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Last updated 7/12/2024 - Originally published 7/12/2024
Written by SimpleTire
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For most drivers of sedans, coupes, minivans, SUVs, and crossovers, all-season tires make the most sense all the way around. They’re like the Swiss Army Knife of tires, with long, even wear, competent handling and braking, a quiet and refined ride, and great road manners. They’re the perfect solution for most drivers’ needs and perform well in about every kind of weather condition other than heavier snow. Grand Touring tires are designed to check all the boxes you’d expect with all-season tires, but with even more of an emphasis on ride quality and low noise, making them a great pick for vehicles that spend many hours on Interstate road trips.
Today we’re going to do a head-to-head comparison with two premium Grand Touring tires, the Continental TrueContact Tour and Goodyear Assurance MaxLife, with generous treadwear coverage, low noise and a full slate of top-quality innovative features, the Goodyear and the Continental are both strong performers that offer an excellent value. While they have a lot in common, though, the Continental and Goodyear also have some pretty substantial differences, which we will compare and contrast in this brief article.
Are you familiar with SimpleScore? SimpleScore is the system that the SimpleTire team has developed to give you a quick at-a-glance idea of a tire’s strengths and weaknesses. We go through and take a look at specs, reviews, and other data points, then distill all that information down to a 1-10 numerical score for each tire for the categories of traction, handling and longevity, as well as an overall average SimpleScore for each. For the Continental TrueContact Tour and Goodyear Assurance MaxLife, the SimpleScore numbers are as follows:
While SimpleScore is handy, it’s also a 30,000 foot view that doesn’t really give you the details on what to expect with any given tire. We’re going to go in and get a closer look at both the Continental and the Goodyear, then give you a breakdown of what goes into those SimpleScore ratings for each category.
With the TrueContact Tour, Continental sets the standard for long wear, year-round performance responsive handling and composed, capable road manners in a Grand Touring tire. The TrueContact Tour starts out with an advanced tread compound that features temperature-activated functional polymers for long life and great traction in wet, dry or wintry conditions, with +Silane additives that let the TrueContact Tour stay flexible for grip in subfreezing temperatures.
The all-season tread of the TrueContact Tour features circumferential and cross-hatch grooves that help direct standing water away from the tire’s contact patch to resist hydroplaning on wet roads. A network of sipes in the intermediate tread blocks and lateral notches toward the shoulder aid in delivering traction on snowy or slushy roads, and Continental’s traction grooves pick up and retain snow to develop snow-to-snow friction. Continental’s EcoPlus technology package helps boost fuel economy by keeping rolling resistance low. Interestingly, the letters D, W, and S are molded into the TrueContact Tour’s tread, with D standing for Dry, W for Wet, and S for Snow. As the tread wears down, the letters that appear will indicate the conditions the tread is optimized for.
The internal construction of the TrueContact Tour incorporates a single-ply polyester casing with twin steel belts and a spiral-wound nylon cap layer for stability. The tire’s low- to mid-apex balances confident handling and ride comfort, with Continental’s ComfortRide sub-tread layer helping to soak up vibrations and road irregularities for a forgiving ride. Continental covers the TrueContact Tour with an 85,000 mile manufacturer’s treadwear warranty. SimpleTire’s price on Continental TrueContact Tour tires starts at $122.99 per tire.
Durable and competent, the Goodyear Assurance MaxLife is one of the best all-season Grand Touring tires on the market today. With a best-in-class 85,000 mile manufacturer’s treadwear warranty, the Assurance MaxLife is Goodyear’s longest-wearing tire, thanks to an enhanced tread compound and Goodyear’s TredLife technology package. Year-round traction comes from a set of wide circumferential and angled grooves, with a carefully designed network of sipes to give an edge in winter traction.
Wear indicators molded into the tread let a driver get a quick idea of tread depth and when the Assurance MaxLife is due for replacement. A solid, continuous center rib in the Assurance MaxLife’s all-season tread gives it stable on-center road manners as well as a sharp and nimble steering response. SimpleTire’s price on the Assurance MaxLife starts at $140.99 per tire.
This one’s a pretty easy call, with a SimpleScore of 9.7 for traction for the Assurance MaxLife vs SimpleScore of 8.7 for the Continental TrueContact Tour. Goodyear’s TredLife package is designed to boost traction year-round as well as provide a long service life, and the Assurance MaxLife’s circumferential grooves, angled grooves, notches, and sipes all work as a system to ensure confident traction on wet or dry pavement as well as in light snow. No-brainer decision on this one:
ADVANTAGE: Goodyear Assurance MaxLife
This one might come as a bit of a surprise, considering Continental’s reputation as an OEM tire for many performance-oriented sports sedans and coupes. The Goodyear weighs in with a SimpleScore of 9.5 for handling vs 8.6 for the Continental. We noted the center rib of the Assurance MaxLife helps with its steering response, and a set of reinforced, notched shoulders give the Goodyear great cornering potential and the ability to resist tread squirm and deformation when pushed hard into a corner. Our verdict:
ADVANTAGE: Goodyear Assurance MaxLife
The margin is quite a bit closer here with a SimpleScore of 9.5 for longevity for the Continental vs 9.7 for the Goodyear. Both tires offer excellent treadwear coverage, but that warranty info doesn’t lie, with an 85,000 mile warranty for the Goodyear vs 80,000 for the Continental. Our verdict:
ADVANTAGE: Goodyear Assurance MaxLife
First off, let’s just reiterate that the Continental TrueContact Tour and Goodyear Assurance MaxLife are both excellent all-season Grand Touring tires; any tire with an overall SimpleScore in the upper 8s or lower 9s is going to be a strong performer. It’s our experience that either the Continental or the Goodyear would make a great choice for year-round traction, great road manners, and a quiet, comfortable ride (the Continental might be a little quieter, on that end). About the only situations where these tires wouldn’t be a great option would be for deep snow, and to be real honest most all-season and Grand Touring tires can’t get the job done in those conditions (when you need a dedicated winter tire). For most sedans, coupes, minivans, or crossovers where you’re looking for those qualities in a tire, you can’t go wrong with either the Continental or Goodyear.
And now we come to the moment of truth…at the SimpleTire team, we’ve always been impressed with products from Continental for their excellent quality, design, and performance. But in this matchup, Goodyear pulls out in front when it comes to all the SimpleScore categories, and an 85,000 mile manufacturer’s treadwear warranty is something that would have been unheard of for any tire 20 years ago. Traction, handling, longevity – the Goodyear Assurance MaxLife is a category leader and is the clear top dog in this comparison. It’s a tire that truly lives up to its model name.
Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help as our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.
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