Here is our buying guide for summer and all-season tires for 2023 in Canada. Today, the best summer and all-season tires for electric vehicles.
See also: The Best Summer and All-Season Tires for Cars, Small SUVs in Canada in 2023 .
See also: The Best Summer and All-Season Tires for SUVs and Trucks in Canada in 2023 .
With the emergence of electric vehicles and their growing popularity, major tire brands have been addressing the unique needs of these vehicles. As EVs continue to grow in popularity, manufacturers are beginning to offer tires specifically designed for them.
Why tires only for electric vehicles? The main reasons are these :
1) Electric vehicles are, in most cases, heavier than their gasoline counterparts. This requires the tire to have a higher load capacity, which may affect the vehicle's handling, especially during sporty driving on twisty roads.
2) Electric vehicles are often capable of superior performance with surprising acceleration, which puts some strain on the tire casing. Some drivers have even complained that their wheels quickly become unbalanced.
That's when engineers in the field realized that the rapidly deployed torque of the electric motors could cause the rim to slip slightly on the tire, causing an imbalance over time. This is serious stuff!
3) Since there is no mechanical noise under the hood of an electric vehicle, EV tire manufacturers must come up with quieter products.
4) Finally, if electric vehicle users want to get the most out of their vehicles without consuming too much electricity, their tires must produce as little frictional resistance as possible.
It should be noted that many electric vehicles on the market do not currently come from the factory with tires designed specifically for electric vehicles. For example, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 we drove last year was equipped with Continental Viking 7 tires. The Volkswagen ID.4? Bridgestone Alenza.
In the long term, however, the trend will be toward designing and using tires specifically for electric models, for the reasons mentioned above.
Another reality in 2023 is that currently, electric vehicles are too new and there are not enough of them on the market to cause a rush for replacement tires. But over time, this trend will take hold. Right now we're talking about a relatively limited choice, but that choice is likely to grow rapidly over the next few years.
Here are the main replacement tires for electric vehicles that are currently available:
Goodyear Electric Drive GT
Goodyear has a new line of tires in development. New sizes have recently been announced that apply to smaller vehicles such as the Nissan LEAF, Chevrolet Bolt and Volt and Kia Nero EV. Note that the other sizes are mainly for Tesla all-season and high-performance versions.
Pirelli P Zero Elect
Already available from the factory on special vehicles like the Porsche Taycan, the P Zero Elect is now available for many other brands including Tesla.
Bridgestone Ecopia
This tire was not necessarily developed for electric cars, but it was developed to offer the least possible resistance to rolling friction.
Hankook Kinergy Eco EV
This is another tire that is intended for EVs mainly because it doesn't have much frictional resistance and delivers a quiet ride.
Hankook Ventus S1 Evo
Here's a South Korean product that should be considered if we rely on the excellent quality of the brand's other products. Its main characteristic? Like the Eco EV, it is very quiet!
This tire is designed for high-performance electric vehicles, and thus for the likes of the Porsche Taycan.
Michelin Primacy Energy
The tire that equips the Tesla factory is also a tire with less resistance but eventually, Michelin should present us with an EV tire to compete with the one recently launched by Goodyear.
Michelin Pilot Sport EV
Another tire intended for high-performance vehicles, this Michelin product is not designed specifically for EVs, but rather is pitched as being “EV-compatible”.