Comparison: Toyo Celsius vs. Hankook Kinergy 4S2 H750 (2026)

{ "intro": "

Both tyres sit in the same all-round, all-weather middle ground, but they arrive there from very different places in their makers' line-ups. The Toyo Celsius is the entry point into a whole family of Celsius variants — Sport, II, CUV and Cargo — positioned by Toyo as a passenger all-weather tyre for drivers who want one set of rubber to handle a frosty morning, a summer downpour and everything between. The Hankook Kinergy 4S2 H750, successor to the Kinergy 4S, is Hankook's more mature take on the same brief: a premium all-season design built around a Two-Step Aqua Slant tread and a 3D GripKontrol sipe system, and it's had years of testing to prove the concept works.

The single biggest difference in character shows up before you even look at a braking figure: our own rating gives the Celsius a 0/100 against the Kinergy's 87/100, and every mutual test in this dataset backs that gap up. This isn't a case of two closely matched all-rounders with different personalities — it's a tyre that's been quietly discontinued from serious contention (Toyo) against one that keeps winning group tests outright (Hankook). Where the Celsius still earns some goodwill is price and its snow-braking figure; where the Kinergy 4S2 H750 pulls ahead is almost everywhere else, and by a wide margin.

That framing matters for how to read the rest of this comparison. This isn't a "pick your priority" tyre duel so much as a case study in how much difference a design generation and a manufacturer's testing investment can make within the same segment and the same price bracket.

", "dry": "

The Celsius averages 45.5m in dry braking across 3 measured tests, against 42.1m for the Kinergy 4S2 H750 — a 3.4m gap that, from 100km/h, is the difference between stopping and hitting whatever's in front of you at roughly 25-30km/h. That's not a rounding error; it's close to a full car length, and it shows up consistently rather than in a single outlier test: 44.9m vs 41.1m in the 2020 Autobild test, 45.6m vs 42m in 2019, and 45.9m vs 43.1m in 2018. The Kinergy's dry-braking average test score of 83.3 versus the Celsius's 61.3 tells the same story from a different angle.

Handling tells an even more lopsided story. Tyre Reviews' 2023 test called the Kinergy 4S2 H750 the best in dry handling with short dry braking distances, and its detail scores back that up with a near-perfect 99 for objective dry handling and 84.6 for dry handling overall. The Celsius, by contrast, only manages 70.7 for dry handling and 81.5 for dry-handling-measured — respectable in isolation, but consistently behind. Autobild's German testers did praise the Celsius for stable dry handling in 2021, and that's a genuine strength worth crediting, but "stable" isn't the same as "sharp," and the Kinergy's precise, knackiges Einlenkverhalten (crisp turn-in) noted by Autobild 2023 points to a tyre with noticeably more front-end bite and confidence when you actually load it up in a corner.

Why the gap? It comes down to construction generation and compound priorities. Hankook's double-wide steel belt layers and stabilised sidewall — features the brand specifically calls out for longevity — also pay dividends in steering precision and high-speed stability, because a stiffer, better-supported carcass resists deformation under cornering loads. The Celsius simply predates that level of engineering focus, and its dry performance reads as adequate rather than confidence-inspiring, particularly for drivers who push on.

", "wet": "

Wet braking is where the two tyres diverge most dramatically in absolute terms: the Celsius averages 52m across 3 tests versus 48.6m for the Kinergy 4S2 H750, a 3.4m gap that widens the margin for error considerably in the wet, where reaction times and grip variability already stack the odds against the driver. Individual tests show this isn't a fluke — 53m vs 47.2m in 2020, and 52.7m vs 47.8m in 2018 — though interestingly the 2019 test flipped, with the Celsius actually edging the Kinergy 50.2m to 50.8m, a reminder that tyre performance isn't monolithic across every size and test protocol.

Aquaplaning resistance is arguably the Kinergy's signature strength. Hankook's own Two-Step Aqua Slant design is engineered specifically to accelerate water drainage while retaining tread-block stiffness, and the test data backs the marketing: an aquaplaning-cross score of 85.9 and aquaplaning-longitudinal of 84.5, both comfortably ahead of the Celsius's 72 for aquaplaning-cross. Interestingly, Tyre Reviews 2023 flagged "poor aquaplaning resistance" as a Kinergy weakness in that specific test, which is worth noting as the one blemish on an otherwise strong wet-weather record — but the broader averaged data still shows it well clear of the Celsius, whose own testers noted "nur befriedigende Aquaplaningeigenschaften" (only satisfactory aquaplaning properties) alongside understeering wet handling.

That understeer comment matters in practice: a tyre that pushes wide at the front in the wet demands the driver back off earlier and trust it less in fast, wet corners or roundabouts. The Kinergy's wet-handling score of 84.1 and wet-circle-cornering of 84.4 suggest a tyre that stays composed and predictable in exactly the situations where the Celsius asks for caution — a meaningful real-world safety difference, not just a scoreboard one.

", "snow": "

Snow is the Celsius's best chance to claw back some credibility, and it does show genuine strength here: Autobild 2021 specifically praised its "kurze Schneebremsteren" (short snow braking distances), and its snow-braking average score of 77.3 is actually its highest detail score of all, ahead of even its dry-handling figures. That's a real, usable strength for drivers who see occasional snow and want a single tyre that won't leave them stranded.

