Built from every independent test result and vetted owner review we hold for this tyre - the evidence is all further down the page. Data updated February 2025.
What is the Kumho IZen KW27's EU tyre label rating?
Across its range, the Kumho IZen KW27 most commonly carries EU label ratings of C for fuel efficiency, D for wet grip and 72 dB for noise.
How comfortable and quiet are the Kumho IZen KW27?
Owners rate the Kumho IZen KW27 8.3 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 29 reviews.
How well do the Kumho IZen KW27 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Kumho IZen KW27 7.8 out of 10 for wear across 29 reviews. 12 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 6,250 miles.
Would owners buy the Kumho IZen KW27 again?
70% of owners say they would buy the Kumho IZen KW27 again, based on the 30 owner reviews that answered the question. 43% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
What do owners say about the Kumho IZen KW27's snow traction?
Of the 28 owner reviews analysed for the Kumho IZen KW27, 18 mention snow traction: 18 praise it (strong snow traction) and 0 criticise it (weak snow traction). One owner wrote: "Originally bought to travel on skiing holidays, where they excel in the snow and ice". Read those reviews
More questions about the Kumho IZen KW27(4)
What do owners say about the Kumho IZen KW27's tread life?
Of the 28 owner reviews analysed for the Kumho IZen KW27, 13 mention tread life: 11 praise it (long-lasting) and 2 criticise it (wears quickly). One owner wrote: "They have now completed 30,000 miles". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Kumho IZen KW27's wet grip?
Of the 28 owner reviews analysed for the Kumho IZen KW27, 12 mention wet grip: 6 praise it (confident wet grip) and 6 criticise it (weak wet grip). One owner wrote: "The wet grip is second to none". Read those reviews
Across 32 owner ratings the Kumho IZen KW27 averages 73%. Owners rate Comfort highest at 8.3 out of 10 and Ice Grip lowest at 5. 12 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 72% of owners score it 70% or better.
Owner ratings averaged from 32 ratings
Owner score73%
Comfort83%
Wear78%
Dry Grip76%
Wet Grip75%
Snow Grip75%
Road Feedback73%
Handling69%
Ice Grip50%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 88%
“These are tyres that just keep giving! I bought this set of Kumho IZen KW27 winter tyres in 2015 after having a particularly bad time in the Alps the previous year driving a Volvo V70 R Design on summer tyres and having...”
“Have run the KW27 tires on my car (310+hp on front-wheels). First impressions when switching from my summer tires (Eagle F1 Assymettric 2, 255/35/18): - Terrible, terrible grip in the wet. It gets scary that front...”
“Best winter tyre on to date. Perfect for 350+ bhp cars. Faultless winter traction on ice and snow and pretty impressive in normal driving conditions all the way up to 175mph. Fuel efficiency is impressive and they have...”
These are tyres that just keep giving! I bought this set of Kumho IZen KW27 winter tyres in 2015 after having a particularly bad time in the Alps the previous year driving a Volvo V70 R Design on summer tyres and having to use snow chains whilst the locals were using winter tyres without any issues. They have now completed 30,000 miles, I am driving a different Volvo and the skiing trips have come to an end, but there is still life in these Kumho winter tyres, I'm sure I will get another winter out of them after this winter, I live in the north of England, the winter tyres go on sometime in November and are usually removed by the end of March which mean they are rarely in used in temperatures above 7c, this could be a reason why they have lasted so long.
Originally bought to travel on skiing holidays, where they excel in the snow and ice, I have found that they perform equally well in the cold, wet climate of England, the tread disperses water efficiently providing excellent grip.
58%
Member
Lexus
225/45 R17
3 miles
Mostly Motorways
Easy Going
Sole reason for this post; bought 4 of these for trip annually to Alps from U.K. After only 4 trips -3,000miles; One of them has "bubbles" (-4 of) on inside sidewall of tyre; beware of missing this if being inspected.
It could be a "one off"; hope so as I need to replace as a single tyre.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
The previous owner fit this tire to the car the winter before I bought it. So they were pretty new when I started with them. The tyre itself is quiet compared to the SportContact 6s I have for the summer. But after fitting them back on the car the road feedback is very lacking and the wet grip is so bad it made an Audi with Quattro spin it’s wheels! The most shocking thing is the balance of the car and the braking distance. Driving on motorways it’s floating around all over the place and the braking distance feels dangerously long.
All in all then, the noise level is the only good thing I have to say about the tyre.
Which tyres do you drive?
Researching the Kumho IZen KW27? Rate the tyres you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
Overall an excellent tyre - especially good on winter roads - these are winter tyres after all! I've driven in the UK and across the continent to Germany and back in deepest winter. I've driven in the high hills north of Frankfurt with steep snow covered roads and tracks and found the adhesion excellent. No comparison with my usual Michelin summer tyres which would be comparitely useless in these conditions. Normal driving/roadholding is good with a little less steering response than my Michelins - they feel a little softer when changing direction but nothing untoward. In the wet they are not as good as my Michelins but then I did buy them for snow/ice/winter use - especially for the Continent and Germany. They wear well for a softer compound and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.
