Nokian Hakka Green 3 vs Nokian Hakka Blue 3: With the major shift towards electric vehicles in place of hydrocarbons powered ones, the main requirements for tires are also changing. Previously we have covered the Michelin e.Primacy as it was specifically designed for the electric vehicle market while boasting to be the first carbon neutral tire out there in the market. Other tire manufacturers also responded to the challenge as well and Nokian made their mark in the electric market tire segment with the launch of Hakka Green 3 in 2020.
Similar to all low rolling resistance tirelines, Nokian was boosting “lower fuel consumption saves money and the environment, offering more much-needed range for hybrid and EV owners” for its Hakka Green 3. Comparable with what we did with Michelin’s e.Primacy vs Primacy 4, we would like to pair Nokian’s own ultra high performance tire Hakka Blue 3 against its low rolling resistance counterpart. Without further ado, let’s get on with the head to head comparison !
Table of Contents
Results
Results below were taken from the 2022 ViBilagare Summer Tyre Test. A total of 10 tires were tested this year. The graph below shows the comparison between Nokian Hakka Green 3 vs Nokian Hakka Blue 3 based on the relevant performance category. The Hakka Green 3 was set as a reference hence at the 100% mark.
For handling criteria, lap times were taken as a measurement metric instead of the usual subjective evaluation. Note that for subjective comfort evaluation, we equate 1 point as 5%. Hence for example if tire A is graded 7 while tire B is graded 6, A is better than B by 5%. The natural scaling does not really make sense in evaluation whereby the max number is 5.The tire size of interest is 205/55R16 which is a common tire size for Volkswagen Golf (2018) and the Toyota Corolla Altis (2018). You can check out our latest tire size table for more information. The testing vehicle is a standard VW Golf.
Rolling Resistance
We will start with the main requirement of electric vehicles which is to have a low rolling resistance tire which will enable a longer range. With an A label rating, Hakka Green 3 did not disappoint by having a -1.94 kg/ton advantage in the rolling resistance coefficient relative to Hakka blue 3. Even though the Hakka Green 3 had an outstanding rolling resistance, the fuel consumption savings did not translate linearly as the rolling resistance from tires only attributes 20% of the car’s overall resistance. The Hakka Green 3 ends up with a fuel consumption of 5.17 liter/100km while the Hakka Blue 3 has a higher 5.49 liter/100km fuel consumption value.
Hakka Blue 3 :
- -23.6% in rolling resistance
- -5.8% in fuel economy
Wet
Safety has always been the main theme when it comes to the need for wet performances. In objective wet braking, Hakka Blue 3 managed to out brake Hakka Green 3 by 5.1m ! With this distance, you can fit a Golf in between and still have some in between spaces. We know from the labels there is a 1 level difference but the margin was still extremely huge. Hakka Blue 3 out-brake everyone in terms of wet braking to claim the 1st spot on the leaderboard.
The similar trend continues in the wet handling criteria as the Hakka Blue 3 was 1.2 seconds faster around the wet track. Things were also worse in aquaplaning as Hakka Green 3 has a slip speed deficit of 9.7 km/h in straight aquaplaning while having a deficit of 2.4 km/h in lateral aquaplaning. As lower tread depth helps in reducing rolling resistance, a lot of new electric vehicle tires come with a lower tread depth. This is one of the reasons why they do perform quite badly in aquaplaning performances. Overall, Hakka Blue 3 is absolutely dominant against the Hakka Green 3 in wet performances.
Hakka Blue 3 :
- +17.8% in wet braking
- +1.8 in wet handling (lap time)
- +2.9% in wet circle
- +3% in straight aquaplaning
- 0% in curve aquaplaning
Dry
After the total domination in wet, things continued in the same direction as Hakka Blue 3 continues to dominate in dry as well. Hakka Blue 3 stopped 2.4m earlier compared to Hakka Green 3 in dry braking. While in dry handling, they were close as only 1.1 seconds separated them apart with Hakka Blue 3 being faster. Overall, Hakka Blue 3 was strong in dry braking while both tires are neck and neck in dry handling.
Hakka Blue 3 :
- +6.8% in dry braking
- +1% in dry handling (lap time)
Noise & Comfort
Hakka Green 3 being more in the comfort segment excels in both noise & comfort subjective tests. Hakka Green 3 was rated 5/5 in noise while Hakka Blue 3 was rated 4/5. Hakka Green 3 was also better in subjective comfort, scoring a 4/5 compared to the 3/5 of Hakka Blue 3.
Hakka Blue 3 :
- -5% in subjective noise
- -5% in comfort
Price
Below are the pricing for both Hakka Blue 3 & Hakka Green 3.
Tire size: 205/55 R16
Hakka Green 3: €183
Hakka Blue 3: €215
Difference: +15% more expensive for Hakka Blue 3.
Summary
Overall, both tires showed various strengths on different tests. Hakka Green 3 being an eco tire was dominant in rolling resistance & noise/comfort. Hakka Blue 3 on the other hand was strong in wet & dry performances. Overall there is no clear winner and it really depends on what your main requirements are. If you are driving an electric vehicle, Hakka Green 3 would be suitable. However if you are driving a non-electric vehicle , Hakka Blue 3 would be a better choice. Enjoy !