Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring Review: Solid Choice for the Leisure Driving

Most premium tires available on the market today offer the complete package. That’s especially true for grand-touring tires, which are designed to be stable and safe, yet also provide the passengers with a comfortable and quiet ride.

That said, some tires in this category focus more on performance, while others focus on comfort. As its name suggests, the Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring certainly falls in the second category. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you won’t be satisfied with handling and braking. It means that Goodyear decided to make the tire as comfortable as possible.

The Assurance ComforTred Touring competes in a hotly-contested sector, which has many excellent tires. The Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack, for example, manages to attain a nice balance between handling and comfort.

The Michelin Premier A/S, on the other hand, provides the driver with excellent performance. Meanwhile, the new for 2020 Continental PureContact LS brings excellent wet performance to the table. Finally, the Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring offers a compelling blend of driving enjoyment and comfort at a lower price.

So, to win over buyers, the Assurance ComforTred Touring should also excel in different areas other than comfort. Modern drivers expect outstanding highway stability, short braking distances, surefooted cornering, and durability. Actually, the last quality is one of the most sought-after in the grand-touring category.

Also, the price plays a big role in deciding the next set of tires. As expected from a Goodyear product, the Assurance ComforTred Touring is not a budget-friendly alternative. However, I also wouldn’t describe the tire as expensive – it’s in line with the premium competition from Michelin, Bridgestone, and Continental.

The question is – how does the Assurance ComforTred Touring compare to other premium tires? And, to budget-minded alternatives for that matter? Well, I can’t answer that question in a straightforward manner, as every tire in this category excels in some categories, and falters a bit in others.

Read my full Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring review to find out how this tire fares in dry, wet, and snowy conditions, how comfortable it is, and how long it will last. Before we do that, though, let’s see what the features that Goodyear utilized in this tire and what they bring to the table.

What are the features of the Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring?

On its website, Goodyear states that the Assurance ComforTred Touring is its “best tire for a smooth ride with refined handling, plus confident traction in changing weather conditions.” Moreover, according to internal testing, Goodyear states that the Assurance ComforTred Touring has 20% better cushioning than the closest competitors.

So, how did Goodyear manage to do that? Well, the engineers opted for a special Comfort Layer that sits between the tread and steel belts of the tire. The Comfort Layer possesses unique shock-absorbing characteristics, including reduction of vibrations from smaller impacts, and harshness from larger impacts, such as potholes, bumps, and expansion joints.

The engineers didn’t stop there. Apart from the Comfort Layer, Goodyear also utilized a dual-layer ComfortEdge sidewall, which provides a balance between ride comfort and handling. Overall, both technologies should make the Assurance ComforTred Touring the most comfortable tire in its category.

As for handling and stability, Goodyear utilized an advanced tread compound on the Assurance ComforTred Touring, designed to remain flexible and pliable in freezing weather, while also offering a responsive ride in hot summer climates.

The rubber compound is molded into a slightly asymmetric tread design. Inside the tread pattern, you can find independent shoulder blocks with notches intermediate shoulders for better road stability and traction, both over dry and wet surfaces.

Meanwhile, the Assurance ComforTred Touring features the industry-standard four wide circumferential grooves inside the pattern. These grooves channel a large amount of water out of the contact patch, which improves hydroplaning resistance and traction in very rainy conditions.

Furthermore, Goodyear’s designers utilized multiple sipes, notches, and grooves across the tread blocks. All of these “cuts” create multiple biting edges for increased light-snow traction.

The internal construction of the Assurance ComforTred Touring, apart from the Comfort Layer lamination, is pretty standard for a grand-touring tire. It consists of twin steel belts reinforced by spirally wound nylon on top of a polyester cord body. This design gives the tire better stability on the highway, while also improving the road comfort.

What are the maintenance indicators?

Goodyear utilized the regular tread wear indicators (TWI’s) on the Assurance ComforTred Touring. These indicators let the owner supervise how much tread depth is left for safe driving in wet conditions, and also over light snow.