I have drived for 1000 miles under the heavy winter conditions(snow-ice etc.) The tires suprised me with their performance. With this price, kw27 is the best option for the big wheel cars. highly recommended.
I had these on all 4 wheels on a Honda CRV 2.2 4x4. I used them to replace two sets of contis that only lasted about 9k each. Had these on all year round for 3 years done nearly 30k and they were still going strong when I traded the car - therefore wear was excellent. Driving was good in wet and dry, saved me in the snow on several occasions allowing me to pass stranded proper 4x4'S. I was so impressed that I then put them on my next car an AUDI A4 all road again they performed well but I only had the car for 12 months before twins forced the sale for another new version CRV which when the current yokohamas give up the ghost - which I am guessing wont be long then I will go back to the Kumho's.
This winter I have had these on all 4 wheels my Citroen DS4 and I'm surprised I've not had a major crash yet. If I hit water on the motorway between 70-80 mph the aqua plane and loss of control and feel is so frightening,tonight once again I lost the back end! at first I thought it must be me but it has happened so many times now that I'm going to remove them before I crash. Last year I had them only in the front and it did not seem to be so bad but this year it's a bargain I just can't afford to keep, a real shame as in the dry and at speed they behave quite well and a great price for a car like mine with oversized wheels.
Best winter tyre on to date. Perfect for 350+ bhp cars. Faultless winter traction on ice and snow and pretty impressive in normal driving conditions all the way up to 175mph.
Fuel efficiency is impressive and they have worn very well. Braking when wet and cold is also impressive.
perfect for the safe drivers and true petrol heads alike
I have bought two sets of these tyres over four winters which were fitted to a Mk4 Mondeo 2.0 tdci estate. I am now using another brand.
My impressions of the KU27 was that initially you had to be very careful with them for the first 300 miles or so until they had bedded in.
Comlared to the KU37 summer tyres that came off, 27's were not so good in the wet and would break away dramatically on a wet and greasy roundabout for instance. As the tyres wore, this problem escalated and I had to take them off and renew by the time they were half worn.
In the dry the tyres performed quite well and I never pushed them to the limit. But the Mondeo is a fine handling car which in itself would compliment any tyre.
In snow the tyres saved me from getting stuck on at least four occasions and without them I certainly would not be able to get up my drive.
So in conclusion, you pays your money and takes your choice. With tyres you certainly get what you pay for.
Had Conti Winterconact 850s on before these and would highly recommend anyone to get the Contis. The Kumho make the car floaty, traction control is always kicking in and the mpgs have fallen drastically (average 43mpg with Contis down to ave 35mpg with these). I spent £200 each for these and have been running them for 8 weeks with about 2k put on them. Had them in the snow and ice and they do grip ok but I'm finding it hard to fully trust the tyres and am thinking of getting rid of them already. Do yourself a favour and get Pirellis, Conti or Michelin as you're wasting your money on these. Only good thing is road noise is low...but that's it!
Have run the KW27 tires on my car (310+hp on front-wheels). First impressions when switching from my summer tires (Eagle F1 Assymettric 2, 255/35/18):
- Terrible, terrible grip in the wet. It gets scary that front wheels still spin at 110+ km/h in 4th gear on a wet highway!!
- Massive understeer tendency in the wet, still there in the dry
- Massive thread blocks that provide extreme little amounts of grip feedback through the steering wheel
- Extreme "floaty" car and steering behaviour at higher speeds (i.e. 150km/h+). Do not even try "sport cornering" in dry. The car takes a long time to 'settle' the load through the extreme movement of the thread blocks, giving very little confidence.
- Don't even dare to take these tires up to 200+, even though they are rated at 270km/h. Summer tires have been taken up to 270km/h easily with extreme stable results. Again, due to the thread blocks and very soft compound used.
- Thread wear on front wheels is enormous when using it on high powered FWD cars. This is mainly due to lack of grip in any kind of situation, especially wet conditions. Tire wheel spin is extreme as it cannot handle any serious amounts of torque. High amount of thread-block movement during cornering does not help wear either. Rubber compound is very soft as well.
Overall, being a car enthusiast, these winter tires are the worst I have ever had. The transition from proper summer tires (Eagle F1, Pilot Sport 3) is enormous and scary. Wet performance is dreadful.
I would not recommend these tires in any way if you're not driving in extreme snow conditions. Go for tires with smaller thread blocks.
I have premium Continental Sport Contacts 245/45/17 summer tyres on my high performance 2013 Mercedes E Class estate most of the year.
These Kumho winter tyres at just £108 each provide a better, smoother ride, equal grip in the dry, better grip in the wet and wear better. They are incredibly heavy-duty, thick tread proper snow tyres. At first sight you can be a bit taken about by the "welly boot" look of them, but once on the car, and with the low profile, that isn't as noticeable.
I fit them from 1 November to 15 March and am not concerned that the temperature during this time is often higher than 7C where I am, given the lack of wear on these and the fact I'm saving my summer tyres.
I highly recommend fitting them to any powerful rear wheel drive car such a mine, given the problems of traction in snow and ice involved with the car. A complete bonus is the performance they give even when conditions aren't down to the limits where they might actually save a serious loss of grip and accident that having summer tyres on might cause.