But the Kinergy 4S2 H750 matches or beats it even on its home turf. Its snow-braking score of 85.2 and snow-handling of 85 both sit above the Celsius's respective 77.3 and 68.7, and Autobild's testers have called it a genuine "Trockendynamiker, der auch auf Schnee eine äußerst souveräne Figur abgibt" — a dry-weather performer that's also thoroughly composed on snow — across multiple test years. The 3D GripKontrol sipe system and zigzag block design Hankook uses are purpose-built for exactly this scenario, adding a vertical grip dimension on top of the tread pattern that a more conventional design like the Celsius's can't fully replicate.

Both tyres carry 3PMSF-grade winter credentials in spirit (the Kinergy is explicitly M+S and 3PMSF certified), so neither is a dangerous choice in genuine winter conditions. But where ADAC's 2024 test flagged only "leichte Schwächen auf winterlicher Fahrbahn" (slight weaknesses on wintry roads) for the Hankook — a minor caveat on an otherwise strong showing — the Celsius's overall test trajectory suggests its snow ability, while real, isn't enough to offset its deficits everywhere else.

", "comfort": "

On comfort, the Kinergy 4S2 H750 posts a strong 87.5 and an excellent 92.2 for noise, and multiple testers back this up directly — Tyre Reviews 2023 noted "very good levels of comfort," and Autobild 2022 called it "ausgewogener Komfort" (balanced comfort) at a moderate price point. The Celsius's ride-comfort score of 67.5 and noise-exterior of 66.3 are noticeably behind, and while comfort is inherently more subjective than braking distance, a near-20-point gap on both metrics is large enough to be felt on any drive longer than the school run.

Running costs tell a more nuanced story than the headline numbers suggest. The Kinergy's rolling-resistance score of 79.7 is solid, and ADAC 2024 specifically praised its "geringer Kraftstoffverbrauch" (low fuel consumption) and light weight, but its mileage score of just 59.2 is flagged by Hankook's own key-weaknesses summary as "average mileage and fuel economy" — a rare instance of the data and the brand's honesty aligning. Autobild 2022 similarly noted "durchschnittliche Laufleistung und Wirtschaftlichkeit" (average mileage and economy). So this isn't a tyre that wins on every single running-cost metric — it's a tyre that's very good almost everywhere and merely average on longevity.

The Celsius's clearest remaining appeal is price: multiple Heureka owner reviews specifically call out "good price" as a reason to buy, and Autobild 2021 flagged its "günstiger Preis" (favourable price) as a genuine positive. But cheap only stays cheap if the tyre lasts and performs — and with a 72/100 average rating on Tyre Reviews from owners, plus at least one visceral owner complaint calling a set "the worst tyres I have ever experienced... dangerous" after replacing worn Uniroyals, the ownership experience is far more polarised than the Kinergy's, which draws a very strong 9.8/10 from Heureka owners against the Celsius's still-decent-but-lower 9.3/10. Given the Kinergy 4S2 H750 also carries an up-to-70,000-mile mileage warranty from Hankook, the value case tilts toward the newer tyre despite its higher likely purchase price.

", "verdict": "

This isn't a close call. Across every mutual test in this dataset the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 H750 beat the Toyo Celsius — four wins from four, including a 1st-place finish out of 11 tyres in Autobild's 2021 test against the Celsius's 10th. The averaged braking data, the detail scores, and the tester commentary all point the same direction: the Kinergy is a genuinely accomplished, well-rounded all-season tyre that happens to also be quiet and reasonably efficient, while the Celsius is a budget-positioned tyre whose main selling points are snow braking and sticker price.

Buy the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 H750 if you want one tyre to competently cover dry handling, wet safety, snow braking and cabin refinement without a glaring weak point — it's the tyre for drivers in changeable, four-season climates who want to stop thinking about tyre changeovers and trust the car in the wet and on early winter mornings alike. Its only real soft spot is treadwear and fuel economy sitting at "average" rather than "class-leading," so high-mileage drivers chasing maximum longevity should at least compare it against pure winter or summer specialists for their specific use case.

Consider the Toyo Celsius only if budget is the overriding priority and your driving is genuinely light — low annual mileage, mostly gentle roads, occasional light snow. Its snow-braking figures are a real and creditable strength, but the understeering wet handling, longer wet and dry braking distances, and a notably split ownership experience (some owners report trouble-free high-mileage use, others call it outright dangerous) mean it's hard to recommend over the Kinergy for anyone who drives regularly in mixed conditions or values consistency and peace of mind over sticker price.

", "claim": "Hankook's Kinergy 4S2 H750 beats the budget Toyo Celsius in every mutual test, decisively.", "good_for": { "Toyo Celsius": ["Budget-conscious buyers on light mileage", "Occasional light snow driving", "Gentle, undemanding daily commutes"], "Hankook Kinergy 4S2 H750": ["Four-season drivers wanting one tyre", "Wet-weather safety and aquaplaning resistance", "Quiet, comfortable long-distance driving", "Confident dry handling and cornering"] }, "not_for": { "Toyo Celsius": ["Drivers who push on in corners", "Frequent heavy rain or wet roads", "Anyone prioritizing consistent quality"], "Hankook Kinergy 4S2 H750": ["Highest-mileage seekers chasing max treadwear", "Buyers wanting the cheapest possible price"] } }