Goodyear Assurance MaxLife Tire Review and Rating

What are the features of the Goodyear Assurance MaxLife?

As a reputable brand, Goodyear has been known for making excellent tires. A premium tire with an affordable price is something that many people are looking for nowadays. One of the many options that Goodyear has is the Assurance MaxLife.

Advertised as an all-season touring tire, Goodyear incorporated everything it had to achieve it.

On the longevity side of things, the TredLife technology from Goodyear is responsible for it. Based on the marketing, it should provide a 30% longer life when compared with other all-season tires.

For drivability, the Assurance MaxLife has a symmetric tread design, working together with the stiffer center rib to provide better stability at higher speeds. For cornering, Goodyear utilized steel belts wrapped with nylon to improve handling. At the same time, they should help with the ride quality.

The Assurance MaxLife has 4 circumferential grooves and blocks tasked with evacuating the water from beneath the tire. Another area where the tread design should help is with snow performance. Don’t expect it to be as good as a winter tire, but it should be good enough for lighter snow conditions.

Goodyear’s goal for this tire was to be available for as many models as possible. As a result, the wide range of tire sizes means that you can fit it on anything from a hatchback to an SUV.

How does it behave on dry roads?

The Assurance MaxLife isn’t a bad performer on dry tarmac, and there are some things I’m not a huge fan of.

In terms of grip and traction, the tire is impressive to a point where it doesn’t even feel like a touring tire. When you chug it into a corner, the Assurance MaxLife will grip exceptionally well. It won’t be as good as a high-performance tire, but it’s better than most touring ones. In this area, I would classify it among the best in its class.

As a touring tire, the responsiveness and steering feel should not be mentioned. Despite that, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed by how numb the tire was. The responsiveness wasn’t terrible, but I would have like to see it react a bit quicker to inputs.

Don’t get me wrong; the Assurance MaxLife drives perfectly well for most drivers. I found it weird that it had plenty of grip to make you push it harder with an average driving dynamic.

How does it behave over wet and slippery roads?

The performance of the Assurance MaxLife on wet and slippery roads is better. When I say better, I don’t mean that the tire is better on wet than on dry; it just feels like at home.

Wet conditions are not ideal, and I was surprised by how well the Assurance MaxLife maintained grip. The overall drivability was similar, and you shouldn’t expect it to respond to inputs instantly as some high-performance tires can.

One thing I liked very much was how controllable the Assurance MaxLife is. It will lose traction if you push it too much, but even then, you can control it very easily. Again, it’s a safe tire with plenty of performance for most people.

How is it over snow?

On snow, the Assurance MaxLife didn’t perform as well as I’d hoped. This is a normal occurrence with all-season tires, mainly because we compare them with winter ones.

The overall performance was good enough for light snow and nothing more. You will get decent levels of grip, and the tire will stop at a reasonable distance. I would rate the snow performance as average.

Ice performance seems a bit better, and the same can be said for roads in freezing temperatures. Goodyear seems to got the rubber compound on point, and it will perform in a very cold climate.

With that said, I wouldn’t recommend it if you live in an area with long and cold winters. In those cases, you will be better off with a proper winter tire that will perform much better.

Is it comfortable and refined?

The Assurance MaxLife disappointed me a bit in the comfort and refinement department as well. Goodyear advertises it as a touring tire, meaning that the refinement should be excellent.

Unfortunately, in both cases, the Assurance MaxLife is just about average. The comfort isn’t as good as some of the other premium competitors. At certain times it almost feels too harsh to be considered a touring tire.

In terms of noise, things are a bit better, but not by much. It’s not the loudest tire in this category and is far from the quietest. It’s average, and if your car has good sound insulation, you may avoid the droning sound from the tires on the highway.

Is it good for off-roading?

The Assurance MaxLife is not a tire that you should take off-roading. Despite being able to fit on an SUV, it’s not a tire designed for that, and you shouldn’t expect that kind of performance.

Some quick off-roading through a country road can be doable, as long as you watch for sharper rocks. Mud is also not recommended because the Assurance MaxLife doesn’t have the tread to help you in those situations.

My recommendation is to avoid driving off the road if possible. If you need great off road tire, this is not it.

Is the Goodyear Assurance MaxLife ideal for sporty driving?

