I put a set of Kumho 4x's in the MCS 4 this week. I only have a little over a 100 miles on them. Size 225-45-18 by the way.
Compared to the Pirelli run flats I am fully chuffed. They seem brilliant by comparison.
A real world comparison is as follows:
Kumho's are quieter, absorb small and large bumps better, ride smoothly at speeds (so far) from 1 mph to 80 mph. They turn in with the same quickness as the RF's but may, and I emphasize may, wiggle just a bit in higher speed turns. We will see about that. The grip overall appears to be very good. Regardless, it is no issue for me, I don't plan on autoXing.
I will post an update when I get more miles.
By the way, I picked them up at Discount Tire. I ordered on Monday of this week, they were on the car on Wed. morning. PTL, no more run flats.

Bruce
2011 MCS 4, auto, all the options except navigation. Royal Gray

 

I've got the same tire, but in a 215/55/17. They work great, they feel like a summer only tire. I haven't had them in any weather yet but they should be great for the snow.

 

I LOVE 'em!!!!!

 

gonna get my 4x on tomorrow, will chip in my thoughts when they're in

KC

 

Psyched to hear your reviews over the next few months. I may consider these come spring in 225/45 R 18 as well.

 

I now have enough miles on the tires to say something mildly intelligent.
Here we go.
The Kumho 4x is a fine tire. It handles very predictably from slow speeds to 90 mph. I first thought they were squirmming in corners around 70. They don't. You pick a line and they stick like glue.
We had some much needed rain in the area (still in a drought and area lakes are all but dry) so I drove in rain for a day. The never slipped in a corner, never hydroplaned. I drove them around town, freeway, and county roads. I purposely drove them in heavily grooved pavement (oilfield trucks) that had standing water. Perfect, and they climbed out of the grooves with no complaint.
They still soak up bumps, are quiet, and have the ability to crank around a tight corner with no squeal and no sliding.
They are a very, very, good 4 season tire for this area. I have no idea how they will deal with snow and ice but that is not a issue around here for more than a day or two. They are every bit as good as recent 4 season Bridgestones and Michelins we have had/have on a Camry and a Highlander.
The Highlander was AWD. The only thing that vehicle had that I wish the Countryman had was a backup camera. Too many injuries and my neck does not turn like it used to.
Great tires, you won't be disappointed.
Bruce
2011 MCS, All 4, automatic, no nav, Royal Gray

 

X2^^^ they are great on ice and snow, love these tires!

 

Glad to see a fellow Colorado-ian chime in on these! I'm trying to decided between these and the Conti Extreme Contact DWS when my CMS4 arrives.

 

Don't go with the dws. I have them on my Mercedes and they are not a good tire. Fell very disconnected from the road and wore quick. They do work good in the snow but that's the only good thing with them. The dws also pushes in corners. Go with the 4x you won't be sorry!

 

Thanks for the feeback!

 

I just put on the same but 225/50/R18.

Holy cow! What a difference and the 5 more points of aspect fill out the wheel well a little more. I love my Countryman even more now.

 

Which wheels are you using? Backspacing is? I want to bump to a 18" wheel and run that size tire!!!

 

I'm on the factory rims. It is night and day difference. My 8 year old noticed and I didn't even tell her I got new tires.

 

Geoffrey: any new comments running your current tire size of 50 now that you've had them on for a bit? Any pics?

 

I LOVE them! The ride is so much better and I really don't feel like I have lost much on performance. They smooth out the bumps and make New Orleans's 100 yr old streets tolerable. I would also describe it as the poor mans 19", because of the look. I'll post some pictures soon it was rainy today. They also have a 40k rating. My stock pirelli's only lasted 18.5k. If you don't have horrible roads I would imagine the 45's would be fine too, but the 50's fill up the wheel well so well!!

 

Nice! Can't wait to see your pics

I'm actually leaning towards the Michelin MXM4 now (same price as the 4x with the current rebate). I will use my CM for some off-road use camping (nothing serious). My Blizzaks are 215/55-17's (also seem to fill the wheel well better). I'd love to get better mpg!

 

Iphone pic, but you get the idea.

Beefer and fills the wheel wells better.

 

Ahhh!! Thanks, this is exactly what i was hoping for

 

50's look great! Now with two people's opinions I'm ready to pull the trigger on that size

 

Let us know what you pull the trigger on. I'm starting to research new tires as well. I have the 17" rims too. I am thinking at some point I will do the 2" lift kit. Want a bigger tire to fill that wheel well. Kind of sold on the Kumho's right now.

 

Wow had the exact opposite experience, the DWS is probably one of the best tires on the road and tests better than the Kumho 4x in every way aside from price (go compare the test results on tire rack). I ran them for 20k+ on my Audi all road, and they were an amazing tire, that wore better than any I had before (its a 4k lbs car that tore through tires). Felt very connected to the road, great in wet, and easily the second best all season in snow I have ever driven (next to the Nokian NRWG2s). Kumho 4X is a nice alternative though if you want to save a few $$.

 

Yea and if you watched the reviews from TR you would of herd they felt disconnected from the road while turning. That's exactly how they fell. And they don't last. The 4x are great tires best between the two IMHO.

 

Yea reviews are pretty subjective, and you have to take the car and driver into account, I take more stock in the actual TR tests where the DWS scored better (7.46 vs 7.27), and much much better in wet performance. The test doesn't even take snow/ice into account where the DWS is un matched in its class. Plus the Kumhos are pretty new they have all of 108 reviews vs the DWS 2000+, DWS were the toast of the town when they came out too.

As for tread wear FWIW the DWS has the better rating (540 vs 420). Not that I take that much stock in tread wear ratings, but as I said ran them for 20k+ on my allroad (which is a 4k+lbs car, and was chipped to 370hp) that is notorious for tearing through the best tires (stock), and they held up amazing. Even at 20k they were still in great condition when I had to get rid of the car, I have complete faith in their wear. I also happen to think the letter feature on the DWS make people take more note of the wearing, not that they are actually wearing any faster.

The Kumhos sound nice and all, but the only reason you should choose them over the DWS is if price is a major factor to you ($20 less per tire at TR), or wet and cold performance is not that important to you. Of course if its the latter your should probably just be looking at UHP/MP/EP summer tire.

 

I went with the 4x in 225/50/R18 and then I went on the track with them. As minijack says, pick a line and they stick like glue. I wasnt actually planning on taking the CM on track but my R53 was in the shop and there were no actual bans on the countryman even though they dont allow SUVs. I was a guinea pig to see if they were going to allow Countrymans and X1s on the track going forward.

Did about 30 laps in total for the day and was very impressed with the handling. Impressed with the CM as well, fighting body roll all day but still had a good time with it.

 

Thought I'd bump this thread to see if those of you with Kumho 4x tires are still happy with them. I am thinking of pulling the trigger with these.

Also, these are the Kumho Ecsta 4x right? (Just wanted to make sure it wasn't a different version.)

Last thing: Are there some stores that refuse to switch out run flats for non-run flats like the Ecsta?