Kumho Solus TA11 Tire Review and Ratings
Dry Conditions – 80%
Wet Conditions – 70%
Snow – 70%
Comfort – 80%
Noise Reduction – 80%
Durability – 90%
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If you’ve been following the tire industry a bit, you may have noticed a trend in terms of tire sizes. As cars become larger and faster, tire manufacturers need to make bigger and better tires. This is good news for people who have a newer vehicle or plan to get one, but it’s not an ideal situation for everyone.
There are people who still drive their 90s or 2000s economy car and they’re struggling to find a good set of tires. Here’s an example. At a certain point in history, a 15-inch tire was considered big, but today, there are models that start from 16 inches. This leaves people with older cars in a bad position.
You can find some models with smaller sizes like the Energy Saver A/S, but that’s another problem. This isn’t the most affordable tire. It’s an excellent performer, but many people will find it outside their budget for an old beater car.
Luckily, there are some models from the mid-range segment that come in smaller sizes, models like the Solus TA11. The tire is almost a decade old, so you shouldn’t expect the performance to be comparable with the latest and greatest tires you see today.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at how well it performs and if you should consider getting a set.
Pros
- Solid aquaplaning resistance
- Light and responsive handling
- Comes in smaller sizes
- Decent performance for older cars
Cons
- Wet performance is noticeably behind its rivals
- The light handling can be a bit problematic when driving on the highway
The Features of the Kumho Solus TA11
Being an older model from the mid-range segment doesn’t mean this tire lacks features. The Solus TA11 is backed by all the necessary attributes to deliver its performance.
The most obvious feature of this tire is the rubber. It’s an all-season model, meaning that it features Kumho’s carbon compound designed to withstand lower temperatures. The result should be a tire capable of delivering performance in colder temperatures.
All-season tires need to perform in lighter winter conditions and the tread pattern is designed to help. The tire features an asymmetric tread pattern with zig zag sipes designed to help it deliver traction in snowy conditions. It should also help with keeping the noise levels lower.
The tire’s pattern also features 4 circumferential grooves and notched shoulders designed to channel water away from the blocks. Thanks to this, the tire’s aquaplaning resistance should be good, allowing it to remain stable when driving over standing water.
This manufacturer used its ESCOT casing technology for the internal construction. It works by optimizing the tension distribution of the cord in the sidewall to improve the handling. At the same time, it shouldn’t have a negative impact on comfort levels.
Kumho Solus TA11 in Dry Conditions
The Solus TA11 is a tire that can deliver solid performance in dry conditions, enough for people looking for a safe daily driver.
For driving around town, the tire’s performance levels are fine. There’s enough traction to prevent slip during normal acceleration and the grip is solid so that you won’t experience understeer in parking lots. The tire’s braking distances fall within the safe zone, but barely, as they’re slightly longer than some of its mid-range competitors.
The performance of this tire pretty much ends here, meaning that aggressive driving is something that it won’t handle well. Getting a bit carried away isn’t an issue, but anything more than that, and the tire will really start to struggle.
A surprising aspect of this tire is the handling, at least parts of it. You’re looking at a pretty responsive tire, considering its category, which is the positive side. On the negative side, it’s light, even too light, which can be problematic when making micro-adjustments. Also, you won’t be getting a lot of feedback, which is to be expected in a standard touring tire.
Kumho Solus TA11 on Wet or Slippery Roads
When it comes to driving in wet conditions, the Solus TA11 seems to be doing an adequate job, providing safe performance, which is what most people are looking for.
On damp roads, the grip and traction levels are acceptable, and the tire will perform as intended. Driving at normal speeds is what you should be doing with this tire if you want it to remain on the road. It’s confident enough and keeps the slip to a minimum until you start to get aggressive. Flooring it will result in wet burnout and going into a corner too fast will promote a lot of understeer. Then there are the braking distances. They’re short and safe, but still behind a few mid-range competitors like the Champion Fuel Fighter.
The aquaplaning resistance isn’t on the same level as the premium models or even some of the midrange ones. With that said, it’s not a tire you’ll be driving fast in the pouring rain, so you won’t have an issue with it. The stability won’t be compromised, which is the important aspect here.
Kumho Solus TA11 in Snow
Considering the overall performance, I wasn’t expecting much of the Solus TA11 in terms of winter performance, but I was a bit surprised.
Don’t take this the wrong way, it’s still a mid-range all-season tire, so the performance is only usable in lighter conditions. The traction levels on packed and unpacked snow are solid, which is enough if you’re not overly aggressive with it. It trails a bit behind the AltiMAX RT45, but it’s pretty close. The same goes for the braking distances, which are pretty good considering the overall performance we’ve seen so far.
