Goodyear Tires review

Goodyear tires have serious motor racing heritage. Goodyear has always been well-received and well-reviewed, and its products still perform well in most tire categories, without being outstanding in any single arena. 

It sells tires for commercial, passenger vehicles and even aircraft, but in our review of Goodyear tires we've kept to its consumer offerings. That means cars, trucks, off-road and performance tires. There are nine lines to choose from with four particularly popular. Assurance aims for a smooth and quiet ride and refined handling, Eagle for precision steering, Ultra Grip for winter driving and Wrangler for off-roading. Aside from the nine lines Goodyear also owns Dunlop Tires and Kelly Tires. 

In our latest review we spent more than 30 hours researching the best Goodyear tires for you to consider. We've also compared Goodyear to the best tire brands out there, and consulted with industry experts and examined user reviews and survey data to create our list.

1. Goodyear Assurance CS Fuel Max: All-season tire for CUVs and SUVs

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Pros:

• Exceptional rolling resistance
• Superb resistance to hydroplaning
• Quiet and comfortable

Cons:

• Treadwear life a little on the low side
• Only okay braking in ice
• Average braking in wet 

There are two tires in the Fuel Max range, both sporting Assurance branding, and designed to perform best on CUVs and SUVs. The more expensive CS is the best tire from Goodyear according to Consumer Reports and is classed as outstanding when it comes to rolling resistance, though this isn’t uncommon among the top tire brands. 

It also rates very highly for everything save an average score for wet and ice braking which is slightly irksome when it rates well on snow. However, overall it's highly recommended, let down slightly by a rather underwhelming tread life, although it does come with 65k mile limited warranty. The best in class here are Michelin tires.

• Buy Goodyear Assurance CS Fuel Max tires at Walmart

2. Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate: All-season sport performance tires

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Pros: 

• Great braking in all conditions
• Quiet
• Hydroplane resistant 

Cons:

• Could be more comfortable
• Average rolling resistance 

These are just one set of tires in the Goodyear Eagle range (there are over 40) and these cheerfully priced, premium boots handle like a dream: they brake well in the wet and the dry, even on ice, and are surprisingly quiet. This is enough to get them noticed as a great buy for your auto, but they aren’t so hot when it comes to ride comfort and the all-important eco-friend rolling resistance. 

Fortunately for Goodyear, those negative aspects are common on these types of do-it-all tire for sports and luxury passenger cars. The good news is that they brake so well in all conditions that they’re the best-in-class, even beating the excellent Michelin Pilot Sport, despite costing the same. 

• Buy Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate tires at Walmart

3. Goodyear Wrangler: All-terrain

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Pros:

• Good rolling resistance
• Good in snow
• Excellent all-rounder

Cons:

• A little noisy

There are 12 varieties of Wrangler, many on the same theme but suitably shod to cope with its main usage: heavier tread for predominantly off-road, lighter for highway and a mash-up of the two for a little on-road and a little off-road action. 

The Wrangler Fortitude is the pick of the bunch and is available for pick-ups, SUVs and light trucks. It's designed to cope on all terrains and all-seasons, which is quite a broad church of abilities, but it copes with them all remarkably well. It’s even good in the snow and, for a truck tire, the rolling resistance is also great. Depending on circumstances dictated by vehicle and climate, these are great tires and right up there with the best of the competition, like Michelin and Continental tires. Some Goodyear Wrangler tires also come packing DuPont Kevlar for extra strength and durability. 

• Buy Goodyear Wrangler tires at Walmart

Other Goodyear tires to consider

The Goodyear Assurance ReadyWeather tire is a decent all-rounder. In fact it doesn’t do anything wrong at all, it even boasts 75,000 miles of tread life and we’re sure it would rate much higher if it handled a little better and there wasn’t the vast amount of competition in the bustling all-season market in the passenger car category. The same could be said for the Assurance TripleTred all-season, but it lets itself down in ice braking.

This isn’t the story with Ultra Grip Ice from Goodyear, which is very good at braking on ice and even better in the snow. Unfortunately, handling is only average and, like most ice-loving boots, could do better in the wet. When compared to all ice tires in their category they’re perfectly good, and competitively priced.

Finally, the Wrangler Trailrunner AT is definitely worth a mention, it may even match the Fortitude if it wasn’t for its just ‘okay’ ride comfort and rolling resistance, which hits this tire's eco-friendly credentials. Of course, Yokohama tires are the greenest out there.

Goodyear tires: User reviews

According to JD Power's Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study (2019) Goodyear does very well. It ranks well in the Performance Sport Category, just behind Michelin, Pirelli and Bridgestone, and comes third twice in the Luxury and Truck/Utility category. In both cases it loses out to winners Michelin and second-placed Continental/Bridgestone tires respectively and fourth in the Passenger Car category behind winner Michelin, 2nd Pirelli and 3rd Continental. 

JD Power puts them fourth in the Passenger Car category in its Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study behind winners, Michelin, Pirelli 2nd and Continental 3rd. In the other three classes, Performance Sport, Luxury and Truck Utility it lags behind the top five.

It does well in the Consumer Report Tire Brand Report Card with an overall fifth behind Michelin, Continental, General and Pirelli, who beat it by just one point. 

Overall - Should you buy Goodyear tires?

Goodyear has always manufactured high-quality tires, and that story still chimes through today. It has a long, rich and ultimately successful history and the brand is still in the upper echelons when it comes to customer surveys, occasionally holding court with a top tire manufacturer or two. 

Every kid has fond memories of the Goodyear blimp and it’s hard to dissociate with the glamour of Formula One. However, Goodyear is not punching its weight environmentally and the young guns snapping at its heels could wind up bursting its bubb... er, blimp. But for now, it’s still in a good position and offers some top tires for your car or truck. Combine these with some of the best auto insurance, and you'll save loads on motoring in 2020.

Goodyear Tire: Company history

Founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling in Akron Ohio, Goodyear is one of the top four tire manufacturers in the world behind Continental, Michelin and Bridgestone respectively, which makes it the largest manufacturer in the USA. The company was named after Charles Goodyear, a self-taught chemist who, in 1844, invented vulcanized rubber – the original process involved heating rubber with sulfur to make it harder – and the basic principal is still in practice today. 

Goodyear was present at the dawn of the USA automobile industry and supplied tires for the Model T Ford and Ford’s racing cars (to date it’s still the most successful Formula One tire firm) and, alongside the manufacture of tires for aircraft. In the early 1920’s Goodyear was the biggest tire company in the world. Its fortunes turned sour following the invention of the Michelin radial tire in 1946, Goodyear was slow to stop manufacturing the bias-ply and if it wasn’t for the effort of Charles J Pilliod Jr. standing up to his investors, Goodyear may have been gone for good. 

Following a huge shakeup at the end of the 80’s and early 90’s, Goodyear has, once again, settled into the billion-dollar organization that still manufactures tires today, over 120 years after it was founded. Only the likes of Cooper tires have a better story.

It has four major tire ranges: the all-terrain Wrangler, all-season’s Assurance with Eagle and Ultragrip covering summer and winter respectively. It has other ranges, but these are by far the most popular and the ones we’ve focussed on in this review. Like many manufacturers, Goodyear has one-off and hybrids that will incorporate run-flats or winter traction, but our review of the best Goodyear tires focuses on the highest rated.