The minimum tread depth that Goodyear deems usable for wet conditions is 2/32-inch. When the tread depth reaches that point, you should immediately replace the tires. Otherwise, you risk your safety when it rains, but also the safety of the passengers and other traffic participants.

The TWI’s are narrow rubber bars built into the grooves of the tire. They are recessed when the tire is new, but as the tread wears down, they become more visible. As soon as the tread depth reaches 2/32-inch, the TWI’s will be completely flush with the surface of the tread.

Naturally, I recommend replacing the tires even sooner. That’s especially true if you want to retain light-snow traction, which at that point will be long gone.

Fortunately, the Assurance ComforTred Touring is one of the longest-lasting tires in the category. Owners of the tire are very satisfied with the treadlife, while Goodyear provides an outstanding 80,000-mile treadwear warranty (130,000 km) on T- and H-speed rated sizes, and a 70,000-mile treadwear warranty on V-speed rated sizes.

The warranties are favorable to most competitors, except the Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack, which also comes with an 80,000-mile treadwear warranty.

How does it behave on a dry tarmac?

At first, the Assurance ComforTred Touring doesn’t feel very responsive, and you can’t feel much from the road. That’s probably due to the Comfort Layer, which apart from making the ride more comfortable, also dampens the road feel.

Most drivers will probably never feel that in daily driving, though. Perhaps more importantly, the tire provides the driver with excellent cornering grip, great stability at higher speeds, and short braking distances. In other words, it’s not fun, but it gets the job done.

How is it over wet and slippery roads?

The Assurance ComforTred Touring is among the best grand-touring tires for rainy weather. The tire has excellent hydroplaning resistance, even when it pours rain.

Moreover, the traction on wet surfaces is outstanding, and the braking distances are very short. Thanks to the advanced tread compound, the tire continues to impress on damp surfaces, where it doesn’t skid like some cheaper tires.

With that being said, how is it on snowy roads?

The multiple sipes across the tread blocks seem to work excellently in harsh wintry conditions. The light-snow traction is surprisingly good – you certainly won’t get stuck anywhere.

Moreover, the tire manages to stop the car in safe distances, and give the driver surefooted handling. And, thanks to the wide circumferential grooves, the slush performance is very good as well.

Now, sure, you shouldn’t expect performance on the level of a winter tire. The Assurance ComforTred Touring is only usable over light snow, and won’t work in very deep snow. Furthermore, traction over ice is lackluster, and the braking distances are dangerously long.

Is it suitable for off-road driving?

The Assurance ComforTred Touring isn’t designed for off-roading, especially in terms of toughness and durability. The tread compound of the tire doesn’t have cut- and -chip resistance, which means that it can be damaged if used on hardpacked surfaces. It should be fine for a few miles, especially if the surface doesn’t have a lot of sharp rocks, but not a lot more.

Is it comfortable and refined?

Let’s take the elephant out of the water – the Assurance ComforTred Touring is outstandingly comfortable and beats every other grand-touring tire.

And, the tire is so good that I must get into detail. First of all, tire manages to successfully iron out harshness from larger imperfections on the road, such as potholes, bumps, and expansion joints.

The thing is, other tires that ride comfortably over larger bumps, don’t feel surefooted on the highway, or over smaller imperfections on the road.

Well, the Assurance ComforTred Touring continues to shine on the highway, limiting the vibrations entering the cabin. Which, overall, makes it the most comfortable grand-touring tire right now.

Road noise is also not an issue, even on the highway. However, some owners of the tire report that it gets noisier over time, so your mileage might vary.

You can see more Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring Review here: Video created by knurlgnar24

Should I buy the Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring?

The Assurance ComforTred Touring offers one of the most compelling packages in the grand-touring category. It all starts with the ride quality, which is simply outstanding, and it continues with the excellent overall performance in most weather conditions and the excellent treadlife.

So, yes, if you are in the market for a premium grand-touring all-season tire, you should definitely put the Assurance ComforTred Touring in your shortlist. It easily gets the “highly recommended” badge from our website!