Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 Review

jptruck said:

So, I've had them on for a week or so now. I've driven them in rain, slush, light snow and temps up to about 60 degrees. I'm expecting they are the bomb in the snow, but what I was not expecting was the warm weather, dry condition performance. A couple of points about them:

1) They are quiet. Not sure what I was expecting, but I've had them on the highway at 70+ MPH in the rain and dry and they are no louder than the stock Contis (maybe a bit more noise, but not very noticeable).

2) Steering is good, but a bit more "vague" than standard tires. They are definitely soft underfoot, and you can feel a difference. That said, it's not a drastic change.

3) They are not confidence inspiring in heavy rain. Maybe it's because I've heard/read they have hydroplaning issues, but they feel a little sloppy on super-wet roads at high speeds.

4) The colder the temps, the better they drive. No doubt. Temps in the 20s and below make them feel more normal, performance-wise.

5) Off-road: I did some light grass/mud driving last weekend. As expected, they were pretty grippy. Not a lot of slipping here, but it wasn't anything heavy duty. Normal, I guess.

It's snowing out now, but not heavy enough to accumulate. Can't wait for that, but my biggest fears have been addresses regarding how they drive when it's not snowing outside.

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aj22 said:

I got the R2s on Saturday. Drove the stock Contis in snow/slush on Friday, and it wasn't fun. Not quite as bad as I was led to believe, but not good either.

So far, so good. Drove in snow/slush on Saturday, then temperature dropped so drove on some ice and the like on Sunday (all near Killington, VT). Really happy with the performance. Agree with the first post that these are quiet, more so than expected. I think I'm getting better mileage, but not entirely positive. I'll check more closely in the spring when the R2s come off. Dumping rain today, and no issue in the water at all, including some standing water here and there.
As expected, not as good on dry, but even there, better than I expected.

Highly recommended, I only wish I could try some WRG3s for comparison's sake.

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colorover said:

I used the predecessor to the R2 (oddly enough, the R) for six winters and they were phenomenal. Wear was much better than expected for such a soft/aggressive tire, noise and comfort great and snow grip was second to none. I would likely go with the WGRx next time since for our climate here in Colorado, I'd like to have a little more dry performance and better resistance to hydroplaning.

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RBA said:

I just went to the tire configurator on Nokian site and the Hakkapalitta R2 are the only tires that fit the LR4 19's. Bummer..I was hoping for more options.

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