Driving on ice isn’t something that these kinds of tires do well, and I can say the same for this one. There is some traction, but not enough to call it excellent. The barely passable performance combined with the braking distances means you shouldn’t drive it on icy surfaces too much. If you must, be cautious.
Kumho Solus TA11 Off-Roading
There are a few crossovers that you can fit the Solus TA11 to, but that doesn’t mean you should take it off-road. Apart from some acceptable performance on hard-packed roads, the rest is something that this tire won’t be able to do.
Kumho Solus TA11 for Sporty Driving
Standard touring tires aren’t made with sportiness in mind, so you can guess how well the Solus TA11 does with spirited driving in mind. The performance is good enough for normal driving, but there isn’t too much headroom to push it. Even though the tire’s responsiveness is solid, it’s far from dynamic.
Does the Kumho Solus TA11 Ride Comfortably?
Touring tires are all about refinement, and the Solus TA11 seems to do decently well in this regard.
Comfort is something that does good enough if you set your expectations right. It does an acceptably good job with smaller road imperfections and is pretty comfortable when driving on the highway. The area it struggles is larger bumps where it doesn’t absorb them as well as its rivals and transfers some of the vibrations in the cabin.
The noise levels are surprisingly good and I don’t have a lot of complaints here. You will hear certain tones, especially at higher speeds and rougher surfaces, but they aren’t too pronounced. The tire mutes these well, so it’s not obnoxious on longer journeys.
Kumho Solus TA11 Warranty
With a treadwear warranty of 75,000 miles, the Solus TA11 comes close to many premium rivals. It’s slightly behind mid-range models like the CS5 Grand Touring, as well as premium tires like the TrueContact Tour.
Kumho Solus TA11 Pricing: Is It Worth the Price?
Affordability is what the Solus TA11 is all about and it shows. If you compare a common 15-inch tire you’ll find that it’s priced similarly to the Kinergy ST. This means that it’s half the price of the Defender T+H, but keep in mind that the Michelin model comes with a higher speed rating.
Should I Buy the Kumho Solus TA11?
The Solus TA11 is far from perfect or even an excellent tire, but there still is a certain target group for it.
With decent performance in dry and good enough in wet conditions, it’s a tire that will be satisfactory. Winter performance is surprisingly good, considering that it’s an affordable touring tire. It’s not an impressive performer in any metric, but at the end of the day, that’s not what it’s intended to do.
The refinement levels are decent, which is what most people would expect from it. You’re looking at a relatively affordable model coming with a treadwear warranty which is pretty close to the best in class and even some premium tires.
Looking at the Solus TA11 shows that it’s not a tire designed to excel. It’s a tire designed to be affordable, which is what people with older cars are after. If this is you, then Kumho’s model might be a good choice.
What Vehicles Will the Kumho Solus TA11 Fit?
Here’s a sample list of cars that the Kumho Solus TA11 will fit:
- BMW 3 Series
- Cadilac Seville
- Chevrolet Metro
- Geo Metro
- GMC Safari
- Honda CR-V
- Kia Rio
- Lexus GS
- Mazda Protege
- Scion xB
- Toyota Tercel
Tire Sizes of the Kumho Solus TA11
13″
- 155/80R13 79T
- 175/70R13 82T
- 185/70R13 86T
14″
- 175/65R14 82T
- 185/65R14 86T
- 185/70R14 88T
- 195/70R14 91T
- 195/75R14 92T
- 205/75R14 95T
- 215/70R14 96T
15″
- 185/60R15 84T
- 185/65R15 88T
- 195/60R15 88T
- 195/65R15 91T
- 205/60R15 91T
- 205/65R15 94T
- 205/70R15 96T
- 205/75R15 97T
- 215/60R15 94T
- 215/65R15 96T
- 215/70R15 98T
- 215/75R15 100T
- 225/70R15 100T
- 225/75R15 102T
- 235/70R15 103T
- 235/75R15 105T
16″
- 205/55R16 91T
- 205/60R16 92T
- 215/60R16 95T
- 215/65R16 98T
- 215/70R16 100T
- 225/60R16 98T
- 225/65R16 100T
- 225/70R16 103T
- 235/60R16 100T
- 235/65R16 103T
- 235/70R16 106T
17″
- 215/60R17 96T
- 215/65R17 99T
- 225/60R17 99T
- 225/65R17 102T
- 235/60R17 102T
- 235/65R17 104T
18″
- 235/65R18 106T