The Assurance MaxLife is not the most ideal tire for sporty driving, but it’s not too bad either. My split opinion on this matter boils down to two things: grip and driving characteristics.

On the grip and traction side of things, the Assurance MaxLife doesn’t disappoint. It has loads of grip in the corners and plenty of stability in the straights. Dare I say it, you may even dome some track days with it.

Now to the downside – the driving characteristics. For a tire to be good for sporty driving, responsiveness and feedback are crucial. Those two will enable you to change direction without delay and will keep you informed of what each tire is doing. The Assurance MaxLife may not be as good as you need it to in this regard.

Should I buy the Goodyear Assurance MaxLife?

The Assurance MaxLife is definitely a tire you should buy, as long as you know its capabilities.

Some people who own sporty sedans often look for long-lasting touring tires, something the Assurance MaxLife can provide. Unlike some touring tires with average performance on dry and wet, this is a tire that can surprise you with its capabilities.

The grip is exceptional in dry and wet, even when you push it hard. You are sacrificing some of the responsiveness and tire feedback, but it’s not the worst in that regard.

Winter and off-road performance are barely good enough to get the job done, and the comfort is where you lose the most. The Assurance MaxLife is not terribly harsh, but it’s not the most comfortable or quiet.

Goodyear Assurance MaxLife Warranty

This is where the Assurance MaxLife shines the most. Touring tires are known for being long-lasting, and this one is no exception.

Goodyear offers this tire with an 85,000-mile treadwear warranty, which is at the top in its class. There are some tires with a tad more, but this is far longer than what some other brands are offering.

Goodyear Assurance MaxLife Pricing: Is it worth the money?

The Assurance MaxLife is worth the money if you are willing to make some slight compromises. At first glance, with a price starting from $114, it not too much more expensive from the mid-range models.

For that, you get excellent cornering grip and stability, with a slight sacrifice to responsiveness and feedback. Wet performance is exceptional, and snow and light off-road are just passable

The biggest complaint you may have is in terms of comfort and noise. As a premium touring tire, the Assurance MaxLife is average.

Conclusion

Good touring tires are not cheap, and the cheap ones are not good. Thankfully, Goodyear managed to change that with the Assurance MaxLife.

An all-season touring tire with excellent performance on wet and dry. While it is not the most responsive, you can still have some fun on a twisty road or even a track. Snow performance is as you’d expect – barely passable, and off-road is almost off the table.

If you are willing to sacrifice the comfort and noise levels for better performance, then the Assurance MaxLife is a tire you should get.

What Vehicles Will the Goodyear Assurance MaxLife Fit?

• Acura Integra
• Audi A3, A4, A6
• BMW 3, 5 Series
• Chevrolet Camaro
• Dodge Neon
• Ford Fiesta, Focus, Taurus
• Honda Jazz, Accord, Civic, City, CR-V
• Kia Stinger, Sorento
• Mazda 2, 3, 6, MX-5
• Mercedes C, E class
• Mini Cooper
• Subaru Impreza
• Toyota Yaris, Corolla, GT-86, Rav4
• Lexus IS, ES
• Volkswagen Polo, Golf, Passat

When you look at the available sizes, the Assurance MaxLife is a tire that can be fitted on plenty of cars. The list above includes only a part of them, just to give you an idea.

Tire Sizes for Goodyear Assurance MaxLife

15″

• 195/65R15

16″

• 205/60R16
• 205/65R16
• 205/55R16
• 225/60R16
• 215/60R16
• 215/55R16
• 215/70R16
•  

17″

• 215/60R17
• 215/55R17
• P215/65R17
• 235/50R17
• 225/45R17
• 205/50R17
• 215/50R17
• 225/50R17
• 225/65R17
• 225/60R17
• 235/55R17
• 215/45R17
• 225/55R17
• 235/60R17
• 235/65R17
• 235/45R17

18″

• 225/45R18
• 225/60R18
• 225/55R18
• 235/40R18
• P215/55R18
• 235/45R18
• 235/50R18
• 235/65R18
• 235/60R18
• 245/60R18
• 265/60R18
• 235/55R18

19″

• 235/45R19
• 235/40R19
• P255/60R19
• 245/55R19
• 235/50R19
• 235/55R19
• 225/55R19

20″

• 255/55R20
• 245/50R20
• 235/55R20
• 255/50R20