumhos comes out noticeable cheaper. Spec wise they seems very similar with some trade-offs in different departments. I'm not really looking to save as much money as possible, but with latest reviews I'm not sure if there is any improvement worth paying for. Any thoughts? Thanks. Read more”
r/croautomobili ·1 upvote ·2026-09-23

“Top top top guma, stavio prosle godine kad sam kupio auto, odmah na Kupres isao, snijega i leda bilo dosta, ali izdale me nisu Imam i ljetne hankook ventus prime 4 isto odlicna guma”
Top themes
#value for money#comfort and low noise#wet and dry grip#comparison with premium brands#tread longevity questions#touring versus sports handling

Based on 41 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Vredestein Ultrac B · Hankook Ventus Prime 4
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / Crossover—
Sizes available6566
Rim diameters15″ – 21″15″ – 20″
UTQG280 AA A200 - 420 A A
Sizes in common4747

Which one should you actually buy?

Vredestein Ultrac

Hankook Ventus Prime 4

Winner: Hankook Ventus Prime 4 — better treadwear, handling and efficiency. Pick the Vredestein Ultrac if noise and wet matter most to you.

Pick tire B You want the longest tread life

Hankook Ventus Prime 4 scores 74 vs 25 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Hankook Ventus Prime 4 scores 72 vs 60 on handling.

Pick tire B You want lower fuel or energy use

Hankook Ventus Prime 4 scores 84 vs 72 on efficiency.

Pick tire A You want a quieter cabin

Vredestein Ultrac scores 67 vs 61 on noise.

Tire A · Vredestein Ultrac
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Tire B · Hankook Ventus Prime 4
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Ultrac or Ventus Prime 4?

Which is better in the wet, Ultrac or Ventus Prime 4?

Vredestein Ultrac, 82 vs 77 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Ultrac or Ventus Prime 4?

Hankook Ventus Prime 4, 79 vs 75 on our dry score.

Which is quieter, Ultrac or Ventus Prime 4?

Vredestein Ultrac, 67 vs 61 on our noise score.

Which is more comfortable, Ultrac or Ventus Prime 4?

Hankook Ventus Prime 4, 69 vs 63 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Ultrac or Ventus Prime 4?

Hankook Ventus Prime 4, 74 vs 25 on our treadwear score.

Which rolls more easily, Ultrac or Ventus Prime 4?

Hankook Ventus Prime 4, 84 vs 72 on our efficiency 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